While at CUE 2013 last week, I was overwhelmed by many of the great tech tools and the examples that many school districts were able to share on how they are using technology to enhance and engage student learning. Yet there was one session that truly inspired me: Challenge Based Learning (CBL). Some of you may know this style of teaching and/or may be implementing it in your classroom. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, CBL is tying curriculum to relevant issues that students can connect with both socially and emotionally. It is bringing real-world problems into the classroom and spurring inquiry from the students on what to do about an issue and develop problem-solving skills. Some social issues include: poverty, AIDS, environmental issues, animal cruelty, etc.
It meets the Common Core standards in many ways, since it crosses curriculum, brings higher-level thinking and creativity, requires research, and more. The most exciting part to me is that it not only engages students, but it causes holistic learning through academia and social awareness, which connects students to think about the world around them and the difference they can make. This is beautiful! As teachers, we want to not only prepare students for their future careers, but to be participating citizens in an ever-changing and connected world.
Click here to check out the main site, where you can either find other teacher’s lessons or share your own.
Oh, and if you have CBL lessons or plan to in the future, we would love to hear about it, so please share them with us!
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