Pogil - Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning

    • HSPI Activity
    • HSPI Activity

Stage 3 - The Reflective POGIL Practitioner

Ongoing items to consider to enhance your use of POGIL in your classroom

Extending Activities, Evaluation and Assessment

  • Direct kids to websites or simulations that are listed in the teacher resources at the end of the activity.
  • Give a short quiz at the end of an activity.
  • Refer back to POGIL activity on other days - encourages students to look back at the key questions or important points.
  • Use the extension questions on HSPI activities as homework.
  • Have students write 1-2 sentence summary of the activity for homework.  Use this as the opener for the next day.
  • Have students write a reflection the next day after POGIL activity.
  • Try to get the book Classroom Assessment Techniques and use some of these activities as formative assessments.
  • Use graphic organizers, such as these shared on West Virginia's Department of Education  website to help students reflect on content learned.
  • Use a debrief the next day as a formative assessment - this will help you determine your effectiveness.
  • Ask students to write in their own words how they would solve a problem, breaking down their process into specific steps.
  • Model and teach metacognition - encourage students to think about thinking.
  • Vary your assessment tools throughout the year.
  • Make sure your students know what process skills you are assessing before you begin an activity.
  • Create a structure for students to assess their own process skills.
  • To reinforce and emphasize the value of improving process skills, have students write a reflection about their experiences during a POGIL activity.
  • Ask students to give evidence that their ability to communicate, problem solve, think critically, listen effectively, etc, has improved across the course.
  • Keep copies of student work as much as possible - this lets you see patterns across classes and years.
  • Track student outcomes on state tests, AP tests, SAT II tests after using POGIL in your classroom.
  • Help students see the connections between the skills they are developing through POGIL activities:  to other academic courses, to "high stakes" tests (ACT, SAT, state exams), time management, balancing responsibilities, to 21st Century/school to work/career ready skills.

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Writing and Refining Activities

  • Label activity questions as E-I-A, to help you see the Learning Cycle.
  • Use sticky notes to document areas for improvement on an activity while you facilitate or immediately after doing the activity.  Be sure to note the class day of the week, which period, and the class level.
  • Keep notes on misconceptions that are uncovered during an activity.
  • If you had to redirect most groups at a specific question, that question needs to be re-written.  Maybe the question required too great of a conceptual leap.
  • Writing a successful POGIL activity takes practice and all activities benefit from revisions based upon lessons/feedback learned by using the activity with actual students.
  • Use student input to improve future facilitation or refinement of an activity.
  • Have students evaluate your re-writes immediately (as soon as possible) so you can get a student perspective whether the change was an improvement.
  • Try to make changes within 24 hours of using the activity and then change the name of the file to reflect the most up-to-date version so you can be sure to use that version next year.
  • Collaborate with other teachers using POGIL for input and ideas.
  • Work with colleagues to edit/review each other’s activities.
  • Edit activities in small bits; don’t try to do a complete re-write unless such a drastic step is needed.
  • Set aside a specific time and dedicated location for your writing / re-writing of an activity.
  • Don’t feel obligated to write your own POGIL activities.  Seek out available activities with which to start and then possibly in the future you will want to write your own.  But….
  • Learning how to write activities can be a highly instructive process for those interested in furthering their POGIL skills.  Attend an advanced workshop to learn more.

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Support and Networking

  • Observe an experienced POGIL teacher facilitating in a classroom with similar demographics.
  • Observing someone else makes trying a new skill yourself less intimidating.
  • Don’t try to do this by yourself - working with colleagues is important to creating successful POGIL classrooms.
  • Contact The POGIL Project office or HSPI participants to connect with other local teachers using the technique.
  • Buddy up with another teacher in your school who is willing to use POGIL.
  • Be willing to share with teachers in other disciplines - they can learn how to create POGIL activities or use POGIL methods with their own materials.
  • On-going training is important - you need more than a 1 day workshop to introduce POGIL and learn to facilitate.
  • Send your administrator or invite them to go with you to a POGIL workshop.
  • Look for multi-year funding for training.
  • Attend POGIL Regional Meetings.
  • Network and e-mail workshop participants and facilitators.
  • Use technology tools available to further your training.
  • Skype or try another online meeting system to connect with other POGIL practitioners.
  • Read blogs, etc.
  • Watch the HSPI webinars.
  • With continued training, you will see your facilitation skills improve and your students’ ability to “do” POGIL successfully will grow.
  • A writing partner can also be an implementation partner.   Support each other in your classroom practice as well as  written activity development.
  • Seek out other POGIL practitioners and meet regularly to share struggles and successes.
  • Consider requesting a visit from a POGIL representative to observe in your classroom and answer questions about your specific situation.
  • Be open to observations from outside and sit in on classes when others are using POGIL, whether or not the class is in your content.  Good facilitation is not discipline specific.
  • Invite teachers that don’t use POGIL into your classroom to give you feedback. 
  • Patience is essential!
  • You must believe in POGIL for it to be effective - don’t be afraid to let students discover their own knowledge.
  • Don’t give up!  This is not easy to master, but well worth the effort.

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Reflecting / SII

  • Assess on a Strength - Improvement - Insight (SII) form.
  • Don’t be too hard on yourself.  Just like your students, you will learn from mistakes.  Being wrong is a step on the path towards being right.
  • Keep a POGIL journal.  Notes should include the activity, when you used it, and suggestions for changes.
  • Reflection is best done immediately.
  • Videotape your class and then assess what went well and what didn’t.
  • Create a tool for students to give helpful feedback to you on specific facilitation skills.
  • After students have done several POGIL activities, get feedback by having a group interview of students, done by an outside colleague who will summarize results to keep the students comments anonymous.
  • Use an anonymous directed questionnaire.
  • Have your students occasionally use an SII to give input on the activity, the group’s functioning and the teacher’s facilitation.

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