FAQ

1. We have found it helpful to come with a group of colleagues from your school. We work hard to develop a supportive and collaborative community at the Residency, and sharing this experience with your colleagues provides an opportunity for it to continue into the school year.
2. Share living space during the residency. Stay on campus! Debrief and discussion at the end of each day has really helped our past participants take their projects to the next level.
3. Bring curriculum you’d like to focus on. Not a unit! Deeper learning works best from a “blank” canvas. If you want to make a significant change in your teaching practices give yourself the freedom to do so.

While specific workshop titles and topics are specific to each track of the Residency, you can expect to experience a mixture of professional training, individual work time, large and small group protocols, as well as social times to meet others and share ideas and thoughts.  Typically we start with breakfast at 8:30 and work until 4 or 4:30 most days, except Friday where we conclude with lunch. 

The registration deadline for the 2024 Residency is June 30, 2024. Please send any requests for changes or cancellations to residency@scsbc.ca. Full refunds (less a $50 administration fee) are available prior to June 30, 2024. Any refund requests after the registration deadline will result in a 50% refund (less a $50 registration fee) because after this date staff and logistics have been confirmed for the event.

Here is how a few past participants answered this question:

“While I had been introduced to PBL prior to doing the residency, I found the residency extremely helpful for a number of reasons. Here are five:

1. 1. 1. Collaboration time with other teachers was really helpful. There were so many good ideas being shared in our groups.

      2. It was a week of time where I could really focus on developing one good project. During a regular school year, there isn’t time to really work through all of the details of a project. The residency gave me some focused time to develop a project, and work on the details of it with a group of “experts” on creating projects

      3. No project is perfect, so why not spend some time making an existing project better?

      4. I knew about all of the elements that should go into project design, but found that including all of them was often difficult. The PBL track of the  Residency helped me to figure out better ways to include all of the elements of an effective PBL project. For example, protocols with students. I tried them before with limited success. Now I’m a little better at helping my students run through a tuning protocol. Also, I learned that there are many ways to run a tuning protocol and many different ways to get students to provide feedback to one another that is helpful and valuable and specific and kind.

      5. I learned how to develop an atmosphere in my classroom where it’s OK (even encouraged) to try something and fail, rather than to not participate.

These are my top 5 reasons for why attending PBL Residency is useful, even if you’re already familiar with the PBL approach.”

This is a casual week, so shorts, golf shirts, t-shirts etc.  Dress comfortable and in layers as we will be in air conditioning, but it will likely be warm outside.  Be sure to have closed-toe good walking shoes for our fieldtrip day.  

1. On location! We strongly recommend staying on campus as you will meet other educators and enhance your learning over dinners, campfires, and walks around the beautiful grounds.

We will provide you with breakfast and lunch each day, as well as a dinner out early in the week to get to know everyone.  This is a great time to connect with others from outside your school and chosen course. For those who opt to stay on campus, all dinners will also be provided up to Thursday evening.