How did it happen for me? I have only been teaching for about eight years now but have been a learner for over thirty. Growing up in a traditional string of schools worked for me because I was a compliant student; I did what I was told (i.e., took notes during lectures, completed handouts for homework, and studied for hours before a test). Now, let’s be honest, how much of the content I learned back then do you think I really remember? Not much! So, when I started teaching, I chose to teach in an alternative school. I wanted to learn other ways of teaching and more engaging ways for students to learn. I can tell you that I had no clue what I was getting myself into. When I arrived at my new school, the teaching consisted of students learning online and teachers just helping when needed and grading the work. This was not at all what I expected. A year later, we threw out the online learning and turned to blended learning. This was a vast improvement, but somehow it still wasn’t enough for our diverse group of students. Fast-forward five years. Our principal addressed our staff at the beginning of a new school year and told us that he wanted us to start adding engaging projects to our curriculum. At first, we added them sporadically and just tried out some ideas. By the next year, we were asked to work in interdisciplinary teams to practice project-based learning (PBL) teaching methods. He gave us a couple of books to read and had someone from our district come in to provide us some background, a summary of the process, and ideas for how to implement PBL in our classrooms. Then, off we were, still not truly knowing what to do or how to properly do it. Basically, we were flying by the seat of our pants, but trying so hard to transform our teaching methods successfully and with gusto. We did a really good job, for the most part, and I saw a lot more smiles, laughs, and active learning from the students on our team, as well from us, their interdisciplinary team of teachers. So now here I am, after having a formal week long PBL training over the summer and jumping into my second year of PBL, with a better understanding of the process, dozens of ideas for projects, and more confidence in my use of this method. Here’s how I can help you. This curation consists of resources I feel are important and helpful for those in the field of education interested in learning more about PBL as a teaching method and those who are ready to get started but don’t know exactly where to start with planning projects. These resources explain what PBL is and why it is important for student learning, the essentials of PBL and the process, how to cover the common core standards through projects, and ideas for creating, managing, and assessing projects. Let’s get started! How do you know if you are doing a traditional project or actively creating engaging project-based learning experiences for your students? Projects and Project-Based Learning: What's The Difference? Some educators think they are doing project-based learning in their classrooms but really aren’t. This Edutopia video quickly describes the difference between traditional projects that occur at the end of a unit and PBL projects made up of everything in a unit that occur throughout an extended period of time. Included in a PBL are student choice, in depth inquiry, reflection, and an authentic audience. New ideas for teaching are brought to our attention all the time, so why is this one crossing oceans? The What, Why, and How of PBL? Buck Institute for Education’s (BIE) PBLWorks website provides a more in depth explanation of what PBL is and short videos showing the project process in classrooms. The site explains how PBL is different from traditional projects and why a PBL approach is beneficial to learners. This resource also shows over 60 different exemplary project ideas and provides a plethora of other resources that are useful to those new to this approach. “Now more than ever, we need young people who are ready, willing, and able to tackle the challenges of their lives and the world they will inherit…” What are the ingredients needed for PBL to work and provide an increased depth of learning? Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning No matter what organization or PBL educator you speak with regarding this approach, the core elements are nearly the same. Educational Leadership published this article discussing what they view as being the most essential elements within a project, from a meaningful purpose to student choice to a presentation. The article also provides examples of each essential element. I have heard many educators voice their concerns about state or national assessments and meeting content standards. Now we are talking about adding intense projects into the mix while teaching the standards and still ensuring students post these tests? You may be wondering how this is possible and looking for ideas. How Do You Teach to the Standards When Doing Project-Based Learning? In his blog, John Spencer discusses how teachers can create projects that allow students to master a variety of standards throughout the process. He summarizes projects he created and identifies several standards he was able to cover within these projects. In addition, he shows connections between multiple PBL approaches and the types of standards needed for each approach. The Role of PBL in Making the Shift to Common Core Sarah Hallerman presents five “big ideas” regarding requirements of Common Core State Standards and correlates these requirements with project-based learning goals and desires for facilitators and students. She helps educators to understand more clearly through examples how the two relate so well and provides us the information to reflect on how common core can be thoroughly implemented within the project process. “The bottom line for teachers who are wondering how to make the shift to Common Core? Think PBL!” What does the PBL process look like as part of the curriculum? Resources and Tools for PBL Start to Finish Edutopia published this story elevating a specific co-taught project taking place in a World Studies class in a school that is part of the New Tech Network (a nonprofit with similar goals of BIE and HQPBL). This story includes both the actual and sample documents used in the project, beginning to end, from project forms and rubrics, to student examples. This story also provides links to samples of projects, rubrics, and student examples in other content areas. 50 Smart Ideas for Project-based Learning TeachThought staff members created this post to provide 50 ideas educators can use for PBL. This is regularly updated to include better and newer projects ideas than previously listed. Also included in this post are links to additional posts related to PBL that may be helpful. “With PBL, there is no “either/or” proposition: anything from open-ended, play-based learning to data-driven, research-based instructional environments can all use PBL effectively.” Classroom management can be a challenge in any classroom, and adding project work, individualized or otherwise doesn’t get any easier. In fact, if projects aren’t managed strategically, the classroom environment can go awry rather quickly. 20 Tips for Managing Project-Based Learning Andrew Miller presents a variety of strategies in this Edutopia article that will help teachers manage these in depth projects more efficiently. A few of the strategies described are online tool options that will help with managing or assessing collaboration, various grouping techniques, suggestions for being a facilitator, and ways to help students feel empowered. However, there are several others, all of which can be very valuable. “There is no real silver bullet to get every single kid under the sun engaged in your classroom, but good teachers use all the strategies they can muster.” We know how to create summative assessments like tests and essays, but there are various ways to assess student learning throughout the project process as well. Assessing Student Project Work Melinda Kolk explores evaluation through “authentic assessments” that cover content knowledge as well as 21st century work readiness skills. She explains that various assessments can take place throughout the entire project process through tangible documents, verbal behavior, and non-verbal tasks. She also quickly discusses important aspects of rubric creation, why involving students is powerful, the need for reflection, and student self-assessment opportunities. “Designing learning environments that help students question, analyze, evaluate, and extrapolate their plans, conclusions, and ideas, leading them to higher–order thinking, requires feedback and evaluation that goes beyond a letter or number grade.”
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A professor of mine elevated this video for us about privacy and our kiddos, and that those who realize that our privacy on the internet is limited are going to extreme lengths to keep their personal lives private. I have been so concerned about teaching my students about the dangers of what they post online in relation to college and career readiness, that I didn't realize what many are already doing to stay private. I am not sure what to be more nervous about now: what they are posting online and how it can have detrimental consequences to their lives after high school or that they are posting online and we have no clue what their words really mean because they have become so savvy at developing codes. I will obviously continue to teach what I do regarding this subject matter, but should we also have a new focus? Thoughts?
So, here I sit, trying to find my people, hoping that I can find a commonality with others to build a community in this social media infused world of ours. Do I think finding my tribe is important? Absolutely. Why? Because it is important for us to be able to learn from one another, spark each other's minds, work through challenges, and be able to grow. So how do I do it? How do I find my tribe? Jeff Goins blogs about Three Important Steps to Building a Killer Tribe. He states the following as these necessary steps,
Step 1: Be as personal as you can be Step 2: Stay relevant to your audience Step 3: Create mouth-watering anticipation I feel like I do all of these things. I am a real, down-to-earth person; I am accessible; and I am not afraid to tell people about my challenges or talk about mistakes I have made. I am talking directly to my audience about something specific, "Teaching What Matters" in the realm of high school education. I am blogging regularly to stay in the game, and I have created my network learning space to attract those who are interested in learning and building on a teaching and learning strategy that is new to many of us, interdisciplinary projects. Now what? I still don't have my people. I feel like my challenge is that I don't know how to get my name out there. I also feel like the only way to really do this is to network in person. Is that the key or is there something else I can do to get my tribe to notice me and build with me? We have great strides to make in the world of education. We need to make learning more relevant and help our students develop work-readiness skills like communication, collaboration, critical thinking, agility, etc. We can do this through project-based learning, problem-based learning, and interdisciplinary projects. Join me in my Google Community: Interdisciplinary Projects in High School. As I finish out the term, with only four days left, I am finding myself very overwhelmed with grading since my students love to procrastinate and hand tons in at the last minute. I don't know if this is just an alternative high school thing or if it is elsewhere too. Regardless, I started thinking about all of the great discussions my students and I have had, as well just my students with each other. I used to have them write paragraph after paragraph, and analyze poems by themselves, but so many things have changed in my classroom to make it more interactive and engaging. This has also allowed me to use different forms of assessments that don't require as many of the traditional assignments to be graded, such as the ones mentioned in the Tweet above. Phew...
What creative assessment strategies are you using these days that allow you to get a quick check on where your students are? The Tweeted question above spiked my interest because this is actually what I am thinking about right now. I just ordered some new tables and chairs, but they are high-tops with bar stools. I went from rows when I was in school 15 years ago; to computers at tables around the room in my first classroom; to computer tables, a whole class discussion circular table space, and a set of connected rectangular tables for art project space; and now I am adding the high-top space. We will see what happens and how I change my room once the high-tops come. How have you altered your classroom space to make it more efficient for communication, collaboration, innovation, etc.?
ASCD's Steven Weber provides a list of 5 Ways to Transform Learning Space in his Learning Space Matters post. Anne Taylor provides examples for How Schools Are Redesigning Their Space in her article in Educational Leadership. As I wrapped up term 3 this week with our students, who are all very new to this PBL approach to learning, a concern of mine that has been bubbling up over the past few years has officially erupted. One of the main reasons we, at our alternative school, decided to take on a PBL approach to teaching and learning was because we believe it teaches necessary work-readiness skills, but also because we know the traditional approach encountered at their previous school wasn't working for our kiddos: some have attendance issues, some don't turn in homework even though they do it at night, some simply don't do homework at all, and several mental health factors and challenging situations outside of school are encountered. However, one essential component to being successful in classes and not feeling all of the stress and anxiety that comes at the end of every term is time management and categorizing school projects as one of the top priorities. Instead, and even more so now that we are doing PBL, procrastination is the ultimate downfall of a student's success in classes. The passing rate this term is lower than ever because students are doing even bigger and better projects but waiting until the last minute to finish them up. It doesn't matter how much we warn them, prompt them, or redirect them, they still just always feel like they have more time than they really do; and the stress and anxiety levels rise throughout the building as soon as the last week of the term hits because projects may not be finished on time. The students and teachers alike turn in to different beings: limited smiling, increased outbursts, chaos, etc. If there was a magic wand to get our kiddos to stop procrastinating, I would use it in a heart beat.
Do any of you have any advice when it comes to student procrastination? As education continues to evolve and best practices, methods, and environments develop, there is a need for a space to obtain guidance, ideas, problems solving, exemplars, etc. Interdisciplinary, as known as cross-curricular, projects aren’t necessarily new to education; but often times these types of projects have been elementary school focused because the teachers are experts in multiple subject areas. In high school, interdisciplinary projects are more challenging, as subject areas and teachers are more divided. One teacher can connect the humanities in projects, and another teacher may include STEM in projects; but very rarely have we seen teachers as experts in individual subject areas joining together to have students create projects that connect three or four subject areas; for example, marketing, English, environmental science, and math. Many schools are transitioning from blended learning to more of a project/problem-based learning focus. Within the next 5 years, I see high schools transitioning even further into interdisciplinary PBL as I just described.
Let's learn from one another, work with each other, and build off the experiences and expertise to develop new designs and projects for this strategy of teaching. I ask you to join me on this adventure to help each other learn, grow, and succeed with our students. The following two quotes are on the 12th grade Common Core Colorado Academic Standards document for Reading, Writing, and Communicating:
I have spoken with several English teachers in the past who are adamant about having their students read several novels throughout the year and write essays regularly. Is this a must? This is a great way to assess and develop writing skills, critical thinking skills, etc., but is this really engaging and relevant for our students. I used to be that traditional English teacher who was very adamant about writing essays and reading novels. These days, with my alternative school students, my methods are different. In my classes, students write one essay a term that they improve on throughout that term; and they read one novel of their choosing. Don't get me wrong, my students still read and write every day, but I try to find other forms of assessment to strengthen their skills, that they can then apply to their writing and elsewhere, that is more engaging, relevant, and often times even more rigorous. In my critical theory class, for example, we tend to do more analysis through poetry, song lyrics, television shows, movies, and other forms of media. I find that the students are far more engaged by the discussions we have surrounding these texts/media as opposed to novels and such; often times disappointing my students because I have to cut the discussions off in order to move on and complete other tasks in time. We dig deep into what we are analyzing, elevating critical thinking and reasoning, discussing various perspectives, comparing and contrasting, and reflecting on our thinking and others' thinking regularly. A lot of what my students do for assessment purposes, rather than essays, are individual, partner, or group projects, enhancing valuable communication and collaboration skills. Currently, I have some students creating murals to elevate social issues that exist in our society from their perspectives as well as others, striving to inspire change. I have other students doing the same thing through the creation of escape rooms, board games, video games, children's books, clothing designs, etc. Their critical thinking, arguing and reasoning, information gathering, and writing and reading techniques all still apply. Let's be honest, how many people have to write essays after they graduate from high school or college? We definitely still have to teach students all the skills of writing, as well as different applications, but do we have to constantly require essays as assessments to develop these skills? Some might still strongly believe this is necessary, and I respect that; but there truly are so many more options to teach the same concepts that might actually reach more students and enhance more of those essential reading, writing, speaking, listening, and work readiness skills. I would love to hear your thoughts and more ideas that I might be able to use in my classroom. I decided to check out Padlet this week. I heard about it from a peer, and I'm really thrilled about this tool and using it with my students. This app is great for collaborating and presenting work. Padlet users are able to "Make beautiful boards, documents, and web pages that are easy to read and fun to contribute to." Some of the features are that Padlet is "easy and intuitive," allowing for a novice tech. skilled person to participate; "universal and inclusive," allowing anyone to collaborate from anywhere; "perfecting the art of collaboration," allowing users to invite others to contribute and/or modify templates for their own use; supporting several diverse file types; "private and secure," and so much more.
I feel like Padlet is a more creative and interactive way for students to collaborate with their peers and share what they are doing throughout their projects each term. There is so much going on in our building lately with PBL that even we, as teachers/colleagues, don't get to have fun checking out other classes. Padlet would be great for us to share the experiences we are having with our students and other staff. Geez, I am getting excited just thinking about it. I realize most of our kiddos are already social butterflies and all over their phones, but this space seems so much more productive, creative, and valuable. I was browsing through templates and found all sorts of ideas: creating a scavenger hunt around our school or having a field trip photo contest in order to build more of a community feel, a podcast or poetry space for my English kiddos, a favorite recipe space for my cooking class, and the list goes on. How neat! What other apps have you found valuable for your students in the classroom? I love finding out creative ways for my high school kiddos to use technology in a more productive manner and for me to entice students in my classes. |
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Angelina Valvona-Herndon: a high school teacher, blessed to work with at-risk students striving to succeed in academia and the real world. Archives
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