5 #HackingPBL Questions From YOU!
Hacking Project Based Learning is 1 month old! This past month has been a whirlwind, and Ross and I love the readers who have reached out to us to share their Hacking PBL journey. This weekend we attended EduCon 2.9 at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (more on that in a later post) and had more opportunities to connect with readers and educators exploring PBL. During our interactions at the conference and other correspondence through social networks, we have been asked some excellent follow-up questions. So, to celebrate Hacking PBL’s one month birthday, I wanted to share some of the questions and my corresponding responses with you!
- “How do I know if my classroom is ready for PBL?”
In a recent blog, I shared a series of reflection questions you could use to assess your classroom culture’s readiness for a PBL experience. However, some teachers prefer to test the waters prior to planning for and attempting to implement a PBL unit. If this feels like a necessary step for you, try out a quick challenge in your classroom. Some of my personal favorites are balloon-powered cars, catapults, and parachutes. Provide your students a variety of materials, state the challenge, and then let the students work. For example, during the balloon powered car challenge, students are provided balloons, straws, cardboard, push-pop sticks, popsicle sticks, Lego parts, tape, and various other materials found around the classroom. Ask the students to construct a moving vehicle powered only by a balloon. Allow students to work with their small group to build the car. Move around the room and provide students feedback as necessary. Remember not every car needs to look or function the same way. This experience is an opportunity for reflection, prior to jumping into PBL.
- “What do I do with the ‘won’t doers’ (the kids who won’t participate)?”
We know that students are much more likely to show up for class and engage if the work is relevant. By nature, a well designed PBL unit should grab the attention of many reluctant students. That being said, there are still some ideas you can implement to help students who may drift from the task.
- Conference regularly with students. Having the opportunity to talk about their work helps students maintain their interest.
Be sure your directions are clear and posted in your space (and online) to eliminate off task behavior caused by confusion or waiting for the teacher to answer a procedural question. (You can learn more about PBL directions in this free e-book).- Empower student leaders to help ensure every student has something to contribute to their group.
- “How do you make PBL happen in kindergarten or first grade?”
In the early primary grades, a good deal of the PBL work is heavily facilitated by the teacher through modeling and think alouds. In a setup similar to our class meeting, we would discuss the challenge or problem and then work to brainstorm. The teacher serves as the scribe and uses a large piece of butcher paper or chart paper to collect the student ideas. If you have several strong writers, this could be done in small groups with one child is the scribe. I recommend keeping large group experiences limited to 10 to 15 minute chunks followed up with an opportunity for students to get hands-on with some part of the PBL process. During guided reading or center time, we would focus on research-based reading to provide students additional information about the topic or problem the class was investigating. Center time also provides opportunities for students to engage in small group or independent work related to the project: designing posters, writing letters/thank you notes, practicing speaking/scripts. When writing becomes a barrier, integrate technology such as Google Doc’s speech to text tool.
- “Does PBL work with standards-based grading?”
Yes! Standards-based grading (SBG) and PBL compliment each other beautifully. SBG, by design, declutters the process of grading and allows teachers and students to focus on skills and concepts. Instead of, “I need to teach chapter four through six,” the emphasis can be, “Students should understand the Pythagorean theorem, what are some creative ways they can experience that?” Our Progress Assessment Tool (described in Hack 6 – Hacking Project Based Learning), shifts the assessment process from teacher to student as they reflect on their progress toward each learning objective/standard for the PBL unit.
- “Why did you use project based learning rather than problem or product based learning?”
Each of these terms is similar in the intended approach: students learn through doing rather than a sit and get, teacher-centered model. So, to some extent, they are interchangeable. While many project based learning experiences involve students identifying and solving a problem, it is not always necessary. Similarly, most project based learning units culminate with a final product, but the product itself is not always necessary, either. In industry, the term project refers to work completed over an extended period of time and we feel that term is the best fit for this student-centered enterprise.
Ross and I feel PBL is an important step toward individualizing our classroom experiences and want to keep this #HackingPBL conversation growing. We would love for you to share your questions and ideas with us!
