Laura Green and Kristen Smith - CISD...Student teams work through a planning process to design a...

2015 Annual TAGT Conference

Laura Green and Kristen Smith

Adapted from Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous

Classroom Instruction, by John Larmer, John Mergendoller, Suzie Boss (ASCD 2015).

Standard

If done well, PBL yields great results. But if PBL is not done well, two

problems are likely to arise.

1. Assignments and activities are labeled as “projects” but are not

rigorous PBL, and student learning suffers.

2. Projects will backfire on underprepared teachers and result in

wasted time, frustration, and failure to understand the possibilities of

PBL.



Standard

Our conception of Gold Standard PBL has

three parts:

1) Student Learning Goals

(in the center of the diagram)

2) Essential Project Design Elements

(in red sections of the diagram)

3) Project Based Teaching Practices

(discuss later in presentation)Adapted from Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous


Like the lens of a camera, our diagram puts the focus of PBL on preparing students for

successful school and life experiences.

Key Knowledge and Understanding

Content standards, concepts, and in-depth understandings are fundamental to

school subject areas and academic disciplines..

Key “Success Skills”

In school and college, in the modern workplace, as citizens and in their lives

generally,

1. people need to be able to think critically and solve problems,

2. work well with others, and

3. manage themselves effectively.

Student

Learning

Goals



So what goes into a successful project? All educators want to maximize student learning and engagement and these Essential Project Design Elements are necessary for a successful project.

Challenging Problem or Question

Sustained Inquiry

Authenticity

Student Voice and Choice

Reflection

Critique and Revision

Public Product

Design Elements



1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th

Express Yourself ExtremeWeather

Geometry Playground

We Are Texans Sticky Business

Save theAnimals in your

Backyard

Medieval Time Travel Lunar Mission

Invention Convention

Tomorrowland:Resource Revolution



The heart of a project –

What it is “about,” if one were to sum it up – is a problem to investigate and solve, or a

question to explore and answer.

It could be concrete.

An engaging problem or question makes learning more meaningful

The problem or question should challenge students without being intimidating.

Ex-“How can we improve our school’s recycling system, so we can reduce waste?”,

“Should the U.S. have fought the Vietnam War?”

?



1st- How would you express your feelings and create works of art to display in the Art Show? Does art have feelings? Can anyone be an artist?

3rd- How can we utilize Geometry to design a park in Corsicana that turns playing into learning?

5th - How can I create a business with a duct tape product that I can produce and sell on a website to generate a profit?



Generate “Need to Know” and “Want to know” topic/question list.

Brainstorming Topics, Ideas, and Details

Pre-assessment

Fluency of Ideas

Essential Questions



To inquire is to seek information or to investigate – it’s a more active, in-depth process than

just “looking something up” in a book or online.

In PBL, inquiry is a cycle of learning. When confronted with a challenging problem or question,

students ask questions

find resources to help answer them

then ask deeper questions

process repeats until a satisfactory solution or answer is developed.

Incorporate more “real world” information sources-- field-based interviews with experts, service

providers and users.Adapted from Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous


Note-taking Experiences Experiments

Field Trips Experts Scavenger Hunts

Role Play Design Workshop Revisit Driving

Question

Younger-Teacher guided

Older-Teacher is a facilitator/monitor

*Of course, it depends on the group of children.Adapted from Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous


The Independent Investigation Method (IIM)

for Research Mastery

Seven successive steps that culminate in a completed research project.

Repeatable and applicable across a school’s full range of subjects.

1. Topic

2. Goal Setting

3. Research

4. Organizing

5. Goal Evaluation

6. Product

7. Presentation



Real or Genuine…Not Fake…“Real-World”…Mean Something

1. Authentic Context - Solve problems faced by people in the world outside of school.

2. Use Real-World processes, Tasks and Tools, and Performance Standards.

3. Make Real Impact on Others –

Address a need in their school or community

Create something that will be used or experienced by others.

4. It can have personal authenticity when it speaks to students’ own concerns,

interests, cultures, identities, and issues in their lives.Adapted from Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous


1st – Comparing ourselves as

artists to famous artists from

the past. Talking about how

art expresses our feelings.



3rd – We are building a park for our

community and are visiting and

researching different parks in town.

In the end will write a proposal to

the Corsicana City explain how their

Geometry Park uses geometry and

meets the need of our community.



5th – With the students creating

their own businesses most of this

project is authentic. They create

their products and then actually

get to sell them to one another.



Having a say in a project creates a

sense of ownership; Students care

more about the project and work

harder.

If they can’t use their judgment when

solving a problem and answering a

driving question, the project just feels

like doing an exercise or following a

set of directions.

Voice and Choice Choices:

questions they generate

resources they will use to find

answers to their questions

tasks and roles they will take on as

team members

products they will create

How to present learning

And/or do it all, even selecting the

topic or type of project.Adapted from Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous


1st –

Choices are focused more on products: colors, shapes, textures, etc.

When taking notes, ideas are put in their own words.

For presentation (art show), students notes are used to write speeches. Students got to pick topics on which to speak.



3rd –

Through geometric learning experiences, students have choices and utilize geometric properties in creating experiential activities.

Student teams work through a planning process to design a park based on criteria to be incorporated in a blueprint and eventually into a 3D model.



5th –

LOTS of Choices!! They choose their job, product, company name, target demographic, advertisement technique, budget, and even the specific designs of the duct tape.

Students create a website designed to their product with criteria of a basic website. (Using Weebly)

Voice and Choice throughout the project.



Reflection on the content knowledge and understanding

solidify what they have learned and how it might apply beyond the project.

Reflection on success skill development

internalize what the skills mean and set goals for further growth.

Reflection on the project itself – how it was designed and implemented

helps students decide how they might approach their next project, and helps teachers

improve the quality of their PBL practice.

“We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.”



Reflection can occur as part of :

Informal classroom culture and dialogue

Project journals

Tiger Team Log

Project Checkpoint Reflections

Teacher/Student Mini Conferences

Revisit Driving Question

Peer Critique

Austin’s Butterfly (youtube.com)



High quality student work is a hallmark of Gold Standard PBL through thoughtful critique and revision.

Students should be taught how to give and receive constructive peer feedback that will improve project processes and products, guided by rubrics, models, and formal feedback/critique protocols.

Peers

Teachers

Outside adults

Experts

This form of “formative evaluation,” gives feedback and allows students a means to evaluate the results of their learning.



Gallery Walk- fluency of ideas and opportunities to compliment others work.

Informal classroom culture and dialogue

Project journals

Tiger Team Log

Project Checkpoint Reflections

Teacher/Student Mini Conferences


Peer Critiques

Checklists and Rubrics

Project Reflections


Of course, us, the teachers, have to do our own critique and revising. What worked, what didn’t work, and how can I make it better? No project is exactly the same every year. Do we keep doing this project?



Reasons for creating a public product in Gold Standard PBL – and note that a “product” can be a tangible thing, or it can be a presentation of a solution to a problem or answer to a driving question.

1. First, like authenticity, a public product adds greatly to PBL’s motivating power and encourages high-quality work.

2. Second, by creating a product, students make what they have learned tangible and thus, when shared publicly, discussible.

3. Finally, making student work public is an effective way to communicate with parents, community members, and the wider world about what PBL is and what it does for students. When a classroom, school, or district opens itself up to public scrutiny, the message is, “Here’s what our students can do – we’re about more than test scores.”



1st – Present an art show to a community of

parents, teachers, fellow students, and

community members showcasing their art

work they have created throughout the

semester based on artistic expression,

elements of art, and research of famous

artist.



3rd – Students are given a challenge to create a park that incorporate geometry, turns playing into learning, and meets the needs of the community. They are given a challenge to turn their design plan into a blueprint, and finally into a 3D model. Then students then write a proposal to the Corsicana Planning and Zoning Committee and present it to a community of parents, teachers, fellow students, and community members.



5th – Students present their

business model and duct tape

product through a website they

created used Weebly to a

community of parents, teachers,

fellow students, and community

members.



Teachers who make Project Based Learning a regular part of their teaching enjoy their new role, although for some it might take time to adjust from traditional practice.

fun to get creative when designing a project, instead of using “off the shelf” curriculum materials.

like working collaboratively with their colleagues when planning and implementing projects, and interacting with other adults from the community or the wider world.

find it rewarding to work closely alongside students, tackling a real-world challenge or exploring a meaningful question.

one of the biggest hurdles for many teachers is the need to give up some degree of control over the classroom, and trust in their students.

doesn’t mean that teachers don’t “teach” in a PBL classroom. Many traditional practices remain, but are reframed in the context of a project.



Design and Plan

Align to Standards

Build the Culture

Manage Activities

Scaffold Student Activities

Assess Student Learning

Engage and Coach



Edutopia – project based learning: http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning

Buck Institute for Education: http://bie.org/

Texas Performance Standards Project: http://www.texaspsp.org/

Independent Investigation Method: http://iimresearch.com/

http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning

http://bie.org/

http://www.texaspsp.org/

http://iimresearch.com/

Laura Green [email protected]

Kristen Smith [email protected]

Our CISD GT Website: http://www.cisd.org/Domain/162

http://www.cisd.org/Domain/162

Laura Green and Kristen Smith - CISD...Student teams work through a planning process to design a...

Documents

Transcript of Laura Green and Kristen Smith - CISD...Student teams work through a planning process to design a...