Shanna had so much fun sitting down with our previous guests, Chris Ellingsen, Joey Philipp, and Colin Plach, for joining us to talk about PBL.
After listening to it, I remarked that she really didn’t have to do much work in that interview: those three really had a lot to say and had so much knowledge between the three of them.
On our latest episode, we wanted to speak to all of you who are definitely on board with Chris, Joey, and Colin. So here are Seven Steps to Incorporating Project Based Learning in your Curriculum.
Step One: Establish Your Purpose
This is where we always start: what are the skills, standards, and transfer goals you have for your students. These should always come first. If you can’t clearly articulate these, chances are that students won’t be able to either.
Step Two: Develop The Problem or Question
What will students do with the knowledge and skills they’ve gained? What big question or problem will frame the unit?
Remember the REAL, people:
R: Your problem should articulate a problem that actually exists in the world or in your community. Ideally, it would be meaningful to students’ lives.
E: The problem should be engaging, as it will, at times, sustain an entire unit’s inquiry.
A: When thinking about authenticity, remember how important audience is. Who is the target audience? How will students be able to share their work with this audience?
Step Three: Find Your Team
Who can help you develop your idea both within and outside of your department? This is the perfect moment to bring in cross-curricular skills and content.
Step Four: Work Out Logistics (…but be flexible)
PBL can be scary, so the more you can set up on the logistical side of things — timing, tech resources, research, space usage, Schoology folders — the less scary it will become.
Remember, though, calendars are nice, but so is building in time to listen to students, figuring out what they need, and adjusting our plans to meet the real-time needs of our unique students.
Step Five: Be the Facilitator
This is not the place to be constantly driving the car — hand over the keys! Remember that PBL emphasizes the constructivist nature of learning, so our role is to facilitate and support students as they learn and create.
Step Six: Celebrate the Process and the Products
It’s not just about the final product, but also about the process along the way. Remember that you can build in ways to assess the process– perhaps through the 4 Cs rubrics — as these skills like communication and critical thinking are so necessary in every student’s post-secondary path.
Step Seven: Reflect
PBL is a time for reflection — so build that time in. Both you and students should have time during and after the unit to figure out what worked, could could be slightly adjusted, and what didn’t work at all.
And then, we start the process all over again 🙂
Join us for our next set of episodes that drop February 3 where we’ll begin by discussing how to start developing Twitter PLCs.
In the meantime, what will YOU do to #trysomething?
