How to Create a Project Based Learning Lesson (*)

If you would have asked me a decade ago if I thought Project Based Learning would ever expand beyond a small pocket of innovative schools I would have said “I doubt it”; I could never have imagined that it would be such a widely-used buzzword in 2020. To my pleasant surprise it has expanded to mainstream vernacular and is continuing to sweep across schools in our country.

And yet, despite all the buzz surrounding it, there still is a pretty wide range of understanding as to what high quality PBL is, and more importantly, how to plan for and facilitate it. To many, PBL is met with uncertainty and apprehension; while terms used to describe PBL, like organized chaos, productive noise, and student-driven sound appealing to some, for the majority it creates a lot of unnecessary ambiguity.

To most teachers’ surprise, I like to think about PBL as a structure, almost a formula that can both uphold academic rigor and also engage students. To show you what that structure looks like in action, I’ll walk you through how I plan a PBL lesson step by step.

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING: A WORKING DEFINITION

Before we jump into how to approach planning a project, it’s important that we are operating from the same definition of PBL, because there are many! After years of working in the leading organizations of the PBL movement I came to arrive on the following as my non-negotiables for a project to reflect high quality PBL:

It is grounded in standards.

It incorporates best practices of assessment for learning.

It’s authentic to the given community.

It explicitly scaffolds and assesses 21st century skills.

So what does it look like to put these non-negotiables into practice and plan a project? I will walk you through the process I have come to embrace and share with teachers who cross my path, either through our time together in the trenches during project coaching, or when they pick up my book, Keep it Real with PBL (for elementary and secondary). The specific project I highlight here, Silent Voices, is a collaborative effort between myself and the 5th grade team at Lake Elementary in Vista, CA.

THE “SILENT VOICES” PROJECT

The 5th grade team at Lake Elementary is comprised of four teachers. The team wanted to tackle a content area they knew they needed to go “deeper” with to better engage their students: The American Revolution. We knew this topic was difficult to make interesting for students, but we believed that through PBL we could successfully provide them with a rigorous, authentic and meaningful learning experience.

STEP 1: BRAINSTORM AUTHENTIC PROJECT IDEAS

I often hear from teachers that getting started with a project idea is the hardest part, but for me it’s the most exciting part! I encourage teachers to identify a Driving Standard (these typically come from science or social studies because they both provide a nice context, which math or ELA can easily support). From there, think about a current issue that brings the standards to life.

Knowing they wanted to teach about the American Revolution, the teachers pulled the California social studies standards they were responsible for covering; specifically, 5.5: “Students explain the causes of the American Revolution” and 5.6: “Students understand the course and consequences of the American Revolution.”

We sat around a whiteboard and threw up a bunch of ideas that could possibly make students interested in an event from over 200 years ago. We landed on the concept of connecting hidden voices (an issue that would feel relevant to them as 10 year olds) and empathy-building (a character trait from school also familiar to them) to the historic event. We also landed on supporting standards of Common Core ELA for narrative writing, compare and contrast, and research; but more on that later!

STEP 2: PLAN WITH THE END IN MIND

My approach to project planning is very much rooted in Understanding by Design (UBD), so once I have identified the standards and an authentic issue, I then jump to the final product. There are so many ways students can show what they have learned—from public service announcements, to podcasts or documentaries, to art installations and simulations or performances. Whatever is decided upon, all the project planning from this point on is in service of preparing students to ultimately produce that final product.

As we continued planning this project, the teachers at Lake realized that there was SO much they could do with this concept of elevating silenced voices and building empathy awareness, that we actually had to scale back our final product ideas! Together we landed on having students create two final products:

1) 2-voice poetry, which is a style of narrative poetry that showcases the similarities and differences between two unique perspectives, or voices. Students would write and create an audio recording of the reading of their written poetry to share via listening stations at Open House Exhibition. This final product would showcase important ELA skills such as speaking and listening standards, the use of technology and writing production, and narrative writing techniques.

 2) Student art: Students would represent their understanding of a “hidden voice” or silenced perspective in a contemporary issue using symbolism and a specific art style (photography, digital art, painting, or pop art). Students would also write a detailed artist statement for submission of their work to the San Diego County Fair. In this artist statement students would explain the historical and contemporary inspiration for their work, style choices, and influences; thus bringing together the social studies standards and ELA research standards (and possibly even art standards if the art teacher chose to collaborate!), using topics of student interest as the context of the product.

STEP 3: BENCHMARK YOUR PROJECT

This is arguably the most important step because it ensures that best practices of scaffolding and formative assessment are embedded in the project. Benchmarking is simply taking your end products and breaking them down into manageable phases, or milestones. Within each of these benchmarks the teacher identifies the content and skills necessary to complete the given phase of the project. Tied to each benchmark is a concrete deliverable that students turn in to be formatively assessed. While daily checks for understanding are still happening and smaller assignments may be collected for credit, project benchmark deliverables are formatively assessed using a project rubric (more on that next!) and recorded in the grade book.

For the Silent Voices project, we identified the following benchmarks and deliverables:

In Benchmark #1 students learned about the “big picture” historical context of the American Revolution—the causes of the revolution and the early events and individuals—through textbook readings, PowerPoint lectures, videos and other short readings. The focus of these individuals and events was from a Eurocentric perspective—typical of what we would find in most textbooks. Students also began novels that represented voices of those we don’t typically hear in our textbooks: enslaved people, children, women, etc. To show that students had mastered the necessary content from this benchmark they completed a traditional history quiz. Sometimes it’s okay to include traditional assessment methods as benchmark deliverables—you don’t have to throw the baby out with the bathwater in PBL, and in these circumstances a rubric isn’t necessary for grading since the feedback and the depth of learning are limited.

Benchmark #2 focused on the experiences of the “silent voices” in the American Revolution. Teachers provided model texts through short stories of Native Americans, white women, enslaved people, lower class, Chinese, religious groups, and children. Students continued reading their literature circle novels during ELA and also learned about narrative writing techniques through writers workshop methods. The benchmark deliverable for this second section of the project was a piece of writing titled “A Day in the Life of…” which represented what daily life was like for a person from one of the groups of the “silent voices.” This deliverable showcased their narrative writing skills, textual analysis skills, and content mastery for social studies. Because the textbooks don’t provide the perspective of “the silent voices” students truly had to synthesize, analyze and apply what they were learning in ELA and social studies to be able to complete this benchmark—the higher order thinking that this project requires is one of the many reasons I love it!

Benchmark #3 required students to continue analyzing what they were learning on this topic by collaborating with a peer to find the differences and commonalities across two unique “silent voices.” Students were guided through the process by discussion protocols, visible thinking routines, completing a venn diagram, and a workshop on 2 voice poetry. Ultimately they wrote and recorded the audio for this benchmark’s deliverable, a 2 voice poem to show two different perspectives from the American Revolution. This benchmark used narrative writing techniques from the second benchmark as well.

Benchmark #4 moved students from the historical time period of the American Revolution to the current day. Throughout this benchmark students were challenged to look for the perspective of the “silent voices”—whose story are we not hearing? Students were exposed to some contemporary issues though various forms of media, conducted a survey of other students to gauge problems within their student population, engaged in more discussion protocols and ultimately landed on a topic for their own research based on their interest (Special Interest Groups-SIG). After conducting this research students created a detailed graphic organizer to show what they had collected and organized; some students chose to complete an infographic as a challenge option.

Benchmark #5: In the final benchmark students applied everything they had learned about searching for the story of “silent voices” through historical and contemporary events, and used art as the vehicle for showcasing their knowledge and skills. Each of the four teachers identified a style of art they were passionate about—photography, digital art, painting and pop art. Each teacher created a series of workshops about their art style, including well-known artists, artistic composition, and basics of color and design. Students worked with the teacher that matched their interest, analyzed models from their given style, and ultimately learned how to create a piece of work that showed the silent voices in a given current issue from their research. Students went through the critique process of drafting and also completed an artist statement with their final product—all of which was curated and exhibited for the community.

STEP 4: BUILD YOUR PROJECT RUBRICS

In keeping with the spirit of UBD, I also create assessment tools with the end in mind, which produces a pretty large project rubric (but never fear, we never use ALL of it at once—more on that in step 6!).

To build this rubric I encourage teachers to take the following steps:

Finalize the content standards you plan to assess; Note: each content standard gets its own row on the rubric. Then drop each content standard into the “proficient” column of your rubric. In the case of the Silent Voices project we identified social studies standards on the American Revolution and Common Core ELA standards for narrative writing, compare and contrast, and research.

Pull up Blooms Taxonomy verbs and bold the verbs in the language of the standards in a given domain. From there, reference Blooms verbs to help you write the language of one level up (advanced) and one level down (developing/emerging). For example:

3.Identify which 21st century skills you want to scaffold and assess in the project. I like to use these New Tech Network rubrics and simply copy and paste the rows in their entirety into my project rubric. For this project we identified Collaboration: Commitment to Shared Success, and Agency-Growth Mindset.

STEP 5: PLAN FOR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Once the project rubric is completed then you can begin to think about which rows will be used with which benchmarks. Each benchmark will get its own separate, smaller rubric that will only have a few standards on it. I encourage teachers to try to map it out so that each row of the larger project rubric is used twice throughout the project. The purpose of this is so that students can reflect, receive feedback and have the opportunity to grow in each area at multiple points throughout the project; this is truly assessment for learning, rather than assessment of learning. What this also means is that each benchmark will likely only be assessed using 2-3 rows from your (very large!) rubric.

You can see which rows of the rubric were used for which benchmarks in the “Silent voices” project by looking at the far left column on the project rubric (link in previous section). These benchmark numbers dictate what the smaller rubrics will look like for grading each deliverable (since, remember from my note in step 4, we will never use this entire rubric at once!). So for example, benchmark #3’s rubric would include the following rows only: collaboration, viewpoints and narrative writing.

STEP 6: CREATE STUDENT-FACING RUBRICS

Most teachers from most grades will tell you that the language of standards is not student-friendly, and I agree! That’s why I encourage teachers to take their teacher rubric and convert it into a student rubric. To do this, simply take each row of your teacher rubric, look at the proficient box, and write the standard as success criteria for students, or “I can” statements. This breaks down teacher-facing language into vocabulary that students can understand, which helps them to know what is expected of them while also helping them reflect on their learning. Using the teacher rubric row from the above example, you can see what a row for students would look like below:

STEP 7: PLAN DAILY LESSONS USING A PROJECT CALENDAR

Now is when ‘the rubber hits the road’ and it’s time to think about what daily learning will look like within your project. I like to simply use a Google Doc and create a table that mirrors that of a 30-day calendar, that way you can hyperlink all the daily lesson plans and resources so that it’s in one place. Most of what is linked in these Google Docs are simply workshop resources and lesson plans that teachers traditionally use to cover the content that appears in the project; or helpful new websites and activities to cover contemporary topics.

(* by JENNY PIERATT )

¿Por qué saber equivocarse es la power skill más subestimada del siglo XXI?

En una época en la que las redes sociales facilitan la conversación con miles o hasta millones de personas que piensan diferente a nosotros y en la que tenemos un alto riesgo de consumir contenido falso o tendencioso, es muy posible que más de una vez, nos encontramos en una situación de error.

La falta de información correcta, una lectura sesgada, falta de análisis o simplemente toparnos con alguna persona con más experiencia o una perspectiva diferente de igual o más peso que la de nosotros nos puede llevar a examinar seriamente nuestro punto de vista y a veces, hasta darnos cuenta que estamos equivocados. Pero seamos sinceros. ¿Qué tan fácil es dejar de discutir y llegar a la frase “tienes razón”?

La mayoría de las veces la situación escala hacia el comportamiento agresivo en línea, el 41% de los americanos, ha experimentado violencia en redes sociales. En México, la cantidad de jóvenes expuestos asciende a 25.1% Las razones de esta violencia virtual son complejas y variadas, pero una de las principales, puede ser explicada en forma simple: nos duele menos ser violentos con nuestro interlocutor que la admisión de un error o derrota al exponer un punto.

La mala noticia: errar duele

¿Por qué de repente perdemos tan fácil la capacidad de actuar de forma racional y sensiblemente cuando discutimos de política con la familia, o de fútbol con un desconocido en Twitter? La culpa es de nuestro mejor aliado, la autoestima.

Esta noción de valor propio impulsa mucha de las decisiones que tomamos. Invertimos mucho tiempo y esfuerzo para mantener y proteger la imagen que proyectamos. El lado oscuro de nuestro deseo de aprobación es la aversión que tenemos a la desaprobación, o más aún, el terror a la humillación.

Ejemplos de estudios como el de Naomi I. Eisenberger en 2012 abordan el tema de la similitud que hay entre el dolor social y el físico, su relación es muy cercana. Paul Randolph, especialista en mediación, explicó para The Guardian cómo reacciona el cerebro ante una situación de error o equivocación.

“Decir lo siento es la frase más difícil de expresar, a pesar de ser la forma más rápida y efectiva de resolver disputas. Nuestro cerebro parece indicar que decir lo siento será tan doloroso como poner la mano directo sobre el fuego”

El autor también relacionó este mecanismo neurológico con uno de nuestros instintos más básicos, el de pelear o huir. Al percibir una amenaza, el cerebro no discrimina si su carácter es físico o emocional, su método de defensa se activará de cualquier forma.

Por esto mismo, cuando se nos presenta una situación de desacuerdo, no solamente estamos discutiendo con esta persona, discutimos con mecanismos neuronales que tratan de protegernos del dolor y el posible rechazo social consecuente del error.

Las buenas noticias: se alivia con educación

Los educadores llevan varias generaciones estigmatizando el error. B.F. Skinner fue una de las figuras más influyentes del siglo pasado para entender la psicología humana y cómo desarrollar estrategias didácticas alrededor de la misma. Skinner y sus seguidores no apreciaban los tropiezos en el camino del aprendizaje.

Esta tendencia no se replicó en otras culturas de la misma forma. En su libro “The Learning Gap”, los psicólogos James Sigler y Harold Stevenson compararon lecciones grabadas de matemáticas para nivel secundaria en distintos países.

Los autores encontraron que mientras los maestros americanos enfatizaban un número limitado de métodos para resolver problemas e ignoraban los errores en el proceso para solo concentrarse en las respuestas correctas, los maestros japoneses en cambio, les preguntaban a los estudiantes que métodos preferían y los animaban a encontrar su propia manera de resolver problemas, lo que llevaba a una discusión general de los errores más comunes y cómo evitarlos.

En resumen, se enfocaban en hacer notar a los estudiantes que los obstáculos y las equivocaciones eran una parte natural del proceso de aprendizaje, nada que provocara orgullo al tener la respuesta correcta, ni miedo al no tenerla.

Los dos aprendizajes más importantes de este experimento:

• La precisión en el salón de clases no debe estar atada al valor propio.
• El error es la mejor senda para la inventiva y la generación de conversación que lleve a soluciones efectivas.

Para entender la raíz del problema de la violencia en línea, además de tomar en cuenta una falta generalizada de pensamiento crítico que frena el aprendizaje, el diálogo y la evolución social; también hay que enseñar que el error no cuesta caro, pero cómo reaccionamos a este, sí.

Four ways to make someone else smile

In a world surrounded by bad news, it may feel like an unhappy place sometimes. However, you can make a difference. If you make even one person smile today, you can help make this world a better place. Here is a list of ideas to help you. What are you waiting for? Go be amazing!

1. Send a handwritten letter

In this day and age where everything is sent via email, Facebook, WhatsApp and Snapchat, it’s a shock to receive a letter through the post. Putting pen to paper and writing a few words to a friend can be an easy way to make a positive impact. Even a postcard with a couple of sentences could really make someone’s day – all for the price of a stamp!

2. Volunteer

Requiring some time and research to find the perfect project, volunteering is one of the nicest things you can do. Whether you volunteer at your local youth group or take dogs from shelters for a walk, the simple fact that you are giving up your time to help someone else is incredible. There are so many opportunities, so you are sure to find one that is right for you. And it doesn’t necessarily have to take up all your time – it could be once a week or a couple of times a year.

3. Make something for a special person

Whether you’re creative or not, taking time to make something for someone else shows how much you appreciate them. Even if you think you’re not creative, the recipient will feel lucky to get such a unique gift that you put your precious time into. Some ideas could include a card, painting, drawing, song, poem or cake!

4. Tell someone ‘I love you’

Before you go ‘yuck’, it can be anyone – your mum or dad, grandparents, family member, friend, boyfriend or girlfriend. And you don’t even have to say ‘I love you’. Perhaps you can tell a friend that you appreciate all they are to you, or remind your mum that you love her. Sometimes, in our busy lives we forget to take a moment to tell people what they mean to us. 

Beginner, advanced and somewhere in between

Learning a foreign language is a demanding process and it can be easy to feel stuck at any stage. This may be at the beginning when you’ve just started, in the middle once you’ve mastered the basics or even much later on when you are approaching an advanced level of fluency. Sometimes these in-between stages can be challenging and disheartening, so it is important to always remind yourself how far you’ve come.

Maybe you mastered basic grammar a long time ago, but as things such as vocabulary and colloquialisms have improved, the parts you learned at the beginning have started to confuse you. In my case, I learned from this that it is OK to go back and revise simple things such as grammar and pronouns, as having focused on vocabulary improvement for so long it is only natural that you might slip on the basics.

Although being fully immersed in a language can be the best way to improve your comprehension and skills, it might also be frustrating when the language feels inescapable. When all you want is to hear your native tongue and have a conversation with someone without having to really strain your mind. It’s for this reason that in your free time you’ll probably be craving contact with your own language, maybe through reading or watching a film. There’s nothing wrong with this, but in my situation, I knew I was becoming lazy.

You might assume that living abroad is enough alone for you to progress to fluency. Of course, daily and consistent interaction with natives is one of the best ways of improving, but I realised I had sort of hit a wall. I knew enough to get by, but I wasn’t going the extra mile and using most of my free time to learn more. Language learning is a huge commitment, and if you don’t work hard to maintain it you can end up stuck at the same level, or worse, move backwards.

It’s inevitable that you’re going to need a break to relax with your own native language, but I now realise I had become too complacent and was no longer progressing as much as I would have liked. Since then, I’ve made more of an effort to read at least once a day and select options on Netflix in Spanish as opposed to English, allowing me to practise more skills which are equally important as speaking. I have some days when I feel like I’m really achieving advanced level and others when I feel more like a beginner, but I am now aiming to use this as motivation rather than an excuse for complacency.

Do emojis and GIFs restrict our language and communication?

Recently I read Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopian novel by George Orwell set in a totalitarian state where even the language they use is controlled. Adjectives are forbidden and instead they use phrases such as 'ungood', 'plus good' and 'double plus good' to express emotions. As I first read this I thought how impossible it would be in our society to have such vocabulary. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realised in its own way it's already happening. I type messages to my friends and alongside each is the obligatory emoji. I often use them to emphasise something, or to not seem too serious, or because this specific GIF conveys my emotions much better than I ever could using just words. And I wonder, with our excessive use of emojis, are we losing the beauty and diversity of our vocabulary?

English has the largest vocabulary in the world, with over one million words, but who's to say what it'll be like in the future? Perhaps we will have a shorter language, full of saying 'cry face' if something sad happens or using abbreviations like LOL (laugh out loud) or BRB (be right back) instead of saying the full phrase. So does this mean our vocab will shrink? Is it the start of an exciting new era? Will they look back on us in the future and say this is where it all began – the new language? Or is this a classic case of the older generations saying, 'Things weren't like that when I was younger. We didn't use emoticons to show our emotions'?

Yet when you look back over time, the power of image has always been there. Even in the prehistoric era they used imagery to communicate, and what's even more incredible is that we are able to analyse those drawings and understand the meaning of them thousands of years later. Pictures have the ability to transcend time and language. Images, be it cave paintings or emojis, allow us to convey a message that's not restrictive but rather universal. 

How to Create a Backchannel on Padlet

Padlet is one of the most versatile tech tools that a teacher can have in his or her toolbox. From making KWL charts to exit tickets to simply posting ideas in a shared online space, Padlet can be used in nearly every grade level and subject area. And your notes aren't limited to just text on Padlet walls. In fact, there are ten types of notes that you can add to Padlet walls including screencasts, audio notes, and even maps.

Recently, I noticed that Padlet has a new wall template designed for hosting backchannel chats. In the following video I demonstrate how to create a backchannel on Padlet.

Classroom Ideas

As teachers prepare their classrooms and brainstorm back to school ideas for this year’s learners, they look at those blank walls and bulletin boards and envision the colorful possibilities. It can be loads of fun to create displays and give your classroom life and personality with the materials on your walls.

But interestingly, research actually suggests that there are certain types of decorations that supplement daily learning, and certain types of decorations that detract from daily learning. Which ones do you have?

Teachers tend to think of their classroom decorations, and other back to school ideas, as ways to set a particular atmosphere in their rooms. They want their rooms’ personalities to reflect a warm, inviting, academic tone that makes a positive first impression. And often teachers succeed with this. There is a certain freshness to newly created displays that extends that invigorating feeling a new year always offers.

So, as you decorate, definitely think about how your displays can help to set a certain tone about your classroom. Ask yourself, “What kind of atmosphere do I want my students learning in?”

What your decorations accomplish can go far beyond atmosphere. You must also ask, “How can my decorations enhance student learning this year?” Teachers often underestimate the long-term impact of what hangs on the walls. What hangs on the walls possesses enormous potential to “sink in” with students and provide them with a sense of community and ownership.

First, decorations -- namely posters -- provide opportunity for more passive absorption of information. When students are paying attention to you, they learn from you.

However, when students aren’t paying attention to you, they’re looking around the room. What will they see? Will they see signs and materials that reinforce the life lessons and academic insights you give, or will they see meaningless colorful décor that gives them something to think about other than learning?

Second, it is fruitful to preserve a portion of the classroom for displaying student work. When students see their own learning experiments and successes publically displayed, they obtain a unique sense of pride and ownership. Prominently displaying student work is akin to a parent hanging a kid’s test on the refrigerator: It’s a public affirmation of that student’s value.

Third, your decorations can help develop your class’ sense of community. The walls, after all, are something everyone shares and everyone can see -- so include visuals that contribute to a sense of togetherness or mutual understanding. For example, update what you or your students are currently reading on a big chart, have a question wall where students record their curiosities, or include an area where students’ academic goals are posted.

The above three areas -- learning, ownership, and community – make immeasurable contributions to student growth. But imagine the lost opportunity if the wrong decorations were used. Imagine how the wrong posters, the meaningless displays, or the same old, same old phrases were posted. Instead of supplementing instruction and aiding student growth, they would merely be bland, obligatory displays that communicate an equally bland sentiment about learning in that classroom.

So as you move to set the tone in your classroom with your unique decorations (and your other back to school ideas) this year, make sure that you consider what impact what’s on the wall can really have. Think about atmosphere, but also think about the learning, ownership, and community your decorations can facilitate. It’s amazing how much of an impact what hangs on the wall can truly have.

What do you have hanging on your classroom walls and bulletin boards? Share your ideas here and let us all benefit from your classroom decorations!

 

You can also check the following webpage

Kiristyderoche