As Project-based learning words to redefine the education model, it stands to reason that the industrial-model classroom environment must also undergo significant transformation. Known in education circles as "the third teacher" (see the book The Third Teacher, and the Ontario government ministry Capacity document), educators are realizing that the physical and social environment has a significant impact on student learning. So let's literally break open the box, tear down the walls, and reimagine what our classrooms need to look like in the 21st century.
The cave, the campfire and the watering hole.
The nature-inspired metaphor of cave, campfire and watering hole are an effective way to think of the different learning spaces students need during project-based learning. Devising a way to have each of these spaces available to students might prove a bit of design challenge, but the results will be worth the effort. A teacher might try to designate different areas of the classroom for each learning space; or the teacher might change the entire class setting at different times of the day depending on the project; if you have a collaborative staff or teaching partner, you might also be able to arrange other areas in the school to serve as specific spaces.
The Cave The cave is a place for solitude, where students can go when they need toward free from distraction. Buckling down to work or quiet reflection are both times when students might need to retreat to a cave. More often than not time in the cave needs to be an uninterrupted, prolonged period of time. In such a social setting as school can be, this environment might be the most challenging to design. You might need to look outside the classroom to spaces such as the library, seminar rooms, or even closet areas. If you are setting up an area of the classroom, noise-cancelling headphones and desk dividers might serve the purpose.
The Campfire The campfire is the epitome of community learning. It is a place to gather as a large group and learn from an expert, mentor, storyteller, or from each other. Around the campfire we share wisdom and reflections. When thinking about a campfire, the form of a circle is inevitably evoked: everyone can see each other, where we are all on equal standing. Even the storyteller or expert sits at the campfire with the listeners; they might be the expert this time, but participants are left with the sense that we are all storytellers and experts in our own right. Within the classroom, often there is the challenge of desks or tables that make a large group circle difficult. Don't be afraid to move the desks out of the way. Conversely, a library, learning commons, or outdoor learning space all work well as a campfire space.
The Watering Hole The watering hole is a transient place where learners come and go according to their own needs. It's a place of conversation, where we can share ideas, ask questions, and receive feedback. When you find yourself stuck in a pit on a project, the watering hole is a great place to find new inspiration or get ideas to help get unstuck. Groups here are usually smaller and made up of peers, learners who are all working through projects and in a similar mind space. You might find yourself wandering to the watering hole to listen to others' work or to share your own. Just as quickly as you arrive you might dash off with a great new vision or idea for your project. In the classroom, the challenge isn't so much the physical space but the social one: how to encourage students to share ideas, convincing them that it isn't "cheating" to collaborate, and how to keep the noise at a workable level.
Redesigning the Entire School - the Khan Lab School
Currently, nearly every single public school I've ever seen is divided by class. One teacher, 20-30 students, one room. A school of 25 classes has 25 classrooms. If they are supremely lucky in the age of budget cuts, there might also be a classroom for the music or French teacher, but don't hold your breath. In rotary systems, the students shift spaces but the teachers don't - one teacher, one subject, one room. The sense of fiefdom dominates.
But what if we reimagined the entire school space? The Khan Lab school did. Project-based learning is messy; rarely can all the students be at the same stage at the same time. More than this, PBL is completely ineffective in rows of desks as it requires grouping, individual work, expert lectures, and community-connectedness. As noted in an article from Education Week:
"Unique zones instead of traditional classrooms--i.e. 'classrooms' that are not tied to a specific subject matter or teacher. Lead architect, Danish Kurani, explains that "each of these 'zones' supports a different mode of working or learning. So, there's a Chat Lab for when the learning is happening through discussion, dialogue, presentation, and interpersonal exchange; an Ideate Lab for brainstorming; a Make Lab for designing, building, prototyping; and a variety of other specialty areas."
Also at the Khan Lab school are interactive walls and displays, public question boards, cafe-style seating, and phone booths for videoconferencing. The most important element, however, is that this design is not static: it is evolving to meet student and teacher needs on an on-going basis.
Can you imagine a school like this in high school, where students were trusted to move through the different spaces as they needed? For younger students who need to move with their classroom teacher, an efficient online system could make all of these spaces available for teachers to book as needed. Instead of teachers needing to constantly transform their own classroom and duplicate resources classroom to classroom, this method seems to be a much more efficient and effective way to create learning spaces.
Teacher Partnerships - Jen and Jes
Every September teachers receive a class list - their own name at the top with 20-30 student names beneath. If you're lucky, there will be another teacher at your school teaching the same grade who is interested in co-planning a curriculum with you, or at least open to sharing their ideas.
At Groh Public School, two sixth grade PBL teachers are redefining what it means to have a "teaching partner." They view their role and function as 2 teachers with 50 students. The advantages this gives them as teachers and to the students are many.
What does it look like? When students arrive in the morning, they generally go to their assigned teacher classroom for attendance. But very quickly the groups are gathering together. The kick off to any PBL project, or the "tuning in" process of an inquiry, is done together. Jen and Jes lead the experiences together; one reads a picture book then the other poses a question. When students break off into groups, they are free to work with anyone from the two classes. During group work, both Jen and Jes circulate, listen to student conversations, and pose questions. As they pass each other they share a quick soundbite of something they overheard. They are responsive teachers and the lesson experience evolves as they react to what the students are saying. But they have each other to bounce ideas off quickly and then move on. And Jen and Jes are able to draw on each others' strengths immediately: "Can you swing by that group? They are asking about solar energy" or "Can you share your poetry background over there?"
When it comes time to work, Jen and Jes have the benefit of two classroom spaces to use. They can designate one a "quiet space" and the other a "conferencing room" so students can choose the learning environment best suited to their needs at the time. Also, if a group of students needs to work outside the classrooms, in the library or to meet with a community expert, one teacher can take that small group while the other teacher supervises the rest.
Benefits for Students At the beginning of each year, students are anxious to find out who is in their class. There can be great disappointment to find yourself split from a good friend or effective working partner. In Jen and Jes' model, they have eliminated the social anxiety that comes with splitting classes. When it comes to student projects, students are grouped by interest. There is a much higher likelihood of finding a peer with a similar inquiry question when you have 50 students instead of just 25. Students also have the benefit of having two teachers with whom they can relate.
Benefits for Teachers For Jen and Jes, the ability to have another teacher in the room is invaluable. Many teachers talk about the isolation they feel as one adult in front of their students all day. There is a danger of narrowing your vision too much when you are on your own; having another teacher helps keep the class on track of the overarching purpose of the projects and lessons. Many teachers have expressed a wish that they could "split themselves into two people" - Jen and Jes' partnership has figured out how to do just that.
The Emotional Environment - the Learning Pit
Project Based Learning is hard, especially for students coming from a more traditional classroom setting. Taking away the safety of explicit instruction and expectations and guidelines in every aspect can leave students feeling emotionally unsure. Just as we scaffold academic work, we need to support the emotional readiness of our students to work successfully in a PBL environment.
Central to PBL is the struggle. Deep learning cannot happen when students stay on the surface of the content - the knowledge and skills will only last if they wrestle at length with the concepts, providing time for them to cement deep within. But in an age of convenience, struggle has become very undesirable. We need to teach students that being in a metaphorical pit is a good thing, a necessary thing.
James Nottingham created the idea of the "Learning Pit." Students start out on a journey through learning, but eventually come up upon something difficult to do or understand. Many are quick to stall completely. "It's too hard." "I can't do it." "I'll never understand." "I'm stupid."
What's important for students to learn is that those emotions and thoughts are part of the process, but we can't get stuck there. Students need to feel the triumph of problem solving and the reward of deep learning. The pride that comes from that achievement will go much further than simple tasks that provide only a small sense of temporary accomplishment.
For ideas on how to present The Learning Pit to a grade 6 class, check out the Seisen International School's blogpost on a full class activity around The Learning Pit. (Click here).