As I settle into the rhythm of PBL, I have started to contemplate the preparation it took to get to where these students are in March. September is always a time to get to know students and establish routines; it’s just good teaching practice. But in PBL, it’s not just a good idea, it’s an essential idea.
PBL values, champions and encourages student choice and voice. Many children are not used to this kind of freedom. The freedom to dictate your learning, to navigate the journey, to direct the ship. The common fear that PBL will dissolve into chaos becomes a reality when the students are not properly equipped to handle this sort of freedom. I have determined that September is not a time for curriculum content. It’s a time to focus on relationships and skill building. Students coming into my classroom need to trust me and trust each other. There is no shortcut to trust; it takes time and investment. September is a time to learn about each other, be a little vulnerable, discover passions and talents. It’s a time to figure out what our “class” as an entity unto itself looks like, to define ourselves as a community, and to determine our common goals. It’s a time when students can be given permission to look inside and see who they want to become this year. It’s a time to learn what we all have to offer and to value our differences because they are our strengths. Students also need a certain base of skill in order to start into such a setting. They need to know how to collaborate, ask questions, research, be creative, think critically, communicate. They need some basic technological and artistic skills. They need to have a love of literacy of all forms and an understanding of personal passion projects. When I write out these relationship and skill requirements, I end up with a list of foci for September. The first month planning involves carefully crafted activities that develop those relationships and skills so that when we start to jump into bigger projects and unfamiliar content the students are struggling with the medium or the team. That’s not to say there aren’t new facets of these areas to explore and develop as we go, just that it’s not beneficial to have students struggling with new content and new skills and new people all at the same time. Some people worry that PBL will slow down curriculum coverage to the point that you can’t get to everything. Is it even possible then to shave an entire month off of the year to devote to things that aren’t in those maps? The great benefit of integrated learning and PBL is that curriculum can be covered faster when you are overlapping in your hours of the day. But more than that, investing in relationships and skills in September will make things run more smoothly and quickly throughout the rest of the year as we won’t have to stop and constantly deal with problems that arise due to lack of training or understanding.
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Most of the examples and research and resources about PBL relate to students in the junior grades and up (4+). It assumes a certain level of attention span, a collection of skills, and most of all, the ability to read.
In the primary grades (K-3), students are “learning to read” rather than “reading to learn” and this difference makes primary PBL a real challenge. One view is that primary inquiry is play based, which then leads into a PBL approach in higher grades. Others see PBL still possible, but with modifications and a whole lot of support and guidance. My classroom observations today were in a grade 1-2 class at Groh Public School, a school that has entirely adopted the PBL method into every classroom. Having just come off of my first PBL experience (in a grade 1/2 split class) I was curious to see how the “experts” were doing it. I wondered if my unit was too structured and with too much hand holding. I craved the freedom I know with older students, but couldn’t conceive how to make it work with younger children. Keeping in mind that PBL looks different in every classroom, here’s what I observed today. “Soft Start” inquiry and exploration The first 30-45 minutes of the day looked much like the play-based kindergarten program. Several provocations were set up on tables, and the students were free to explore using those materials or any others in the classroom. Too messy? Not really, given the minimalist attitude toward classroom materials. There was also a table set up to complete unfinished work, where students acted as mentors to those who had been absent. Provocations were swapped out every two weeks, and randomly when the teacher wanted to add in something related to the previous day’s work. During this inquiry, the teacher fit in two guided reading groups. Literacy Mini lesson This was followed up by a short (5 minute) word work. A 5 letter word was scrambled on the board with magnet letters. Using personal white boards and markers, students tried to make as many 1-5 letter words as possible using those letters. A quick share of their findings and the mini lesson was over. Split Grades One challenge with split grades are the curriculum strands that don’t lend themselves to blended learning (usually in science). Next on the schedule was grade 1s doing some research inquiry into the five senses, while the grade 2s caught up on math using Dreambox (online math program). Instead of trying to pack in two different lessons, the teacher opted to split the learning. Grade 2s will get their science lesson another day. Grade 1s used pebblego.com to do their own inquiry. Using researching skills previously taught (write what you want to know on a sticky note, and then go looking for that answer; how to dot-jot notes; scientific diagrams) students found what interested them about the body. Then in a learning circle, they shared what they found, and the teacher compiled it all on chart paper. A half hour math talk had students once again in a circle, using manipulatives and sharing their learning aloud. Tinker Tuesday The day ended with “Tinker Tuesday,” with students given a small challenge and limited materials to try and complete a challenge (today was use toothpicks and clay to build 3D figures, then compile those figures into a structure). Overall Programming Speaking with the teacher, she admitted that primary PBL isn’t filled with extended projects with public product like the older grades do. Instead, she sees her program as one that focuses on inquiry skills and 21st century competencies (critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, communication). The curriculum content is used as a vehicle to help students develop an early understanding and skill level in these areas. Having come from kindergarten, she emphasized that 6 year olds really aren’t ready for big projects on an on-going basis. She sees her focus as exposure to the content, training in the skills, and developing an overall love of learning and thirst for knowledge. The link between play-based learning and project-based learning was clear. PBL - projects There were three big projects (one hour a day, for 3-4 weeks) planned for the entire year. The students completed one in October that focused on sharing what their school is all about. In February the class embarked on a PBL unit about the Olympics. And later in the Spring the students will read “The One and Only Ivan” (fictional chapter book) and do an inquiry into animals. These three units are highly integrated, incorporating every subject, and involve multiple products produced by the students. They perfectly fit the definition of PBL. However, the teacher admitted they are designed by the teacher, with opportunities within the unit given for student voice and choice. The skills are highly scaffolded as 6 year olds do not have much capacity for individual inquiry. But the students were engaged, interested, and seeing the connection between real life and the subjects of the curriculum. Assessment Assessment at this age relies heavily on observations and professional judgement. The teacher gives multiple opportunities to “show what they know,” which usually results in a “B” grade on the report card (which translates to ‘at grade level’ in the Ontario curriculum). ‘A’s are given for students who make extraordinary connections or applications in other domains; ‘C’s are given to students who are not able to understand a concept after a good length of time and practice. But there is not a frenzied collection of data; once again, the focus is on exposure. The perfect balance Today’s classroom was an excellent balance of inquiry and literacy/math instruction. That balance is difficult in a grade where you are asked to send kids on being able to read and write and do basic math skills. The drill method is tempting; instead, this teacher accepted that students develop on their own continuum. Some literacy and math direct instruction is necessary, but much of what primary PBL is about is simply learning about life and the world. |
Terri-AnnPersonal reflections on project-based learning. Archives
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