Notes from Boss and Krauss, Chapter 4-5

Chapter 4: Strategies for Discovery

Common Pitfalls of Projects:

1. Long on activity, short on learning outcomes (if students can learn as much through a brief lecture, beware!)

2. Technology layered over traditional practice-- having students research a topic on the Internet and present it in a PowerPoint is not quality

3. Trivial thematic units--themes aren't inherently trivial but they can be (probably more of a pitfall for elementary classes)

4. Overly scripted with too many steps-- make sure there is lots of room for student inquiry and decision making


The rest of the chapter has the reader create a project sketch-- basically going through the process that we went through in our workshop last week, so I'm going to move on to Chapter 5.


Chapter 5: Project Management Strategies for Teachers and Learners


Teachers who manage PBL classrooms also need 21st century skills-- it's not just for the kiddos!


Front-loading projects--

• Gather resources-- supplies, information, experts, technology-- and plan on how to divide responsibilities if you are teaching as a team. 
• Create deadlines (preferably with students).  Involve parents, put systems in place to help students manage their time.  
• Plan the teams-- how will students be divided?  
• Plan for assessment-- figure out students' prior knowledge and interests, plan to clear up misconceptions and help students learn from setbacks, plan to build on what they have learned and push for further learning.  Need formative and summative assessment. 
• Formative-- monitoring, observing, interacting, analyzing, reporting
• Online surveys, checklists, student reflection
• Traditional methods of assessment can be appropriate
•  Solid rubrics tied to standards

*The planning and assessing intimidate me.  I know these are the kind of things that you just have to do-- reading about them will only get you so far.  I also anticipate a lot of trial and error and learning on the fly and I'm okay with that ambiguity. 

PBL connections to Unschooling

I'm all over the place on this post, so forgive me if I'm not making perfect sense.  I guess I need to write through some ideas that have been swirling around in my head.

I have been thinking a lot about the concept of unschooling a lot lately.  I heard a

NPR piece on unschooling yesterday that prompted this post, although I've been reading a good deal about unschooling from my hippie friends' parenting blogs.  Sometimes, as a teacher and a product of traditional schooling, I'm offended and roll my eyes at their impracticality.  But once I put my pride aside, I see a lot of truth in these ideas.  I know for me, as public educator, I believe in the public school system and, although I know it's a flawed institution, I believe the public school system can do wonderful things for children.  But I also think that I can learn from unschooling principles and-- here's where all this connects-- I believe PBL is a nice combination of traditional schooling and unschooling.

Let me tell you why, while telling you a bit about my childhood education.

I grew up in a family of educators but I also grew up in a family of learners.  My parents kindled my brother's and my curiosity and I feel like I was constantly reading, discussing, or debating about something growing up.  My dad very much believed in the importance of play-- pretending and creating-- and he made an concerted effort to give us time for that, even if it meant sacrificing scheduled activities like team sports or music lessons.  (We had those too, but we certainly weren't one of those hyper-scheduled, always-on-the-go families.)  My mom took a more structured approach and sought out opportunities for learning-- family vacations out west that paralleled the books were reading, backpacking trips to learn about ecosystems, time in the kitchen to learn about cooking and food.  Both my mom and my dad felt like parents concentrated too much on not letting their kids get bored, when real learning and conversation happened after boredom set in. 

My brother and I also attended public school and were high achieving students.  I think the structures in school were good for us.  I learned a lot about "playing the game" and succeeding within an organization.  Granted, we attended a "good" public school in which we were in the majority of the while, well-educated, middle class-- it was suburban bliss at its best.  I had many advantages at school that others do not in public school.  

I guess what I'm saying is that at home, I benefited from many of the things that unschoolers believe in and at school, I also benefited from many of the things that traditional educators tout.

Let me give you a specific example:
My mom was the assistant principal at my elementary school and when I was in fourth grade, my teacher went to her at the end of the year.  My teacher told my mom, "Naomi is really borderline A-B in math.  I really want to give her an A because a B will devastate her."  And my mom, so wise (although annoying at the time), told my teacher to give me the B because she didn't want me to put pressure on myself to make all A's.  She wanted me to achieve in school because it represented learning, and to not just focus on the grade.  And it worked, because, although I cared enough about grades, I was not grade-obsessed and I think I had a healthy relationship with grades. 

Let me give you another one:
I've always had this love affair with pioneers.  I think it started when my mom and read all the Laura Ingles Wilder books together in second and third grade.  In fifth grade, we had a social studies unit on pioneers and I was thrilled to learn about the specifics of Laura's life.  We even had pioneer day, where we sewed bonnets, cooked cornbread, and had a make shift wagon trail across the playground.  When my family went camping, I pretended the we always cooked our food over the fire, and when my brother, neighbors, and I played in the woods, I always wore my bonnet and pretended that my bike was a horse.  Again, in seventh grade social studies, we learned about pioneers, but this time I learned about dysentery and infant mortality and the effect of Manifest Destination on the Native American populations.  I was crushed-- I had made such a personal connection to the pioneers-- but I think it was a totally appropriate and natural progression of learning and understanding how the world worked.  I was able to makes connections the synthesize the greater forces within the context of that time period, but also within the context of my own life.  And then,  this past winter, I visited the Booth Museum of Western Art and I truly felt a connection to the pieces of pioneer art because my education on that subject had been so personal.  I think my formal education and my learning at home combined to a really wonderful understanding of that time period.

Here's my take away point: Unschooling has a lot of merits but will never be practical for all school children.  But the benefits of unschooling-- passion, timing, autonomy, authenticity-- can be harnessed in a project-based learning classroom. 

Notes from Boss and Krauss, Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Imagining the Possibilities

Establishing the framework of a project--

1. Figuring out what is important

"Good projects get to the heart of a discipline... the more complex and important an idea, the better suited it is for the 21st century project treatment" (p. 43).

--Seek highly conceptual projects that allow for decisions and work within students' frames of interest
--Textbook is not the foundation, but a resource for students and teacher
--Review the standards looking for the "big ideas" 
-- Using the big ideas, think about real-world contexts and interdisciplinary connections
--Get comfortable with the unknown-- don't worry if projects end up in unfamiliar territory
--Don't plan the actual project-- that is what the kids will do*

    *This was something that I found challenging in our brainstorming sessions last week.  We kept coming up with ideas for what kids could do-- and I had to keep catching myself.  The goal is not to come up with the project, but to come up with a springboard, a driving question, or a problem for which the students will create a project. 

2. Planning for Rigor and 21st Century Skills


PBL is not just about the academic standards but the 21st century skills  (several lists on p. 48-49)


     --Digital-Age Literacy (scientific, economic, multicultural, technological)
     --Inventive Thinking (managing complexity, self-direction, curiousity, creativity, risk-taking)
     --Effective Communication (teaming, collaboration, interpersonal skills, personal and social responsiblity)
    --High Productivity (prioritizing, planning, managing time)
    --High Level thinking skills
    -- Research and Information Fluency ... etc.


literacy--learning to be independent, aware, and productive citizens 


"From now on, ask yourself: In what ways can a project help students learn how the world works and how they will work in the world?  How can it set them up to practice skills that will make them effective, lifelong learners?" (p. 51)


*I feel like that with the right driving question, the 21st century skills will just fall into place.  
 
3. Keeping Students in Mind


"passion-based learning" (p. 52)


Projects should authentically engage students-- be interesting and important.  


Essential Learning Functions--
1. Ubiquity
2. Deep Learning
3. Making things visible and discussable
4. Expressing ourselves, sharing ideas, building community
5. Collaboration
6. Research
7. Project Management-- Planning and Organization
8. Reflection and Iteration

Notes from Boss and Krauss, Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Creating a Professional Learning Community

I am fortunate because I have a PLC at my disposal-- I will be teaming with Amy, Roger, and Mike for my class.  In addition, there are three other teachers in my school teaching the ninth grade CDAT class, so I have them as references.  I won't be teaching alone; my class is designed to be interdisciplinary.  Most importantly, I have the complete support of my administration.  My principal wholly supports PBL and is willing to create frameworks within the school to support PBL.  For example, she rearranged our lunch schedule so that we would all have lunch together to meet and plan.

Boss and Krauss cite the following benefits to professional learning communities:

• decreased teacher isolation
• increased commitment to the vision
• shared responsibility 
• more powerful learning  (p. 33)

however, Boss and Krauss do not talk about some of the challenges that may occur in a PLC.  For many teachers, collaborating requires a huge paradigm shift (as PLB does as well), and teaching as a unit can be uncomfortable.  Although Amy and I get along as friends and I think have the same goals as teachers, I do anticipate challenges.  I think that I value efficiency where she is more flexible with time.  I am much less organized than she is and I think I'm more comfortable with a certain amount of chaos than she is.  We have different styles of classroom management that I think might cause conflict.  In addition, I'm just used to my classroom being my domain and it will be a shift to working with another teacher on a daily basis.  I know that we will work through issues when they come up; I'm just trying to be open about some of the concerns I have and the issues that I anticipate could possibly arise. 

Early Draft of a Project Idea

During our Friday inservice, Amy (my PBL partner in crime-- AKA the history teacher) and I got a chance to sit down and sketch out our first project. After looking at the standards, we decided to focus on the concept of archetypes. Once we had an idea down on paper, we had the opportunity to get several rounds of feedback from others, which was really helpful.

I have to say, the act of collaborating on the lesson was, at least at times, kind of stressful. I'm so used to working alone that having to compromise and defend my ideas and listen to someone else was slightly challenging. This kind of teaching definitely is not for the insecure! I was watching myself from the ceiling and observing that I was feeling a little uncomfortable. One of my goals throughout this journey is to be aware of how I'm feeling and reacting to the process, and I think being aware of my discomfort helped me to work through it and ultimately come up with a good first draft of a project.

Project Idea Summary of the challenge, investigation, scenario, problem, or issue:	Since the beginning of time, archetypes have illuminated human nature. In a group, identify an archetype and trace it throughout several texts or mediums covering a substantial amount of time. In a project of your choosing, analyze how an archetype manifests throughout time and how it serves the specific societies where it comes up. Finally, create a futuristic manifestation of that archetype. After a "coffee chat" over archetypes and an explanation of the specific history and LA standards, students will begin research into their chosen archetypes. The history standards should guide their investigations. Their projects can utilize any technologies and can manifest in any type of product that they can come up with.
Driving Question	How do archetypes serve society?

Notes from GCPS PBL Workshop

I've spent the last two days at a workshop for teachers at Lanier High, North Gwinnett Middle and High, and the Gwinnett Math and Science High School. It's been challenging-- it requires a real paradigm shift to truly embrace PBL. I've felt uncomfortable at times working with my team to come up with ideas because you do have to compromise and you have to relinquish power over your classroom. I've felt overwhelmed by the newness and the challenge. But more than anything, I've been really excited and encouraged about the cool things that could happen at our school next year. It's been a really good experience so far!

Here are some of my notes:

Reality shows—great examples of PBL

PBL from North Gwinnett

Stage 1: Brainstorming—ideas and product

Will it fit the AKS? Does it have a product? Will research be found?

Stage 2: Research and location

Subject matter experts—being creative about the research, put ideas and research to paper

Rubrics—built by students, based on intended result

Used google docs—create a spreadsheet that breaks down all the standards; kids copy and paste the standards from the spreadsheet into their own rubric

Five levels—nothing

Used DOK (Webb)

Stage 3: The research proposal

APA formatting, project introduction, research questions, standards and vocabulary, group members and assignments, intended result, result, reflection, references

Stage 4: The rubric

Built from master rubric- standards scaled 0-20

Should attempt proficiency

Standards are selected by relevancy to project

Stage 5: Supplemental Lessons—coffee chats or workshops

20-30 min presentations during the class day (some are optional, some are mandatory)

Check ups—one on ones, small group, whole group, monitoring, Q &A’s

Document

Stage 6: Before presentation

Finish proposal, revise rubric, update portfolio, complete project

· Did take pre-tests, tests

*How do we help Lanier Middle prepare kids for PBL?

Stage 7: Presentation and Wrap Up

All students present, best practices

Tips for an effective PBL class:

Embrace the chaos but give it meaning

Balance is everything

Don’t make assumptions

Giving quick feedback is essential

Collaborate with teachers

What supports—

Administration, professional development, time for planning, technology

What barriers—

Inexperience, personal tech knowledge,

Activity Based vs. Project Based

Teacher Directed Student-Driven

Giving Answers Making Meaning

Fun Captivating

Useful to Know Enduring Understanding

School-World Real-World

Curricular Enhancement Curricular Focus

Effective Projects—

Probe matters of importance

Mirror authentic work

Are designed for optimal ambiguity—allows for multiple points of entry, directions, and outcomes

Develop knowledge, skills, and dispositions

Go beyond understanding and studying to some kind of action or resolve

Cause kids to teach and learn from one another

Scan Projects: Buck Institute, Edutopia,

Notes from Boss and Krauss

I am currently reading Reinventing project-based learning: Your field guide to real-world projects in the digital age by Suzie Boss and Jane Krauss.  What's really cool is that I'm going to a professional development through my school's CDAT program that is being led by Suzie Boss herself.   So I'm being a total nerd and reading her book before I actually meet Boss.


Chapter 1: Mapping the Journey--Seeing the Big Picture


It's clear that PBL takes much more work on the front end because knowing the end point is essential in starting a unit.  (That's true for the regular classroom too, but in the traditional classroom, I think you can fake-it-til-you-make-it easier.) 


Hallmarks of PBL:

• Projects are the heart of the curriculum--they are the real work, not an activity or add-on
• Learning is centered in the real world and authentic work
• Students work in teams and collaborate with each other, the teacher, and the community
• Technology is a tool integrated in the classroom 
• Projects works to cross boundaries within the school and the community (p. 12)

 The Ministry of Education in Singapore: Teach less, learn more (p. 13)


Teachers must be learners too-- model life-long learning for our students.   Teachers should expect their classroom and teaching style to change-- including the teachers' learning goals, they way they interact with students, their classroom management style, the physical arrangement of the classroom, the way they assess learning, the artifacts of learning they collect, and how they communicate with parents and colleagues (p. 18-19). 


PBL allows students to learn real-work "soft skills" rather than just the academic content.  They practice and develop communication, flexibility with time and people,  and inquiry skills.  They "achieve a fuller understanding of how the world works" and the "feeling that, through communication with and understanding of other people, individuals can do something about changing the world" (p. 20).


Ways to get started generating ideas-- start a furl or del.ici.ous to bookmark sites.  Begin reading blogs and sites--> Eduopia, the Buck Institute, NETS*S, edublogs.com, EduBlog Insights, Cool Cat Teacher (the latter two are teachers from Georgia).