A few years ago, my school committed to creating a joyful learning environment for students, focused on creativity, solving authentic problems, innovation, and personal growth. To help us achieve this goal, we began using project-based learning (PBL). In PBL, students work on extended projects that engage them in addressing real-world problems or complex questions. Students demonstrate their knowledge and skills by developing a product or presentation, which they make public to people beyond the classroom. As a result, they develop deep content knowledge as well as 21st century success skills. (PBL Works, n.d.)
To ensure that our teachers were designing high-quality projects and were given the training they needed to effectively do PBL, we formed a partnership with PBL Works to offer professional development through the PBL Canada Institute. Teachers have found PBL to be a way to spark the interest of their students and make learning more relevant. Students at my school have created a Dinosaur Museum, improved the biodiversity on our campus and made it more accessible, and built picnic tables for an outdoor classroom.
I have learned a great deal about the benefits of PBL and the challenges of implementation. I also recently had the opportunity to visit other schools and learn more about how they have implemented PBL. As a result of my experience facilitating PBL, as well as many school visits, I have learned some key points to help other schools who are considering making their own shifts towards personalized authentic learning through PBL.
Putting Proper Scaffolds in Place
PBL has tremendous impacts on the learning of students, but it is also a shift for them. Many students are not used to the freedom and open-ended structure of PBL. To prevent students from becoming overwhelmed, it is very important to put scaffolds in place to support learners. Some strategies to help teachers scaffold projects are conducting frequent student check-ins, and using exit tickets and reflective journals. Many teachers also require groups to post project planning calendars that they use to update their progress with what needs to be done, what has been accomplished, and where assistance is needed.
Another common challenge for students is collaborating with others, but it is also a valuable skill that students can learn through PBL. A great suggestion to help groups navigate working together is to begin each project with a group agreement. In this contract, members of the group decide upon norms for group work and how to deal with disagreements. Beginning each project with a low stakes team-building task is another great way to practise working together. Finally, using some of Kagan’s co-operative learning strategies are also very helpful (kaganonline.com).
PBL can also be a big shift for teachers and requires a great deal of planning. As Juliani (2019) states, “It is really easy to teach from the textbook. It is even easier to hand out a multiple-choice test. Grade it with a scantron or online grading tool. Record the grade. Move onto the next chapter in the textbook and repeat. That is why it is so difficult to get started with project-based learning experiences. They take time to develop. They take time to plan. They take hours to put together.”
So, what can schools do to help support their teachers? First, it is crucial that schools provide job-embedded planning time, preferably with grade-level colleagues to encourage project sharing and collaboration. Second, schools must provide training and professional development for teachers.
In addition, ongoing PD and support throughout the year are critical for sustaining momentum. One way many schools are doing this is through PBL coaches. These coaches have many roles and assist teachers through all the stages of a project, from idea to implementation to reflection. In addition, it is essential that administrators show their support for teachers. Starting PBL can be scary for teachers, and administrators need to make teachers feel comfortable with taking a risk and support them regardless of outcome. Administrators also need to be visible; by showing up to a class, dropping in to check in with a teacher, or attending a presentation of learning, administrators show teachers that they care about the changes that are taking place in the classroom.
Project Ideas for Deep Learning and Sustained Inquiry
Many teachers who are new to PBL worry about how they will think of project ideas that will lead to deep learning and sustained inquiry. Before planning can begin, it is helpful to know the difference between a “dessert” project and a “main course” project. A “dessert” project is assigned to students after the learning takes place. It is a way for students to apply or show what they have learned. For example, students learn about World War II and then create a poster about an aspect of the war and present it to the class. In contrast, with a “main course” project, the learning takes place through the project. For example, to start a unit on World War II, a teacher might ask “What can we learn from World War II that will lessen the chance of another World War occurring?”
There are many ways to come up with engaging driving questions or project ideas. One suggestion is to reframe a “dessert” project into an engaging driving question that could be presented at the start of a unit, instead of at the end. Another suggestion is to use challenging questions or problems that are presented in your textbook or curriculum guide as a starting point. In addition, be open to the questions and interests of your students.
One of the teachers at my school designed an amazing PBL unit because she was open to a question one of her students had asked after they had read the book The Library Mouse. As a result of her training in PBL, she realized that this query was an opportunity for deep learning. What resulted was an engaging, cross-curricular Mouse Library Project.
Another suggestion is to find a project through many of the online resources that are available, such as:
Social media is also a great place to look for ideas, by searching the #pbl or #pblchat keywords on Twitter. Lastly, rely on your colleagues and your personal learning network— let others know that you are interested in using PBL in your classroom and ask for help.
Another challenge that many teachers face when first implementing PBL is navigating how to assess student learning. With PBL, the process of learning and creating an end product or solution is just as valuable, if not more so, than the final product or solution. In addition, it is not just academic skills that need to be assessed, but also success skills such as communication, collaboration, and critical thinking. Figuring out how to assess success skills and the process of learning, and not just final products, is a shift for many teachers. To begin, teachers need to create rubrics, preferably ones that are co-constructed, so that students fully understand how they will be assessed. The New Tech Network has some excellent rubrics that can be used as a starting point (newtechnetwork.org/resources/tag/rubric/). In addition, teachers can certainly use more traditional assessments when doing PBL such as tests and quizzes. The difference is that these assessments are presented in the context of an engaging project. Finally, teachers should plan to assess both individual and group components in a project. This can help alleviate a common frustration of students where one grade is given for a project in which group members each contributed varying amounts.
Today’s graduates need to develop a whole new set of skills in order to succeed in a complex and rapidly changing world. Acquisition of rigorous academic content is still important, but schools need to be more intentional about developing critical thinkers, communicators, collaborators, creators, and entrepreneurs. PBL is a teaching method that lends itself very well to developing both rigorous academic content and success skills. Schools that are interested in personalizing learning through project-based learning should not be deterred by its challenges, as its benefits and positive impacts on student learning far outweigh any initial hurdles with implementation.
Juliani, A. J. (2019, February 7). The Real Reason it’s so Difficult to Start Project-Based Learning. Retrieved from http://ajjuliani.com/the-real-reason-its-so-difficult-to-start-project-based-learning/
PBL Works (n.d). What is Project-Based Learning? Retrieved from https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carrie Annable has been a teacher for 17 years and is currently teaching at Hillfield Strathallan College, an Independent School in Southern Ontario. She has been using project-based learning in her classroom for four years and also acts as a coach for other teachers at her school who are interested in implementing project-based learning.
This article is from Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Fall 2019 issue.