Project-Based Learning (PBL) is growing more and more prevalent in our schools. Based on what I have read and observed, this is a very good thing for students (when implemented effectively!). This is also a shift in practice for many of our teachers. For years now we have made sure that preparation for the nationalized tests is all about drill and kill, "got to pass that test so we can stay out of restructuring." In my humble opinion, the NCLB hockey stick has set education progress back a good number of years.
Jump to 2013 and we find ourselves in the midst of one of the greatest shifts in education practice ever. With the movement to a national Common Core set of standards that are conceptual in nature, local education systems now have more freedom to make use of local, relevant content to teach their students. The accountability of NCLB is still in place (though I prefer a growth model to a hockey stick!) and we now need to shift our thinking in how we are engaging students in the content. PBL gives us one of those options.
The centerpiece of PBL is asking the right questions and then inquiring as to relevance of data, reliability of data and formulation of new ideas to be shared with others in written, oral, and tech centered presentations. What makes this approach more relevant is that our current global situation has so many real world issues for students to inquire about and create potential solutions. In the anthology 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn, John Barell writes a chapter titled Problem-Based Learning: The Foundation for 21st Century Skills. In this chapter, Barell asserts that the actual nature and state of the current world necessitates a shift in education from memory and reproduction to one of inventiveness and creativity. He postulates that PBL is a much better match for the human brain. Since the early phases of human development, we have been solving problems in order to survive. Naturally, if we create scenarios designed to activate those portions of brain, we will get a higher degree if engagement from students and their retention of what they are "learning" will rise significantly. Add to the scenario a structured level of choice and we now have a recipe for all students to engage and thrive.
In his chapter Barell gives specific examples of planning outlines and strategies that teachers can use to create strong inquiry based units for students. Barell does not shy away from the fact that this type of teaching approach requires tremendous preparation on the part of teachers. He is clear that the teacher does not simply come up with a plan and cut kids loose, but provides fundamental direct instruction where needed - say research skills, certain background information, proper writing skills, etc. but all of this is taught through the context of inquiry based scenarios.
Barell describes the development of "ill-structured" societal scenarios that exist in our world today: feeding the poor, containing financial contagion in the European region, global warming, over fishing, supplying water for escalating populations, etc. These scenarios require students to pose questions, conduct research, decide on the relevance of the research (and its validity), and produce possible actionable scenarios. Students then need to present their thinking using tools that help them get their message across in the most clear fashion. To me, what an exciting class!!
To work with students in this manner and foster those higher order thinking skills, teachers must plan with the end in mind. Formative assessments embedded throughout the unit that include observations and interviews and specific instruction where needed are a necessity. Rubrics must be in place so that students are able to measure their own movement toward standard. Skills for working cooperatively must be taught and classroom management must be clear and consistent. Teaching of this sort requires a high degree of expertise. Administrators and school systems need to be making plans and allocations to support this paradigm shift in how we teach our students.
"When asked what he and others had wrought at the constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, Ben Franklin replied, "A republic. If you can keep it" (as cited in Platt, 1992)." (pg. 197)
Barell concludes by stating that in order for us "to keep our republic, we need to educate for thoughtful engagement with all of its many challgenges." (pg. 197). Are we ready to accept the challenge?
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