Setting the
Title Here
standard
for projectbased
learning
Tony Harris
http://misterharris.org (should be online this week)
http://web.mac.com/misterth/misterharris/MRH_main.html
-click on PBL .docs and suggested PBL reading
The Buck Institute for Education is…
• An educational research and development organization;
focused on 21st-century secondary school reform
through project based learning
• A nonprofit 501c(3) funded in perpetuity by the Leonard
and Beryl Buck Trust
• Located in Novato, California (20 mi. north of San
Francisco)
Begin With the End in Mind
-mapping backwards
Your ideal grad – begin with the end in mind
Title Here
Your ideal grad – begin with the end in mind
Title Here
Your ideal grad – begin with the end in mind
Title Here form
Leadership skills
-Habits of Mind
-21st Century Skills
-SCANS Skills
-Essential Abilities
Leadership skills
available online
- Communicate Effectively and Persuasively:
- Manage Projects Effectively:
- Think Critically:
- Solve Problems Resourcefully:
- Express Themselves Creatively:
- Collaborate Productively:
Measureable?
Assessable?
Make it happen
By changing the context
This requires Transformational Change in:
-Environment
-Instruction
-Control
(5th Grade, Rancho)
Aviation High
QuickTime™ and a
Sorenson Video 3 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
What did you see? Hear?
Task: In your table groups, review your
impressions of the classroom behaviors (of the
teacher and students) you viewed. Discuss.
Report Out
Your group’s ideas/observations
Bacterial Transformation Lab Vid…..
(COT form)
Observation redux
Task: In your table groups, review the classroom
observation tool. (form)
-Divide observation duties
-Observe the next video and record your data
Report Out
Your group’s ideas/observations when the
video is over
Role of the teacher
Data flow
Teacher talk
Textbooks
Output
Teachers
Role of the teacher
Internet research
Supplemental
reading
Data flow
TV and film
Expert
Interviews
Teacher talk
Community
Feedback
Textbooks
Student talk
Teachers
Real-world
experience
Output
Parents
Peers
Community
World
Role of the teacher
Learner
Facilitator
Builder
Partner
Model
Expert
Ask yourself: What has been the basis of
your most satisfying interactions with kids?
Role of the student
Respect the professionalism of teachers
Learn from failure
Do the right thing when no one is looking
Ask for help
Seek more than a correct answer
Inquire
Ask yourself: Would these behaviors help produce your dream
classroom?
6 traits of highly effective schools
Challenging and cohesive learning environment
Coherent instructional program
Professional community of teachers
Effective school leadership
Emphasis on improvement
Parent and community involvement
Source - North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
Pbl vs. projects
(Tech High)
Projects
PBL
Teacher directed
Inquiry based
Highly structured
Open-ended
Summative
On-going
Thematic
Driving question/challenge
Fun
Engaging
Answer giving
Problem solving
De-contextualized – School world
Contextualized – Real world
Continuum of Practice
The Six A’s of Project Design
-Authenticity
-Academic Rigor
-Applied Learning
-Active Exploration
-Adult Relationships
-Authentic Assessments
Simultaneous Outcomes
(achieved through various benchmarks, or, the
process itself)
Content
Academic Skills
Leadership Skills
Products
Community involvement
Standards
Etc.
Project #1 The Debate
Students in the 9th grade Humanities Core (English and Social Science) are told
that they will be doing a 2-week unit of study designed to build their oral
language skills (use of persuasive arguments, evidence to support an opinion,
rhetorical devices, etc.). They are divided up into teams to prepare for a debate
on one of three topics: school uniforms, curfews, and homework. Each group
does research and prepares arguments for both sides, since they will not know
which position they will take until the day of the debate. Their performance in
front of the class is scored with a rubric and their written notes and arguments
for both sides are turned in for grading.
Project #2 Evolution
In a core program for high school freshmen, a team of three 9th grade
teachers from Science, Social Studies, and English have decided that they
will develop a one-month project on evolution. The project will address
content standards for genetics and evolution, patterns of global change in
an era of imperialism, and literary response and analysis. The team settles
on the Driving Question: “Is Evolution a Positive Force for Change and
Progress?” For curriculum, students in the science class will study
Darwinism, natural selection, and Mendelian genetics. In Social Studies,
students in a World Cultures class will examine theories of evolution and
mythology in India. In English, students will read and discuss the novel Lord
of the Flies. The products will be a fruit fly experiment in Science, a visual
essay of Indian mythology in World Cultures, and a literary response paper
in English. The three products will be posted on a digital portfolio of work
collected by students over their four years, under the title “The Evolution
Project.”
parallel learning…….
vs.
……..integrated curriculum
QuickTime™ and a
Sorenson Video 3 decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
What is PBL?
In your groups, using your prior knowledge, experience, and
information from today so far, create a poster that communicates
the essential components of a successful PBL classroom.
Begin With the End in Mind
-mapping backwards
What’s the point?
Who’s involved?
What are the main products?
How is it all tied together and presented?
Are there any standards in there (somewhere)?
Ma and Pa Kettle
(beliefs and deprogramming)
Mis-belief system
It’s not standards-based
I can’t use traditional teaching tools
It’s loud and messy
No individual accountability
I can’t cover all required material/standards (Power Standards
Belief system
Rigor
Relevance
Relationships
Rigor
Relevance
is more than high test scores
Evokes prior knowledge; demonstrates future application
Relationships
drive rigor (Eric)
Project phases
*1. Begin with the end in mind
5. Manage the process
*2. Craft the Driving Question
4. Map the project
3. Plan the Assessment
Entry Documents and Events!!
(mythbuster’s)
Creating a “need to know”
Task: Act like a teenager (a well-behaved one) and
respond to prompts from your instructor after reading
the Entry Event for the project.
(Puritan Memo)
“If I Build It Packet” online
The driving question – and more
Provocative
Open-ended
Authentic
Concrete
Relevant and rigorous
Requires core knowledge to answer
Requires process skills (21st CS) to complete
Design tip: A project can be shaped by a challenge
statement, an investigation, a community issue or
student interest
What’s a DQ look like?
What is a safety shed?
How can we design and build a cost-effective,
fireproof safety shed that can be used in all high
schools in the district?
What’s a DQ look like?
What is a heart-healthy meal for seniors
How do heart-healthy meals nurture seniors and
extend longevity?
What’s a DQ look like?
How do we design an effective, low-cost water
filter?
How do we design an effective, low-cost water
filter that prevents toxins from entering the
Lake Washington?
A good Driving Question
evokes a deeper, richer, and
more dense response.
Your turn
Working in table groups (no more than 3-5 per group), use the handout
to select, refine or create a driving question. ( Archetypes DQ form)
Report Out
Your group’s ideas/observations
The Refining protocol
Question 1: Can my students read and comprehend the driving
question?
Question 2: Is the driving question open-ended or can it be
answered with a “yes” or “no?”
Question 3: Does the driving question allow me to create a local
context for the topic(s) under study?
Question 4: Does the driving question offer opportunities for
students to express voice and choice while demonstrating
understanding of key standards/content?
Question 5: Does the driving question ask students to engage in
an inquiry that is both rigorous and relevant?
Question 6: Does the driving question allow me to design both
individual and collaborative tasks that require higher-level thinking
skills?
Project phases: Looking at Design
*Begin with the end in mind
Manage the process
*Craft the Driving Question
Map the project
Plan the Assessment
The turkey dinner
Activities
& Scaffolds
Authentic
Assessment
Demonstration
of
Understanding
End in mind
Project pathways…
Global
competencies
Activities
Assessments
Project idea
or concept
Standards
Student interest
Scaffolds
Driving
question
Curriculum
materials
Student
products
Community
issues
Real-world
practice
Plan your
project
Experiences that
Promote
Understanding
5. Create
scaffolding,
lessons, labs,
homework,
etc.
Begin with the
end in mind
Authentic
Assessment
4. Create/
collect rubrics,
exams, tests…
Demonstration
of
Understanding
3. Describe
major student
products/
performances
1. Develop
overall idea,
set learning
goals
Driving
Question
2. Create
driving
question for
your project
Scope (and Scale)
Small
Ambitious
Duration
15-20 contact hours
20-50 contact hours
Breadth
One subject (1-2 power
standards)
Interdisciplinary
(3-4 power standards)
Technology
Limited
Extensive
Outreach
Classroom
Community/World
Design
One teacher
Many teaches, outside
experts, community
Audience
Classroom
Experts, community,
world, web
Command and control
Teacher-defined;
tightly managed
Student voice and choice
The mastroykas
Next Steps
*Begin with the end in mind
Manage the process
*Craft the Driving Question
Map the project
Plan the Assessment
1. Examine project planning form
2. Explore on-line resources
3. Generate Project Idea
resource search and share
Task:
1) Use the resource search worksheet and visit one or more
of the on-line project libraries.
2) Find at least one project you or the teachers you work
with could develop
3) Record the details
Report Out
Let’s look at some projects…….
http://misterharris.org
http://web.mac.com/misterth/misterharris/MRH_main.html
-click on PBL .docs
4-6 forms
Begin with the End in Mind: First Steps
for today:
•Develop an idea
•Come up with a Driving Question
•Decide on scope
•Select content standards
•Incorporate 21st-Century skills and other broad outcomes
Did you know……?
(,flv)
So, why PBL?
(ask Rip Van Winkle….)
Hopes and fears……