 Inquiry is a foundation of PBL21. In May we shared with you our exciting discovery of Frog Jumping Day. We also discussed the many possibilities for a 21st century, project-based curriculum based upon that holiday, and provided you with a number of excellent resources. Project-based learning, also known as PBL, is finally gaining traction once again (after a long exile caused by the implementation of NCLB). As this new found popularity of PBL has grown a variety of PBL models have emerged, developed by an array of organizations, publishers of educational products and services, and educational consultants. These programs represent a wide range of quality; many are little more than "paint by number" activities. For example, students are not required - maybe I should say that students do not have an opportunity - to do any high level thinking, and do not develop any 21st century skills other than the ability to follow a simplistic set of directions. Opportunities to develop creativity, problem-solving, innovation, adaptability, leadership, initiative, entrepreneurialism, curiosity and imagination - all critical 21st century survival skills - are absent. (See Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap) We analyzed PBL units designed, or offered as exemplars, by several of the major (or more well-known) providers of products and services related to PBL. We found that while some of these are excellent, the majority do not meet our criteria for truly 21st century, high-level PBL curriculum. We believe that our model actually takes PBL to the next level and into the realm of authentic, 21st century education. When we realized this, PBL21 was born. We designated our model of project-based learning as PBL21 due to its full alignment to, and integration of, the critical attributes of 21st century education. The two compass roses we developed: 1.) Critical Attributes of 21st Century Education, and 2.) Multiple Literacies for the 21st Century, illustrate our criteria and define our standards for excellence in 21st century education. These two simple tools, directly supported by the 7 Survival Skills of the 21st Century, developed by Tony Wagner, help us ensure that all the criteria for 21st century education are built into the PBL21 curriculum. The final criterion for creating authentic 21st century education - or perhaps, more correctly, the first criterion - is a learning environment designed to support the new paradigm of education in the 21st century. This includes the intentional design of three critical facets of the learning environment - the Physical Environment (see our page on Fielding Nair), the Emotional Environment and the Academic Environment. We will be dedicating a lot of time to the 21st Century Learning Environment in this series. PBL21 - a Series of Discussions In this series we will share our vision, our paradigm, of 21st century education in general, and of Project-Based Learning, in particular. We will analyze what works and what doesn't. We will discuss the "whys" and "hows" of ensuring that the standards are not only learned, but learned at very high levels. We will have a discussion about teachers' expectations of their students. In our view, if a teacher assigns a student a low grade, that teacher is saying two things to the student: "You do not have to learn this." and "You are not smart." That is unacceptable. In a properly designed learning environment every student will be motivated to learn at high levels, has confidence in his ability to succeed, and will receive the necessary support to succeed. We will offer guidance on how to design a learning environment that is most conducive to learning - the Physical Environment, the Emotional Environment and then the Academic Environment. Each of these must be carefully and intentionally designed. We will outline the ways in which we differ from other providers and explain why we do things the way we do - explaining why our methods are extremely successful. And we will provide the supporting research. An example of Authentic, Performance-Based Assessment in PBL21:
Mock trials - in a real courtroom - with a real judge! There is no better way to learn about our judicial system! There are many excellent online resources for mock trials at the elementary, secondary and university levels. See the Classroom Law Project for resources for mock trials. Activity for you: Think! Which of the criteria in the 2 compass roses and the 7 Survival Skills of the 21st century are embedded in a mock trial - in a real courtroom with a real judge? This is actually a great Green Thinking Hat exercise for a professional development session or for PLCs! (Green Thinking Hat - the hat for creativity and brainstorming. You'll learn about it and use it at the workshop.) Using a Compass, not a Map - the guiding principles of PBL21 There are eight Critical Attributes of 21st Century Education: 1. Integrated and Interdisciplinary Curriculum 2. Global Classrooms, Globalization 3. 21st Century Skills 4. The 3 R's - Relevant, Rigorous and Real World 5. Adapting to and Creating Personal and Social Change 6. Project-Based and Research-Driven (students' research) 7. Student-Centered (this includes Personalized) 8. Integration of Technologies and Multimedia We selected eight Multiple Literacies for the 21st Century which we deemed as the most important to focus on in our curriculum and instruction. This is by no means a complete list. 1. Arts and Creativity 2. Information and Cyberliteracy (Digital Literacy) 3. Ecoliteracy 4. Health and Physical Fitness Literacy 5. Social/Emotional Literacies 6. Media Literacy 7. Financial Literacy 8. Global Competencies and Multicultural Literacy 7 Survival Skills of the 21st Century by Tony Wagner of Harvard University. 1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence 3. Agility and Adaptability 4. Initiative and Entrepreneurship 5. Effective Oral and Written Communication 6. Accessing and Analyzing Information 7. Curiosity and Imagination We have unit planning rubrics and templates as well. We enjoy sharing with educators just how simple this process can actually be, and by the end of our workshop teachers will have created their own, personalized PBL21 unit complete with all the classroom strategies and tools needed to support student learning.
0 Comments
Effective professional development is ongoing and "job embedded". Not all professional development should be whole-group workshops with a presenter. Some schools schedule as little as one day of professional development per year - right before school starts. Others schedule several days per year beginning with a few days right before school starts; usually 2 or 3 days are devoted to school district business, perhaps one day for a workshop with a consultant, and the rest are devoted to teacher "work days".
When working with a consultant schools usually schedule on a day which the district has dedicated to professional development, a day when students have no school; the entire faculty attends a whole-group workshop. Most school districts schedule 2 days per year for these events, one in the Fall and another in the Spring. Honestly, there is not much that can be done in one day's time that will enable the teachers to make significant change- without follow-up support. Authentic learning takes time. And support. Excellent strategies and information can be delivered to a faculty, and done so in an innovative, interactive, hands-on manner, in one day. Two days is much better. But then the teachers must take this new strategy and implement it. It is not going to be implemented perfectly the first try, or the second, etc. Mistakes will occur - and that is good - and new questions and realizations will arise. Then it is time for the additional support and follow-up. Abandon the One-Shot, Scattergun, Drive-by Models of PD and make learning real for the teachers. They need it, and they deserve it. The practice of bringing in various consultants to do one-day presentations on an array of popular topics is actually the same paradigm which believes that teaching is the act of delivering (usually via lecture) bits of knowledge to students, and that learning is time-based. Many times I have gone to a school to do a workshop with the teachers before the school year begins. Sometimes the workshop was scheduled the day before school begins. Instead of being relaxed and having fun and learning, the teachers' minds were focused on everything they still had to do to be prepared for the students arriving in the morning. They were stressed, and they did not learn. Teachers should attend summer professional development weeks in advance of school starting. Once they have attended the workshop they then need time to process what they have learned and time to integrate it into their plans. It is very likely that they will need to devote a great deal of time to researching resources, locating or obtaining materials, planning new activities, writing lesson plans, developing corresponding assessments and identifying/documenting standards. Districts can create a professional development program which is much more effective, and which will actually create the kind of results they desire - better teaching. Better curriculum and instruction leads to higher levels of student motivation, engagement, learning, grades, attendance, test scores and graduation rates! Professional Development that is Blended - Personalized - Flexible The goal should be to design and implement a multi-modal, blended program of professional development. This provides teachers with the same personalization and flexibility that the school itself offers the students! Some creativity and flexibility will allow you to provide your faculty and staff with truly effective professional development that gets results! Every PD event does not have to be with the entire staff; it does not have to require a day when students are not at school; it does not have to require large numbers of substitute teachers. In a blended PD program some of the PD will take place on-site at the campus, while some will be online. We recommend taking advantage of the following modes of PD when working with a consultant. On-Site
Online
Coming soon - designing your PD plan!  The first day of school is approaching quickly! There are many options to choose from when planning Day One. Here are three activities we consider to be "must do" to get the new school year off to a great start! We realize that many of our readers began the new school year earlier than here in the USA, and some have year-round school - whatever your schedule, these activities are highly recommended to do right now!  1. "Take What You Need" - This is an excellent strategy to begin building a sense of community in the classroom. It also supports the development of a much richer relationship between you and your students. Read all about it in my blog post on Edutopia! This is not only fun, but is actually an incredibly powerful strategy to begin building community. Your community creates the safe space for students to take risks and make mistakes - without no mistakes there is no learning! You will see immediate results. Be sure to do this first thing on the first day!  2. Create-a-Story - this is a fantastic strategy which actually has multiple purposes and benefits:
3. Student Portfolios - Celebrating Growth! - I always like to have a sample of each student's work on Day One! Here is an excellent guide to creating student portfolios which can be paper or digital. 
|
Categories
All
.
Archives
February 2018
|
||||
RSS Feed
