The Most Informative List Of How To Fail (Or Not) At Project Based Learning
Learning is like lifting weights. If the students are always watching you lift weights, you are the one getting stronger, not them.
I remember running into one of my students as a bagger in a grocery store about 2 years after teaching him. He recognized me and we chatted about his life. He remembered me as a teacher, but he couldn't even remember what subject or grade I taught.
Now that year was one of the years I was proudest of as a teacher. I taught 10th grade U.S. history. I had lessons that included lots of fun activities and cute foldables, and interesting project styles. I had great connections with my students (with one of them even writing a letter to the vice principal because she wanted someone to know how much I impacted her) that I could feel. I thought I was killing it.
That this student couldn’t remember 1 thing I taught them was a wake-up call for me. That fun lessons and building relationships are important, but if students literally gain nothing from my class can I honestly feel proud of the job that I did? Nope.
Here are my three biggest mistakes I made when implementing the PBL/workshop method in my classroom, and how I fixed them.
1) Getting rid of the things that were working.
Now while I was appalled that my bagger couldn't even remember the subject I taught him, he did recognize me and wanted to have a conversation with me years after I taught him. Because he felt comfortable and safe and cared about in my classroom. I spent my first few years of teaching really focusing on creating an environment where students felt safe, and could also have fun.
When I transitioned to PBL I forgot to continue to cultivate the environment of fun and safety in conjunction with changing how I taught. PBL is a method where you will challenge your students, you will let them struggle, and you will give them lots of critiques. And in order to do this effectively you need to have solid relationships with students and create a classroom environment where they feel safe and can have fun. This is what will allow them to do the hard work that needs to happen.
What I do now instead: Make time for relationships and fun within my classroom structures
I like to have 1 fun activity a day for students where they are either doing a fun warm up as a small group: like a would you rather, or a team building movement break: like human knot. Or a closing activity where I get to know my students better and they get to know me like asking them fun personal or open-ended questions like: what's your spirit animal and why, or what is something you wish your teacher knew about you.
This way at least once a day students get the chance to practice important collaboration and communication skills in fun ways. When students feel connected to you and each other they are going to learn more.
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2) Focusing on product over process
Another way to torpedo PBL is to get caught up by focusing on students creating amazing products and the outcomes that I forgot that the process is where the learning happens.
I was allowing my students to redo assignments for full points, and writing tons of specific and actionable feedback on their assignments after they turned them in. But most students would do a "redo" without even reading the feedback! When I asked, most of them couldn't find the feedback. And several of them never did redos until a few days before the end of the quarter when they would ask for extra credit only to be told they could do redo's but I don't offer E.C.
My students weren't using or caring about the feedback, so not only was it a complete waste of their time, but I was writing the same things literally 150 times per assignment so it was a huge waste of my time. They were just rushing through their assignments to get the stuff done without showing me their best work, and we were all getting frustrated.
And it was my fault. After the fact feedback isn't actionable, it's a suggestion on what should have happened in the past. By focusing solely on the product my students weren't given the tools or the opportunity to actually learn and grow themselves. And by not giving students opportunities to give feedback themselves they weren't understanding how to use it. I was doing all the heavy lifting, no wonder they weren't getting stronger!
What I do now instead: Make the process my priority and have lots of flexible work time within a weekly structured framework with daily goals for students
So I started doing only 1 project per unit and breaking down the unit into smaller pieces mixed in with fun learning activities to build knowledge and skills. I also started giving more points for the process of making the project than the final product.
I give students a grade on each part of their assignments like their thesis statements. They write it and then check it with me. I would then give them the grade and verbal and/or written feedback to improve right there, and without even having to say it my students would immediately go back and use the feedback to improve their grades on their thesis before moving onto the next piece of the project.
I also started making peer and self review a part of every single project and spent time teaching them not only how to give feedback, but how to use it in warm ups and fun activities.
3) Forgetting reflection
As I moved to PBL I was seeing that my students were gaining a lot. Their writing and communication was improving, their critical thinking was better, they were being creative and thoughtful, and they were asking great questions.
But they were still struggling with problem solving and taking ownership of the learning. I felt like I was no longer carrying the burden of learning, but I was the one doing all the caring for them.
I brushed it off as typical teenager behavior for a bit. It would have been easy to write all of these things off and accept that students were working, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was just missing something. And then I realized, the problem was ME.
I wasn't giving students any opportunity or training on how to do the reflecting that is necessary, or making personal connections that are required to create intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the golden goose of education that allows students to be able to see challenges as opportunities and makes them want to put 110% of their effort into learning. Without candy!
I expected my students in their adolescence to figure it out themselves. And we were all paying the price.
What I do now instead: Build in reflection to the beginning, middle and end of each unit. And include actual soft skills lessons and activities within my unit plans.
I have implemented specific routines and times for students to reflect both on their progress by setting goals and creating action plans to accomplish these goals. I am also giving them the time to reflect on when and where the learning matters in their lives. Instead of telling them why I thought they should learn, they are the one’s making that connection for themselves.
For the best way to do this with open ended questions check out this freebie!
Cheatsheet version:
The key to PBL is to make sure that the heavy lifting is being done by your students when it comes to practicing the skills and the content so that they are the one's getting stronger not you.
But just like a personal trainer wouldn't give a novice 200 pounds of weight to their client and expect them to suddenly deadlift or bench press the weight without some practice and training, make sure you are taking the time to establish routines, fun activities, and management techniques that support students through the process of lifting those weights in larger and larger increments until they don't need you anymore.
And for full systems, structures, and tools including resources, templates and examples to bring PBL to life in your classroom check out 4 Ways to Practically Engage Students in the Classroom or the Ultimate Classroom Transformation courses!
