Project Based Learning - Bumps in the Road

Project Based Learning "Bumps in the Road"
My thoughts as I viewed my students' data: Student 1 - got one skill but not the important skills Student 2 - understands a majority of the material, missed the easy question Student 3 - computer trouble? two questions attempted out of 6 Student 4 - absent Student 5 - understanding some of the material but not the essential skills
Project Based Learning (PBL) is a method of learning where students acquire knowledge through challenges and inquiry-based learning. One of the essential elements in PBL is key knowledge and success skills. Projects should be designed around the important CA standards at that grade level so that the key knowledge is embedded into the project. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to break down the key standards that you want in the project and determine exactly what skills are needed to be successful with these key standards. In addition, there needs to be a plan in place before starting the project as to how you are going to assess these key standards. Eureka Math believes in the Data Driven Instruction model where teachers take action, assess, analyze, and then take action again based on the results. The Eureka Math content can be used in the PBL method as both are anchored in the state standards, the focus is on understanding the key elements, assessment is a tool for driving instruction, and re-teaching can be embedded in both. In addition, success skills should be incorporated into the project to give students success later in life. These 'success skills' are commonly referred to as 21st Century Skills. A well-designed project should have these later life skills incorporated into it - whether it be problem-solving, collaboration, perseverance, or other skills you value as a teacher. The beauty of this key project element is that you, as the teacher, can decide what you want to incorporate into any given project - it can be the same over and over again or it could be a new focus each and every time. You can tailor it to the needs of your current students or you can plan ahead for what skills your students will need at the next grade level.
	I just finished a project in 8th grade - "Pokemon Go". The project was designed around the major standard of solving system of equations. Students were asked to choose any three points to write a system of equations in slope-intercept form and solve the system using three different methods. The points chosen represented where their Pokemon was being placed on our campus and the system created was the information being given to someone else to find their Pokemon. There was even a day devoted to a practice run of "Pokemon Go" where locations were set up around campus with their coordinates and students were solving a system of equations going from one location to the next location. The success skills (21st Century Skills) students were asked to demonstrate was the ability to write their systems into Desmos (the CAASPP graphing calculator) and create a Google Slide presentation to show off their self-created Pokemon and write about their learnings throughout the project. Students had to submit their three system of equations through one graph on Desmos which allowed me to easily see if they created their systems correctly and if they could use the graphing calculator correctly. The Google Slide presentation was submitted through Google Classroom so that I could open each presentation, comment on it, and grade it. The "bump in the road" came at the end of the project when the formative assessment was given to the students. The assessment was a six-question quiz that covered the essential skills embedded in the key standard. The results were disheartening - after spending four weeks on this key standard I could not prove with the data that the key learnings were mastered by the students. I could offer possible explanations but the end result is that the students did not grasp what I had expected them to grasp when designing the project. Where do I go from here? I now start the reflection process (described in last month's blog). Is this project meaningful and relevant? In my opinion yes, but is it meaningful and relevant to the students in the context of "Pokemon Go?" Is it grounded in CA key standards? In my opinion yes, but were there enough checkpoints along the way to raise red flags for me that the content was not being understood? What can be changed to enhance the project? An ongoing question for the moment. These are just a few of the questions that I am currently going through as I process the last project. I tell you this experience because you may too come to the end of the project (or a unit of study) feeling disheartened. While it is disheartening, we entered this great profession because we each believe that we can make a difference for each and every one of our students. When the results do not show what we expected, then we pick ourselves up and decide what to do differently - but we never give up. Because that is all the time I have left before CAASPP and this is such a key element in the standards, this isn't the end of the system of equations for my students - but rather a journey that now must be visited and re-visited over the next 30 school days. The question is how I plan on doing this - to be honest, I have not answer but I do know that I am committed to trying again in some other format.
"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." - Colin Powell
I encourage you to take risks with Project-Based Learning in an upcoming unit of study - and if you hit a "bump in the road", then learn from it and do not give up. Still learning and loving it, Kevin