Most of my writing is inspired by the friends and colleagues I have the privilege to mentor and engage with collaboratively. Upon refection, I realize there is a consistency in the conversations we have around Project-Based Learning (PBL). In actuality, the strategies for success when implementing PBL hold true for other collaborative and long-term tasks. Below are a few reminders to reflect upon as we begin a new school year and start to prepare our students and our classrooms for effective teaching and learning.
Be prepared.
Be intentional in planning and in everything you do. Have overarching and guiding questions to prompt the assignment/project, which should always be aligned to core standards. Carefully consider and embed applicable skills and concepts across content. I like to always include some degree of writing with my assignments. Make certain there is sufficient time, which often means slowing down to adjust instruction. Likewise, make certain there are additional related tasks for students who finish daily goals early, for instance peer conferencing or extended research through related and relevant reading, technology, the arts and other media.
Set clear expectations and goals.
Students must have clearly defined expectations. It is important students understand what proficient processes and products look like; so, be sure to provide criteria for proficiency at the onset of the project. Set goals for a specific period of time, debrief those goals and set next steps. This will help students accept ownership and hold themselves accountable. Any scoring guides, rubrics and proficiency checklists need to be shared upfront.
Carefully design collaborative groups.
This is not the time for random grouping. Group students intentionally. I want students mixed heterogeneously in as many ways as possible. I think about gender, race, ethnicity, and specific skill sets. For instance, I may need a writer and an artist in every group. I consider leadership qualities and behavioral issues. I want to do everything possible on my end to set the group up for success. It is important to provide a tool to ensure accountability for the group’s process. Appropriate examples might be a process assessment rubric or checklist, a collaboration rubric or checklist, a discussion scoresheet, or a group contract. It is essential students understand group norms and the structures within which to work.
Set goals for small, achievable, focused learning targets.
Often teachers focus projects and learning primarily long-term, with no intentional checkpoints built in. This can create frustration for many students who feel overwhelmed with an assignment because they see no end in sight. They simply need more scaffolding to make clear the steps or path which leads them to completion of the task. When projects are broken down into smaller parts, most students feel more confident the final goal and product can be accomplished.
I like to have goals completed at small intervals or checkpoints, so students feel a sense of accomplishment.
Ensure accountability.
Make certain students and groups are held accountable for their time daily. In order to make certain students are engaged in learning the necessary learning standards, content and skills, it is important to use a variety of formative assessments, checking for understanding and assessing the process in a continuous and on-going manner. For example, this can be done through, scoring guides, checklists, anecdotal records, Google Docs, project logs, journals, keeping track tools, peer review, and student self-reflections.
Provide feedback early and often.
This is a Grant Wiggins quote. He also insists the feedback must be timely, specific, understandable to the receiver, and allow for adjustment.Students need to understand their strengths as well as their growth needs or areas for improvement. Grades are not feedback; nor are positive comments such as “good job”. The feedback needs to address specifically the thinking and processes necessary to advance the learning. For example, I recently observed a teacher give the following feedback, “The revision you made in paragraph 2 made it much more descriptive; therefore, it created a significantly stronger visual image. Proficient writers revise. It’s a strategy you want to keep.” Note, the feedback in this instance was about both the thinking and the process. Research tells us the greater the delay in giving feedback, the less likely it is that the feedback will be helpful or used. Let’s face it, it’s too late at the end of the assignment to assist the student’s learning.
Reflection is a must.
Reflection and self-assessment are the final stage of the learning cycle. It’s like pushing save in the brain. During reflection students focus on what they have learned, how they have learned it and what they need to do to next to move forward. Students reflect on which processes contributed to success; thus, they keep those for future learning experiences. Likewise, students need to learn from processes which were not successful and either reflect on how to improve them or discard them. The ultimate goal of the assessment process is self-evaluation for both students and teachers.
Every learning experience is an opportunity for assessment. As teachers continually observe and monitor learning through record keeping and analyzing student keeping track tools and products, they can create curriculum and design instruction to best meet the ongoing needs of their students in a relevant classroom
