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By: Joe Steele, High School PBL Facilitator
Columbus Signature Academy New Tech High School
Columbus, IN
As we attempt to manage our classes from home, it may seem daunting to launch a project from afar, but I think you will be surprised at what you can achieve with some ingenuity, shared documents and patience. For many students the lack of vocal interruptions and peer distractions makes learning from home easier. Having only a web page to display expectations and tasks allows some students to more clearly see how to be successful. There are obvious challenges, but if you can find a community partner with some basic technology skills, you can still have all of the stages of a great project.
Many community partners are home during this time as well and would love to assist in a PBL. This is also a great time for your parents to see a project firsthand. I especially want them to experience my launch alongside their child and see how inquiry-based education can unfold. The launch sparks curiosity, so if parents see it, they may naturally ask their child about their progress as the project unfolds. I would even write a detailed email to parents explaining the process, sharing links and videos with them, so they have the tools to facilitate their child, if they are available and capable. The email could include tips on assisting students without solving projects for them. Below, I have taken each of my stages of a project and described how they can be accomplished through e-learning. Many of my students are bored and excited for a challenge. I have gotten some of my best, most detailed work all year from some students during this time. You too may be surprised with the outcomes, if you’ve got the guts to launch!
The Entry Event
Project launches are usually big events, built to grab the attention of the students and need to be strong enough to sustain their engagement. The community partner is usually physically present, preferably dressed in their work attire, pleading for my students’ assistance in solving their issue. Even when we are unable to be face to face, you can still create a seismic event of the launch, virtually. Where I would decorate the classroom with project themed artifacts, I now change the layout of my homepage to the theme of the project. For our coffee shop drink project, which I discuss below, I had videos linked like this video evaluating Asian drinks for students to experience. It may resonate with the students and allow them to fall into the project.
Many times, even without forced e-learning, I like to film my community partner challenging my students or have them write a letter. With film or writing, you can control the narrative. You can edit it so that the community partner drops perfect bread crumbs and can make their statement clearly without the pressure of speaking live to a roomful of students (Bread Crumbs are details that force the students to travel a certain direction. If I want my students to use persuasive techniques, I will make sure my community partner says something like, “We need to convince families living in town to use the free recycling toters.” Then when the students complete their need to know, I can go back to that word convince and ask the students, “What does that mean we must do?”)
I almost always have an Entry Document with a project launch for the same reasons. Here is an example Entry Document for a project. Can you see how students will connect the warm up video - above with this entry letter? Read the document and imagine the project. Once the launch concludes and students begin to define the problem they’ve been handed, and start their Knows/Need to Know list, they can annotate the Entry Document and mine it for information I planted within. You can have students watch the launch video and read the Entry Document with a shared Know/Need to Know Google doc open. They can individually view all of it multiple times to prepare themselves for the next collaborative steps in the project and to populate the Know/Need to Know List. Once students have experienced the launch, they need a gathering space to communally define the problem as they see it.
Define the Problem/Knows and Need to Knows
Following your links to the Project Launch materials, students need a moment to reflect on what they’ve just been challenged to do. You also need confirmation that your expectations and bread crumbs were correctly interpreted. To accomplish this, students need a collaborative space to define the problem. My students all use Google docs so frequently, they can all respectfully collaborate and build in a shared document. Here is my generic Knows/Need to Know Doc. Students understand the expectations of professionalism. I also use their shared documents editing history to assess their work. They too use editing history to justify their contributions. This establishes expectations of working together on shared docs. They can add, but not delete anyone else’s words. We also use discussion boards for collaboration. Our teaching platform, itslearning, has discussion threads we can create in our courses. I can also pose the K/N2Ks in threads and students can post all of their individual contributions, replying to each other, building through digital chat. You also do not have to do a Know/Need to Know in real time. You can say, this document will be open for 24 hours and everyone must be in the editing history by this time tomorrow. Through collaboration, as a group, you define the problem, then have the students imagine what it will look like when this problem is solved.
Solution Criteria
Once students have an understanding of the issue, they need a definition of success. Often, the Solution Criteria needs the input of the community partner. They know the parameters of their need and can help define how the problem might be solved. Not only that, but many times there are Need to Knows your students will have that require feedback from the community partner. I like to create a copy of the Need to Know document and share the digital copy with the community partner. This can all be done without ever leaving Google Docs. The community partner, in the comfort of their home, can give clarity in their own words on the document. I do not want my students to see the community partner’s answers on their own document because many times the community partner may reveal too much that takes away from the students’ inquiry. I then can filter the feedback from the Community Partner. We then take the Knows list and translate it into a Solution Criteria. Here is a Know/Need to Know List with the Solution Criteria the students in my morning class created, at the bottom of the document. This Solution Criteria document is how my afternoon class came to similar conclusions in a different format. We define, in a perfect world with no budget and time, what would be considered absolutely perfect for our community partner’s problem. We do this on the same document as the Know/Need to Know list, so students can reference back up and see their Know items. Once you and the students have created the Solution Criteria, like a rabbit out of a hat, you give them the rubric, and tier each parameter of the Solution Criteria into clear expectations for students to begin exploring the topic and building their own Possible Solutions. I have the rubric created before I launch the project.
Here is the Coffee Shop Drink Rubric from the project mentioned above. I try to anticipate all possible directions they could go and create assurances that their inquiry will lead them directly through addressing my course standards. Since all of the students are home, all of the solutions must be able to be created at home. We can address any barriers during this Solution Criteria session. As soon as the students finish creating the solution criteria, I present them with the rubric. So as all of the possibilities for the project are swirling in their head, they see the logic and scope of my rubric. I do allow for their voice in the rubric as well, so they comment directly on the document Likes and Wonders. Often there are details or possible paths to the solution my rubric didn’t account for. But following the session of Likes and Wonders, I solidify the rubric; students need clarity of expectations going into Possible Solutions.
Possible Solutions
Now, we are to the stage in a project where students begin exploring their personal interests and ideas for the solution. This is where I give students readings, assessments and workshops to scaffold for students needing clarity or direction. I make this a journal where the student explains to me what they think would make a great possible solution. This needs to be individual and you must get feedback from every student to ensure they understand the project and can see a direction for themselves within it. The data I gain from this check-in is usually used to create groups. I could base it on anything from their interests to levels of understanding. During e-learning, group work is extremely difficult. I often make projects during e-Learning as an individual project, so I can scale for the unique individual barriers e-learning presents. If I have a strong class, where every student is active everyday, we can do group work. I establish very clear collaboration expectations and have multiple avenues of communication between students and myself while on E-Learning days. Groups fill out Group Contracts, just like we were at school. Here is my E-Learning Group Contract Form. Many of our students have access issues and require more time, without a clear class meeting time, many students do their work at odd hours. The contract can account for odd hours, while still making agreements on when students will get together or have items completed. Again, shared documents, checking editing histories, constant contact with students and making sure students advocate when members break agreements, will all aid in collaboration being successful. I have personally used this e-learning time to assign individual projects. This way I can scale work to the individual, they are only reliant on themselves and if anyone has tech issues, I can alter assignments without derailing the entire project. Again, it is imperative you check everyone before unleashing them to begin running a solution.
Run, Solve, Inspect
Running a solution outside of the classroom, where you cannot control the available resources, may force you to adapt your expectations, but you may be surprised what products can be created and shared virtually. Being an English teacher, where my standards are reading, writing and speaking, nearly all products can be virtual. All of my students have Chromebooks with cameras and can film themselves; thus, they can create commercials, short films, mini documentaries, short stories, articles, posters, radio announcements, podcasts, reviews, etc… all from the comforts of their bedrooms. During the work time, as they run their solution, I have multiple benchmarks, check-ins and one on one virtual meetings. I also host workshops to directly address the standards at the heart of the project. Students will have articles linked on our page to read and respond to individually daily. I will give quizzes and failing the quiz puts students in a workshop or check-in. Even though you are not face to face, you can still use your days checking their progress, calling or doing FaceTime with students needing support. Then, once you’ve set a fair deadline, considering all barriers, you allow them a space to share out and give feedback.
Present Possible Solutions
Again, we use the Google Suite of programs, so students can create, share and comment on each other’s work with ease. I created a Google Roster for Feedback in a Virtual Gallery Walk. By having all students link their work on a shared document, they can see the quality level of their peers and you have an easy one-stop-shop to assess everyone's work. You can have the feedback session open for extended periods of time, to ensure all students have time to give feedback. I, again, make a copy of this document for my community partner, deleting all of the students’ Likes, Wonders and Next Steps so the community partner can examine everyone’s linked work and give personalized feedback. Following the virtual feedback sessions, students use the feedback to make final edits before their big final share out.
Share out Public Product
My students are versed in using their Chromebook, so if they have made a slideshow presentation of their Possible Solution, they can record themselves over the playing of their slideshow. Here are a couple samples of their Slideshows: Citron Tea Slideshow and Banana Milk Slideshow. Students could also use the camera and video themselves presenting. We have Google Hangouts and Zoom, so we could schedule the class to meet and allow students to present virtually as others fill out grading rubrics on what they see. I usually just create another Gallery Walk document and have students share their final presentations there. If students are writing articles, I often make a virtual newspaper and students add their articles to the overall piece, so in the end we have a full newspaper where everyone can find everyone’s work. Whatever virtual platform you use, you can invite guests to be panelists. I share the Final Gallery Walk document with my principal, community partners or other teachers to view and give feedback, just like we would do in person. If students know their audience beforehand will be filled with professional adults, their work quality will rise.
Evaluate
I like to hold the final evaluation in a one-on-one scheduled Google Hangout. Here is the Coffee Shop Final Evaluation Interview Questions Doc I give the students to prepare for the Parents can be present as well, since they may have assisted on the project or will want to hear your feedback to their child. During the hangout, I open their product and go through the rubric with them. If I am giving them a developing score for an aspect of their product, they can defend their work or gain an understanding why they are receiving the score you are giving. You can also let the conversation prepare them to transition into reflecting on their work to end the project and the final assessment you may have to complete the project. Since I am an English teacher, I also assign students to individually write a persuasive essay, arguing why their group’s drink should be chosen. Here is an example Bubble Tea Essay.
Reflection and Celebration
I assign a final Individual Reflection Journal so students can individually discuss their trials during the project, their successes and outline their growth in our academic standards. You could also host a class-wide Google Hangout to let everyone reflect together and maybe use the hangout to celebrate. Start with a serious conversation, transition into celebrating individual successes, maybe even announce whose possible solution will be used by the community partner. Then finally transition into a dance party and celebrate the end of another successful project. If you cannot get together live, have students share videos of themselves celebrating. Maybe have the community partner film their unveiling of the solution or saying thanks for the students’ hard work.
Being a public educator, we are already trying to make magic with worn out tools and sparse resources. Forcing everything to be virtual is just another challenge to be overcome. There are so many apps and programs to facilitate distance learning. Our students are creative and will surprise you with how they use the tools they have on hand at home. My encouragement is to not give up, and instead continue to be creative and work through barriers. You won’t be disappointed by the results!
Joe Steele works at CSA New Tech High School as a Language Arts Facilitator and also serves as a Magnify Learning PBL Certified Instructor. He lives deep in the hills of Brown County with his brilliant wife, Bridget, a middle school science PBL teacher, and their two youngest children, Savannah, 13, and Weston, 11. Their oldest, Kaleb, 22 is a senior at Indiana University.
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