BACK TO PROJECT BASED LEARNING BLOGS
By: Ryan Steuer, CEO
Magnify Learning
Dallas, TX
This is part 3 of the Leadership Series on research around Project Based Learning by the Lucas Education Foundation research.
We’ve all been amazed at the transformations that happen on DIY reality TV shows. Houses once foreclosed upon become modern masterpieces, or a crew miraculously transforms a home in a week. But… we’ve also heard the stories of such projects that didn't wear well, and needed a do-over in a few months.
Project-Based Learning is an innovation in education that simply cannot be implemented like “Extreme Home Makeover.” No one wants flash-in-the-pan initiatives. Our learners are too important for that.
We don't want PBL to go strong for a year or two and then die out. We want to do this right. We're chasing after our “why” and we're servicing our learners. You will need to do some homework. Good news, though: increasing your PBL knowledge is the kind of homework that is actually fun! (See what I did there? Classic teacher spin!)
Start with the 30,000 foot design for your school or your district. It’s hugely important to have a design that will be truly sustainable. I don't want you to bring in a couple of PBL resources, have you tell your staff to “do these things” and then watch it fizzle.
So how do you start that? You already have.
Find a PBL Podcast
One of the things we suggest is to find a podcast like PBL Simplified and start thinking about the message in the context of your district. Learning for adults happens a lot like it does or should for our younger learners. So get the broader context of project-based learning. The PBL Simplified podcast can help, and there are others out there as well that you can listen to allow ideas to cross-pollinate.
Read a PBL book
E-book, audiobook, or print… whatever your preferred medium, start reading. My book, PBL Simplified, is available to buy right now wherever books are sold. It’s going to take PBL from idea to reality, both for learners and leaders, through six steps of project-based learning. There are two chapters specifically around implementation in leadership. So you'll want to make sure that you grab that book.
Michael McDowell's got a great one called Rigorous PBL by Design. We all want to maintain rigor in our project-based learning; I'd highly recommend that one. Andrew Larson has a book Life’s a Project which will be coming out soon. Just start reading about project-based learning.
Watch YouTube
There are plenty of quick two to five minute videos that can help you start learning about PBL. I've got a series out there by the same name as the podcast (PBL Simplified.) If you go to pblsimplified.com, you can sign up and you get three to five minute videos on different aspects of project-based learning. One pops up in your inbox every week.
Subscribe to a YouTube Series
Maybe you need a whole series of 52 videos throughout the year. You can go right to the Magnify Learning YouTube channel and cherry pick a few if you want. You’ll start to build up your PBL knowledge, and also your questions. You’ll start to ask the right questions like, “where do the standards fit?”, and “How do community partners tie in?” The PBL simplified series hits on those two ideas and much more. You can go in and find those exact videos and bookmark those for your staff, because you know that those need to knows are going to come up.
Read Blogs by PBL Educators
There's a lot of blogs out there. In fact, Magnify learning has a whole set of blogs written by full-time facilitators that are currently in the classroom, as well as administrators. If you want to know about group work, or group contracts and how they work in the real world, you can find that out. If you want to know how to plan a whole year’s worth of project possibilities at the beginning of the year, there's a blog for that. If you want to hear about learning teams, there's a blog written by a principal who's doing great work building his PBL learning team.
Build a Catalog of Resources
Have your favorite resources bookmarked for your early followers, because they're going to have questions. You don't want to spoon feed them; their journey should be driven by their own authentic need-to-knows in the same way that yours is, but you can always say, “hey, watch this video and let me know what you think” or, “read this book and let's do a book study.” Start to build your knowledge as well as a reservoir of research materials that you can send people to or you can support people with.
Go See It
After you've done some reading, listening, and watching, you’ll have even more questions that can really only be answered by seeing PBL in action. And you want to see PBL done well. You'll want to go visit a PBL school. Ask around in your network to find a site to go and observe for a day or more. At Magnify Learning, we've got demonstration sites in Indianapolis, Columbus, Indiana, Neosho, Missouri, and Babcock Ranch, Florida. These are some great places to go and see project-based learning in action, and there are likely schools close to you no matter where you are.
There's probably no better way to really get people on board than a site visit. Bring some stakeholders that most matter for you when you're looking at school change. Bring some of your teacher leaders, maybe some parents, maybe some board members, maybe some students. Bring teacher leaders and also bring a few that maybe aren't going to be on board. Let them come see it.
Once you are there, don’t hesitate to roll up your sleeves and probe around. You’ll be amazed. Take CSA New Tech High School as an example: I like to say, “go find the student that doesn't look like they're paying attention and ask them a question. What are they doing? Find a learner who's in the laboratory or these flexibly designed spaces like booths and ask, “what are you doing, exactly?” They might have their headphones on and a computer open, and they'll tell you exactly what they're doing, how it relates to their PBL unit, and what community partners are involved in that process. I'm just impressed every single time. Go find an elementary school if that's your area of expertise or if you just want to be impressed by eight year olds. Just find a place that's close to you and start to ask questions.
Workshops and Webinars
After that, if you're still moving forward and asking all the right questions with project-based learning, attend a workshop. We've got three day workshops: Jump Start is for beginners and PBL Advanced is for those that have tried PBL on for size and want more. Administrators and educators alike are welcome to attend.
We've got webinars. If you go to whatispbl.com and hit “Ask Ryan” you can request a specific topic. We have some things coming up specifically for principals where you can come and do some designing and some thinking with others like you.
Build a Core Team
Sooner than later, you're going to want to get more teachers involved in this. You're going to want to have a leadership team so that this is not just a top down initiative where it's like your pet project that comes off as, “Hey, I went to a conference and PBL sounds great.”
When you know PBL is the right thing to do, because it fits “your why,” how do you do it sustainably? How do you avoid burnout? I don't want you to burn out. I want you to keep doing this work. And it's all on your shoulders. You're building engagement, and also working longer hours. We want you to have that “double win,” where you're winning at work and at home. And part of that process is getting others alongside you that are fired up just like you– people that want to follow your vision.
You're the leader. You can set that north star vision and then invite them into your processes so that they can start carrying that flag forward. And once you get that, it gets really, really exciting. It’s what you've been looking for as a leader and we're going to help you get there. Build your PBL knowledge, not because you need to have all the answers, but so you can support others as they start to get curious and come on board with project-based learning.
This is how we engage learners, tackle boredom and transform classrooms.
I’m Ryan Steuer – author and thought leader who specializes in Project Based Learning training, coaching, community, and content to help educational leaders fulfill their vision of deeper learning in their schools. I’ve worked with leaders in school districts of all sizes, from 400 students to 100,000 students. These visionary leaders care about their students, but they are often stressed, overworked, and overwhelmed with the work ahead of them. That’s where I come in! I help leaders achieve their PBL vision, lead their staff, AND stop working weekends.
When I’m not guiding school leaders through Project Based Learning mindset shifts, I am outdoors with my wife and 5 kids - canoeing, hiking, biking, and traveling the US in our RV.
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