Creating Academic Success Through Leading and Entrepreneurship

80/20 and PBL

“80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.”-- Tim Ferriss

    Think about that for a moment. Of everything that we do, only 20% of our actions account for 80% of the results. Another way to look at it? Think about the contacts in your phone. Currently, 20% of your phone contacts result in 80% of your phone calls.

     The 80/20 Rule, or Pareto Principle, has been around for centuries and used by a wide array of businesses, such as Google. Google’s 20 Time allowed their engineers to spend 20% of their working time pursuing projects of their choice. One example of how this worked out--gmail.

    So how does this relate to the classroom and to PBL? Good question. Let’s look at some of the shared characteristics of 80/20 and PBL:

• Allows students to explore what their passions are
• Places students in charge of their learning                                
• Fosters curiosity
• Creates self-motivation
• Encourages students (and teachers) to go above and beyond the standards
• 
  Causes students to understand that learning is a lifetime goal and that it doesn’t begin or end with schooling

   What does this look like in a classroom? I am glad you asked. Jeffrey McMicken of Ridge View High School has adopted the “20 Time” or “Genius Hour” in his English 3 classes. They spend one day per week (or 20% of their time) working on a project of their choosing. This year, as part of their “20 Time” project, Mr. McMicken’s juniors partnered with the 4th grade team at Sandlapper Elementary School for a mentoring program. As part of this partnership, McMicken’s students visit the Sandlapper campus monthly “to help collaborate on passion projects called Project CASTLE (Creating Academic Success Through Leading and Entrepreneurship).” McMicken said he was inspired to develop 20 Time after witnessing the success of other teachers, such as Nicholas Provenzano. But McMicken believes that  20 Time isn’t about the teacher’s success. It is about the students’ success. McMicken’s project builds “life skills-- goal setting, responding to failure, and communication/writing skills.” It puts students in control of their own learning by allowing them  to “figure out” how they learn best. This year’s 20 Time Showcase will be in the auditorium and large gym of Ridge View High School on Thursday, May 19th from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

   Interested in learning more about how through "20% Time we can solve one of society’s biggest problems by giving students a purpose for learning?” Take a moment to read “Why 20% Time is Good for Schools.”

Designing Project Learning Targets

Driving Question: How can learning targets help students take responsibility for their learning?

When you develop learning targets for your students you provide them a clear path to know what content you expect them to know by the end of the PBL unit.  Remember, no matter how great the project, they need to know the content.

Developing your learning targets first starts with your standards. Take your standards for the PBL unit and really break the standard down so that you can scaffold the learning targets.

Learning targets are statements written in student friendly language; they are specific, measurable, and demonstrate a level of rigor.

When drafting your learning targets consider the following:

• How could we chunk down the standards
• What key pieces of learning do students need to build on to reach these learning goals?
• What would it sound like in student friendly language?
• What are we really wanting students to be able to DO here?

So when you plan your next project, develop clear learning targets for your students so they will know exactly what content you want them to learn while they are working through your PBL unit. You can use the linked rubric to assess your learning targets.

Creating the Culture

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend PBL Academies in Nashville, Tennessee. I must say, this was one of those conferences that reminded me of why I do what I do and added fuel to my already burning fire for PBL. One of the topics that hit home with me that week was PBL as a culture.

In PBL meetings, I’m sure you have been hearing a great deal about establishing a PBL culture in your classrooms and schools. It’s not just something you do. It’s a way of being as it pertains to teaching and learning. Our first keynote speaker at the conference made several points that resonated with my thinking and beliefs about PBL and how to create that culture in your classroom and ultimately in your school.

Bob Lenz, Executive Director at the Buck Institute, shared a few reminders for helping us create a culture of PBL. He reminded us that PBL is a journey, a mindset, and the combination of pedagogy and philosophy. My interpretation and take-aways from his presentation are shared below:

1) PBL is a journey.

We must remember in our classrooms that PBL is a journey; it’s not a destination. Our goal is not just the completion of a project. As effective teachers, we know our goal for our students is acquisition of knowledge and skill development (to include character and citizenship skills as well). When we see PBL as a journey, not a destination, or a marathon, not a sprint, it becomes more a way of being rather than something you do with your students.

   2) PBL is a mindset, not a method.

In our classrooms, PBL must become a mindset. PBL is not a strategy or a technique. It’s best practice. As Chuck mentioned in last week’s blog, the teaching practices of PBL should be employed during PBL projects as well as during instructional times not focused on PBL projects. When we see PBL as a mindset and not a method, we will begin to see the PBL teaching practices as a part of our day to day instruction - PBL project in progress or not.

  3) PBL is pedagogy and philosophy.

PBL is not pedagogy alone. PBL is not philosophy alone. PBL is the integration of pedagogy and philosophy and one informing the other in our classrooms. As teachers, our beliefs about students, student learning, student achievement, and student success all inform our practices. We can’t look at PBL in a box labeled strategies or philosophy. It’s a framework where best practices and beliefs are interwoven. When we take PBL out of the box, we will begin to see how the integration of our philosophy along with best practices and pedagogy can indeed impact the culture in our classrooms.

In thinking over these take-aways and remembering Chuck’s blog from last week, I gained greater clarity on establishing PBL as a culture. Take it out of the box, use the practices daily, and enjoy the journey. Then we will begin to see PBL become a way of being and not just a way of doing in our classrooms.

Build a PBL Culture by Incorporating Gold Standard Practices into non-PBL Units.

As PBL capacity builders we often hear from teachers practicing PBL about "How can I make my PBL units more successful?" or "when I am in the middle of PBL unit it, we have a hard time getting the students to do the things we need them to do for a successful project. It's like they don't know how to do a project." When students work on PBL units, they are asked to use and rely on skills which are oftentimes not utilized in a traditional classroom environment. Students need the opportunities to practice and develop these skills. If you are not implementing PBL units regularly in your classroom, then as a teacher you will need to scaffold the learning of these skills for your students.  One of the best ways to do this is to incorporate gold Standard Design Elements and Teaching Practices into your non-PBL units.

By implementing these gold standard design elements and teaching practices into your everyday lessons you are providing students the opportunity to practice and develop the skills necessary for successful projects. Using resources such as the Essential Elements checklist and the Project Based Teaching Rubric from BIE, take one of your upcoming non-PBL units or lessons and see where you can fit in some of the Gold Standard best practices into your lessons.

So go ahead pull out one of your lesson plans and see where can you allow for critique and revision or where can you allow students the opportunity for sustained inquiry.  See where you can implement any of the deign elements or teaching practices into your units. The more times you provide your students time to practice and develop these skills the more likely it is you will see success with your PBL projects.

Learning with PBL

Cross posted from http://bie.org/blog/learning_with_pbl_leaders

I recently had the pleasure of attending a presentation of learning that culminates a school leader’s journey through BIE’s PBL Leadership Development Program. The event is called a Leadership Learning Fair, and the participants shared their understanding of what Project Based Learning means to them and their school, and how they are creating the conditions to support teacher success.  To say that I was blown away by what I saw is an understatement!

The Learning Fair took place on March 2nd at Richland School District Two, one of BIE’s partner systems in South Carolina. I have just had the privilege of becoming their systemic partnership coach.

Ten schools brought leadership teams comprised of principals, assistant principals, coaches and teachers to tell their PBL stories. They had a specific challenge posed to them by Cris Waldfogel, Senior Manager of Leadership Development at BIE. Cris charged each school to tell their story. The real story. “Don’t come here with a dog and pony show about how great the work is. We want the real story with the successes and challenges. We want to celebrate with you but we also want to learn with and from you. So tell us your story.” And they did.

Each school prepared a presentation about where they started, what they tried, what worked, what didn’t, what they did to overcome challenges, and what challenges remain. I’ll give some of the many highlights and a couple of the challenges that were trending across the schools.

Students are loving PBL. Like really loving PBL. Some schools captured video of students to help illustrate what a day in the life of their school looks like and caught specific interviews that honed in on what they liked best about PBL. One of my favorite student quotes of the day, from Longleaf Elementary was “people don’t like reading about rollercoasters, they like riding rollercoasters.” Then her facial expression was kind of like, “Get it?! We want to experience the real thing!”

Another young student shared, “I like PBL a lot. It kind of makes me feel famous.” As it should! Students are doing real work that matters both within and outside of the school. Experts from the community come into the schools to challenge the students’ thinking, offer advice and support, and then come to see final products and solutions. For example, students in a project at Blythewood Middle School tackled the question, “How can we best support the homeless population of South Carolina?” They engaged with experts from local churches and missions as well as the Mental Health Recovery Center. Students interviewed these experts and also received critical feedback from them as they produced their public products to answer the driving question. See students working with the experts in this video made by one of Richland’s instructional coaches. Even at the elementary level, students are being shown that the work they do has value. It matters. They matter.

Students in the upper grades shared similar sentiments. One student from Richland Northeast said, “This is a chance for teachers to see their students evolve and learn about themselves.” I mean, wow.

There were many challenges that the leaders shared as well. Every school noted that teacher buy-in across all grades and content areas remains a challenge. Teachers continue to feel nervous that PBL doesn’t allow them to “cover” all of their content area standards, especially in tested subject areas. They hope that as PBL continues to grow and thrive across their school and district that teachers will begin to see that the shift is to one of “this is how we do business here” and that PBL isn’t just another passing fad or initiative. Principals also have to be vigilant with their message about how teachers need to trust the PBL process.

After hearing those student testimonials, the pride that the teachers and leaders have in the work and how far they’ve come was palpable. As educators, we are so quick to point out what we could have done better. Or what didn’t go exactly as planned. But hearing the same message from the student voice, in every school, was encouraging: Thank you for trying. Thank you for helping me see the relevance in the work I’m doing here. Thanks for showing me I matter. If that doesn’t begin to change the hearts and minds of those still on the fence about whether to give PBL a try, I’m not sure what will.

Leaders also explained that there is still quite the continuum of projects and that they aren’t sure how to send the message that they want “main course, not dessert” projects and provide the right support. They want to reassure teachers that each project doesn’t have to be a huge production encompassing many standards and extending over a long period of time.

We hear these kinds of concerns from school and district leaders across the country. PBL is new to a lot of teachers. We have to celebrate their willingness to be novices again. Leaders need to acknowledge the real shift we are asking teachers to make, so we can coach classroom instruction and be a reliable support for teachers’ questions. Some projects are going to be awesome. Some, maybe not so awesome, but leaders have to be able to tell the difference, celebrate the small wins, and see and take opportunities to push teacher practice so they can continue to grow into “gold standard” PBL practitioners.

In a reflective moment at the end of the day, after all the presentations had been given, the leaders shared their own thoughts about the day and the culminating event in the PBL Leadership Development Program. After some pause, one participant offered, “The work doesn’t stop here. Taking this time to see what’s happening across the district, and the successes we’re having, makes me want to push on. We get bogged down in the day to day of running our buildings, but we need to keep this kind of learning from each other going.” Cris and I made eye contact and gave a celebratory wink. What a win.

These are just a few of the many great things I learned about Richland Two that day. They are a team of dedicated, passionate educators who have taken the lessons learned and truly worked to build those into the leadership they provide in their buildings every day, within and outside of the classrooms. They are shaking up their system and what school looks like so they can keep doing what’s best for kids. Way to go Richland Two! Proud to now be on this journey with you.

by Rhonda Hill
Systemic Partnership Coach

Dreams Really Do Come True

As an Enterprise Learning Coach with a Race to the Top Grant, last year I began working with a team of teachers at Dent Middle to design and implement their first PBL EVER! We had dreams of creating an outdoor learning classroom for all students to use, and though it seemed like an overwhelming task for a few, we knew that 70+ students would make the job easier. Our challenging problem for the students was to design an outdoor learning space that repurposed a defunct ropes course on the site.

So we set out. We met. We planned. We met many more times. We created mini-lessons and check points along the way.  We launched the PBL with a tour of the site and an explanation of what the next 6-8 weeks would involve.

We put the students into work groups, and they created Need to Knows that would guide their inquiry and keep them grounded as they worked. The students were excited yet anxious for the unknown, and they weren’t the only ones! As the lists grew, our team wondered if our dreams had been too big for the time we had left in the school year.

As the school year ended, the groups were ready. The panel of judges included school personnel and members of the community. The groups presented their public products. After the day was over, the numbers were tallied and the winning design belonged to a group who had named themselves Outdoor Innovators. Just the summer lay between them and seeing their dreams brought to reality. 

This year, the same teachers worked with a new group of 7th graders to do just that! Their task was to take a closer look at each element in the winning design, develop construction plans, create a realistic budget for materials, decide on a timeline for completion, and reflect throughout the year on a group blog.

And then…THE FLOOD HAPPENED!

  The area and the land that surrounded the site were under water. Carys Lake was no longer a lake, and the possibility of our dreams coming true grew slimmer and slimmer as the rain continued to fall most of the fall and winter. The team made adjustments, which included scrapping the plans for a dock, combining gardening teams, and pushing back the timeline for construction.

  After a full  year of critique, revision, sustained inquiry, and  the work of 132 students, our dreams are about to come true. On April 8, we kick off the cleaning phase of the area in preparation for Dent Day of Service on April 23. On this day, the Dent community is invited to take part in the construction of the outdoor learning classroom. To be a part of watching this dream unfold, sign up here!

  

Critical Friends Protocol

A critical step in the design process for a PBL unit is the Critical Friends protocol. This critique model provides educators an opportunity to give and receive feedback on the initial project design. This protocol is conducted early in the planning process allowing teachers enough time to reflect on the feedback and revise the project before it is implemented. Successful protocols are moderated by a facilitator to keep participants actively involved, keeps the time and follows a structured agenda. An example of the agenda follows:

1. Presentation (5 min) The presenter explains the project to give the audience an understanding of their project.

2. Clarification (2 min) The audience asks clarifying questions to gain a complete understanding and purpose of the project.

3. Assessment (2 min) Audience uses Project Design Rubric to assess the project.

4. Feedback The audience provides feedback (presenter can no longer speak but can take notes).

• I like... Audience praise something about the project. (3 min)
• I wonder... Audience discuss concerns and potential weaknesses in the project, putting their feedback in the form of a question. (3 min)
• I have... Audience offer ideas or resources for the project. (3 min)

5. Reflection (3 min) The presenter reflects aloud on the feedback and determines next steps. (3 min)

Conder Elementary School recently organized their first Critical Friends protocol for each grade level implementing their next PBL unit. During planning, teachers presented their PBL lesson design to the District PBL Capacity Builders who then provided feedback based on their presentation. The process deemed very valuable to all grade levels, however, it also allowed District Capacity Builders a chance to support educators through a structured PD session. Here is some feedback we received from some of the teachers:

• “I think it was helpful to get another perspective from someone outside of our grade.  You made us think of things that we might not have thought of otherwise.”  
• “This protocol was perfect for the planning stage.  I think we will definitely use the suggestions as we move forward with our plan.”  
• “The audience provided positive feedback on the ideas already established, building on to the PBL by offering support (outside support, resources, materials).
• “I think it would beneficial to do it again. It was interesting to have an outside party review the plan for the first time and offer feedback and their perspective from what they could actually see. I think the older grades could benefit from this especially when thinking about higher order thinking skills and critical thinking.”