PMH & Gold Standard PBL

REVISION AND REFLECTION OF PBL PRACTICES HAS ALWAYS BEEN A KEY ASPECT IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING @ Parramatta Marist High, Westmead.  This blog post will review some chapters of the book "Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning ". (Lamer, J., Mergendoller, J., & Boss, S. Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning A Proven Approach to Rigorous Classroom Instruction. 2015)

What is not PBL?

According to John Larmer, A Proven Approach  to Rigorous CLassroom Instruction, project based learning is not the same as "doing a project.”  For example, projects that may have a viable place in the classroom, they are not and cannot be classed as PBL.  Larmer states that these projects are detrimental to students’ learning and should be avoided.   

PBL projects should have activities that are  TEAM BASED and not INDIVIDUAL.




Gold Standard PBL

• Design elements to include students' voice and choice, critical friends' process and allowing students to manage their work. Student involvement in the development of a project is critical to the success of a project.

• Multidisciplinary projects can be difficult to design as the main focus of the project should include the two disciplines in all activities.  Project design should ensure all elements of Gold Standard PBL is incorporated.
• Authenticity
• Student Voice and choice
• Reflection
• Critique and Revision
• Challenging problem
• Sustained inquiry
• Public product

Building knowledge, Understanding and Skills is key throughout the weeks of the project.  Guided student inquiry will depend on the levels of students and their understanding of the PBL process.

“Teachers can provide a combination of support for the inquiry process, using elements such as these:

• Lessons on how to find and evaluate sources of information

• Readings and other texts

• Research logs and note-taking guidesReader's workshops, literature circles, and other discussions of texts, to connect them to students' questions”
• Field work and contact with experts and mentors
• Structured opportunities for students to share information, compare notes, and discuss what they're learning and how it applies to the project”

Sustained inquiry can come from the activities embedded in the project and not just the list of "KNOWS & NEED TO KNOWS"

Decide on how to approach the process of finding answers to students' questions. For example, the list could be divided among student teams or "jigsawed" expert groups. Some questions might be answered through student research, whereas others might be answered by teacher-provided lessons.

Project activities should cater to accountability and flexibility of student work. Assessment of student work

• Assessment of exit tickets, quizzes, hand-ins etc.
• Creativity - teachers are not here to assign a grade but rather to guide improvement. Critical feedback required.

Point of a formative task is to shift the normal distribution - giving the opportunity to resubmit a task in much better quality.

3 things I learned:

- To focus on individual assessments to grade students after critical feedback.

- Allow students to resubmit work wherever necessary.

- More contact with experts in the topics relating to projects

How can we make Project Calendar’s flexible here at PMH??

Within the given time of 5 weeks for a project I find that there is not much of flexibility in Project Calendars. Better planning and incorporation of activities with limited formal assessments will enable teachers to complete projects within the timeframe of 5 weeks. Assessing students on Summative tasks is not really necessary if there are checkpoint assessments in different benchmarks. This way we will mark individual student work in teams and not give the same grades to all in the team.

The Blood Bank Project: Team Teaching

John Mergendoller Keynote - PBL World 2014

Effective planning is possible from the data gathered in the Literacy Continuum Tracker and it enables teachers to communicate clear Learning Intentions whether it is for a lesson or a Project.
The data can be used to create programs with differentiated instruction targeting specific learners.

Challenges in Assessing Writing - Aspect of Writing - Literacy continuum

I found assessing student writing and putting them into clusters very challenging as a specific student is put in a higher cluster by another Marker and creates an anomaly in the Clusters students are put in by Markers.  I find students' writing is related to a specific subject/content/knowledge of spelling strategies and hence they are grouped in different clusters. Alternatively, it demonstrates the student's ablility to extend his writing and thus justify grouping him in a higher cluster.

The Literacy continuum has to be an ongoing process throughout the year.

Literacy Continuum K-10

"Each KLA has specific Literacy requirements which students need to master to gain Literacy skills in that area of learning".

Some areas in KLA - Science where I find students often struggle:

 - spelling specific terminology related to a topic.

 - writing a Research Task and meeting the criteria (rubric)

FOCUS FOR THIS TERM:  

• To observe students' progress in their writing and structure PBL projects with a focus on Literacy skills which are requirements of the K-10 Literacy Continuum. 

• To map critical aspects of student writing describing key markers of expected student achievement.

• Monitor student progress for a specific year group and record it on a "Data Wall" in the staffroom.