Mapping Out the School Year for PBL21
As you plan for the first day, and first two weeks, of school, begin by taking a broad view of the entire school year. Once you have intentionally designed the physical environment [1] and the social/emotional environment [2], it is time to design the academic environment.
In order to develop 21st century skills your students need an environment that is student-centered, as opposed to teacher-centered. A project-based, interdisciplinary curriculum will provide the contextual support for students to become independent, interdependent and self-directed. This enables you to function as a facilitator, and provides you with the necessary time to truly personalize and differentiate for every student.
Here you will find some ideas and resources for project-based curriculum and find ways for creating 21st century learning experiences for your students that are engaging, rigorous, real world and relevant! Here is where to begin!
1. Working PBL into Your Daily Schedule
Project-based learning works well with a self-contained classroom or with an interdisciplinary team of teachers who work exclusively with a particular group of students. In other words, a Smaller Learning Community; for example, four teachers and 88 students. Except for lunch period and specials (art, music, PE) you and your team can create your daily schedule flexibly and as needed for each project. Or, at the high school level, three teachers and 100 students work together each morning for 3 hours; then students take other courses in the afternoon. (This is what they do at the Zoo School and at Minnesota Country Day School) - see this excellent video produced by the students!)
In order to develop 21st century skills your students need an environment that is student-centered, as opposed to teacher-centered. A project-based, interdisciplinary curriculum will provide the contextual support for students to become independent, interdependent and self-directed. This enables you to function as a facilitator, and provides you with the necessary time to truly personalize and differentiate for every student.
Here you will find some ideas and resources for project-based curriculum and find ways for creating 21st century learning experiences for your students that are engaging, rigorous, real world and relevant! Here is where to begin!
1. Working PBL into Your Daily Schedule
Project-based learning works well with a self-contained classroom or with an interdisciplinary team of teachers who work exclusively with a particular group of students. In other words, a Smaller Learning Community; for example, four teachers and 88 students. Except for lunch period and specials (art, music, PE) you and your team can create your daily schedule flexibly and as needed for each project. Or, at the high school level, three teachers and 100 students work together each morning for 3 hours; then students take other courses in the afternoon. (This is what they do at the Zoo School and at Minnesota Country Day School) - see this excellent video produced by the students!)
Remember - the schedule is not sacred! Make it work for the benefit of the students!
In my experience, sometimes my projects were just with my self-contained class; sometimes a project expanded to work with three other teachers and their students. Sometimes it was a project that involved a collaborative effort with all 16 homerooms in the school. We arranged for the last two days of the project to be a school-wide event that included attendance and participation of parents, central office administrators and people from the community!
But, what if you have a daily schedule with multiple class periods of 45 minutes each? It can be done. I've done it. One year I taught fifth grade at a school with this type of schedule. My assignment was teaching Language Arts and Science. It was not a good schedule because some of my students came to my class for both subjects while some of them only came to my class for Language Arts OR for Science. Luckily, language arts is easily integrated into every discipline. So I developed a project based upon science and integrated the language arts into it.
For fifth grade we did a project entitled Kingdom Animalia. For language arts the students:
For the science connections students:
One thing that was frustrating was the 45-minute class period. It took a little bit of time to get into the classroom, retrieve their materials and start working. Then, when they were deeply engaged, it was suddenly time to put everything away and get ready to move on to the next class. We wanted to do it badly enough that we just DID IT. It worked!
Most of the time the students were working independently or in small groups. Occasionally, when I needed to introduce something new, we did a short mini-lesson for the whole class. Basically, though, it was the students working independently and me supporting them as a facilitator.
Remember - the schedule is not sacred! Make it work for the benefit of the students!
In my experience, sometimes my projects were just with my self-contained class; sometimes a project expanded to work with three other teachers and their students. Sometimes it was a project that involved a collaborative effort with all 16 homerooms in the school. We arranged for the last two days of the project to be a school-wide event that included attendance and participation of parents, central office administrators and people from the community!
But, what if you have a daily schedule with multiple class periods of 45 minutes each? It can be done. I've done it. One year I taught fifth grade at a school with this type of schedule. My assignment was teaching Language Arts and Science. It was not a good schedule because some of my students came to my class for both subjects while some of them only came to my class for Language Arts OR for Science. Luckily, language arts is easily integrated into every discipline. So I developed a project based upon science and integrated the language arts into it.
For fifth grade we did a project entitled Kingdom Animalia. For language arts the students:
- Conducted Research - they learned how to do research, including note-taking and writing a formal bibliography. They wrote individual research papers on the specific topic of their choice.
- Read, Analyzed and then Wrote Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales - We read myths, legends and fairy tales from cultures around the world, all related to animals. Students kept a log of their reading; they were required to read at least 3 myths, legends or fairy tales from each of the six major continents. From this, they determined the format of a myth, legend or fairy tale. Then, using the criteria and formatting they developed, the students each wrote their own myth, legend or fairy tale. I went to the public library and the university library and brought in about 150 books including not only the literature but non-fiction on all kinds of animals. These were arranged across the chalk trays, along the window sills, on top of bookcases - the classroom looked spectacular. It was a veritable feast of beautiful, inspiring books! We had the Internet, too, which the students also utilized for their research and writing.
- Reading and Writing Skills - Specific skills were studied, then embedded within their research, reading and writing. They acquired advanced levels of these skills by using them on a regular basis. When needed, we had an introductory lesson for a particular skill, such as how to cite a reference in a bibliography. This was a fifth grade class, but we utilized many college level resources such as the Owl Project at Perdue University.
For the science connections students:
- Taxonomy of the Animal Kingdom - In science, the students explored and discovered the taxonomy of the animal kingdom.
- Real World Issues - They also studied many issues related to animals, such as endangered species.
- Integrating Social Studies and other Sciences - We integrated geography and climatology, with students divided into Expert Groups, each group assigned to a study a different continent.
- Animal Habitats - the geography and climatology interlocked naturally with the study of animal habitats. Students explored how geography and climate affected habitats for various classifications of the animal taxonomy.
- Vocabulary - as you can imagine, we had a large number of vocabulary terms within this project. However, the students learned them easily by using them on a regular basis.
One thing that was frustrating was the 45-minute class period. It took a little bit of time to get into the classroom, retrieve their materials and start working. Then, when they were deeply engaged, it was suddenly time to put everything away and get ready to move on to the next class. We wanted to do it badly enough that we just DID IT. It worked!
Most of the time the students were working independently or in small groups. Occasionally, when I needed to introduce something new, we did a short mini-lesson for the whole class. Basically, though, it was the students working independently and me supporting them as a facilitator.
2. Teach Strategies First!
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The first thing that had to be done is to teach your students HOW to work independently, interdependently and how to be self-directed. This begins by providing your students with a tool box full of thinking tools and other strategies; then get out of their way!
The first two weeks of school you will spend time intensively teaching your students many strategies for becoming self-directed, independent and interdependent learners. More than likely your students will come to your classroom without these skills. These will include thinking tools, organizational skills, collaboration skills, study skills and much more. |
Obviously, you do not teach these skills in a vacuum. There must be some context within which students will learn these tools and strategies. I always taught a mini-unit which provided the content and context, and we focused heavily on learning the strategies.
It takes at least two weeks to really practice and learn these skills deeply. This may sound as though it requires too much time, time away from covering the content. The opposite is actually true; once the students have learned these strategies, your role as a facilitator will be to introduce the new project, get the students going and then get out of their way! Then, you simply support them as they go. This gives you the opportunity to completely personalize and differentiate for every student.
You will discover that the the time you invested during the first two weeks teaching these strategies will come back to you many times. Students will actually move much more quickly through the curriculum.
3. Mapping Out the Year with Projects - a Timeline/Schedule
In the school district where I taught in Texas the school year was divided into six, 6-week grading periods. Therefore, I found it convenient to plan six-week thematic projects. For my class, this worked very well. It gave us plenty of time to really go deeply into the curriculum. It also afforded us the enjoyment of delving into completely different projects that year!
There is no set rule for the length of the projects or how many you do per year. I have seen projects that last 3 months, a semester and even an entire school year. I know of a kindergarten project that lasted most of the school year; it was a service learning project for a local hospital emergency room! See it and other amazing service learning projects in the videos below.
It takes at least two weeks to really practice and learn these skills deeply. This may sound as though it requires too much time, time away from covering the content. The opposite is actually true; once the students have learned these strategies, your role as a facilitator will be to introduce the new project, get the students going and then get out of their way! Then, you simply support them as they go. This gives you the opportunity to completely personalize and differentiate for every student.
You will discover that the the time you invested during the first two weeks teaching these strategies will come back to you many times. Students will actually move much more quickly through the curriculum.
3. Mapping Out the Year with Projects - a Timeline/Schedule
In the school district where I taught in Texas the school year was divided into six, 6-week grading periods. Therefore, I found it convenient to plan six-week thematic projects. For my class, this worked very well. It gave us plenty of time to really go deeply into the curriculum. It also afforded us the enjoyment of delving into completely different projects that year!
There is no set rule for the length of the projects or how many you do per year. I have seen projects that last 3 months, a semester and even an entire school year. I know of a kindergarten project that lasted most of the school year; it was a service learning project for a local hospital emergency room! See it and other amazing service learning projects in the videos below.
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Other longer projects may involve student production of feature-length films! There are many examples; just Google "high school students produce feature-length film" and you will find many excellent projects (some are middle school). Some celebrate with premieres at the local movie theater and Oscar-type awards ceremonies. There are also many film festivals, from local to national to international to which your students may submit their productions. There is no content or theme about which students cannot produce a variety of films or videos. Not only is it highly motivational, but they develop many critical skills and literacies. See my post, "Filmmaking - the ultimate project-based curriculum!" It now includes a professional development activity you can do with your colleagues or staff!
I recommend that you avoid what I've seen at some schools, and that is the notion that each student should complete 55 to 60 individual projects per year. That equates to about 3 days per project! Actually it is less than that when you deduct the number of days per year devoted to testing and test prep. At the schools where this was taking place students were changing class 8 times per day! "Deeper learning," or even an authentic project, cannot take place in this type of situation. Except for an introductory, small project the first two weeks of school, your projects should be long enough to really go deep.
4. Students Learning the Content Standards through Projects
Other longer projects may involve student production of feature-length films! There are many examples; just Google "high school students produce feature-length film" and you will find many excellent projects (some are middle school). Some celebrate with premieres at the local movie theater and Oscar-type awards ceremonies. There are also many film festivals, from local to national to international to which your students may submit their productions. There is no content or theme about which students cannot produce a variety of films or videos. Not only is it highly motivational, but they develop many critical skills and literacies. See my post, "Filmmaking - the ultimate project-based curriculum!" It now includes a professional development activity you can do with your colleagues or staff!
I recommend that you avoid what I've seen at some schools, and that is the notion that each student should complete 55 to 60 individual projects per year. That equates to about 3 days per project! Actually it is less than that when you deduct the number of days per year devoted to testing and test prep. At the schools where this was taking place students were changing class 8 times per day! "Deeper learning," or even an authentic project, cannot take place in this type of situation. Except for an introductory, small project the first two weeks of school, your projects should be long enough to really go deep.
4. Students Learning the Content Standards through Projects
Teachers are dealing with the expectations outlined in the content standards, their district and state standards, as well as the CCSS (in many states). Then there are the NGSS - Next Generation Science Standards, the C3 Framework for Social Studies and the NCCAS (National Coalition for Core Arts Standards). See all those standards here.
You also are dealing with extremely high pressure to have your students perform well on their standardized tests. There are so many testing days each year that it cuts into your time; the test prep days cut into your time even more. This results in very high levels of stress for teachers, principals, students and even parents.
Worse yet, many school districts have created Curriculum Pacing Guides (I call them Marching Orders) which dictate exactly which content standards must be taught within a specified grading period, and some even dictate which materials to use (i.e., the textbook) and the page numbers to be on each day. Some districts even require teachers to use a script, dictating exactly what teachers will say, and how they will say it! They also require them to stay on a schedule - to the minute!
If you are in this situation, I would recommend that you present an alternative plan to your school district's administration so that your hands can be free to create authentic, rich project-based learning.
You also are dealing with extremely high pressure to have your students perform well on their standardized tests. There are so many testing days each year that it cuts into your time; the test prep days cut into your time even more. This results in very high levels of stress for teachers, principals, students and even parents.
Worse yet, many school districts have created Curriculum Pacing Guides (I call them Marching Orders) which dictate exactly which content standards must be taught within a specified grading period, and some even dictate which materials to use (i.e., the textbook) and the page numbers to be on each day. Some districts even require teachers to use a script, dictating exactly what teachers will say, and how they will say it! They also require them to stay on a schedule - to the minute!
If you are in this situation, I would recommend that you present an alternative plan to your school district's administration so that your hands can be free to create authentic, rich project-based learning.
Most states requested, and received, waivers from NCLB; you should be able to obtain a waiver from the pacing guides if you present a good proposal. It doesn't have to be for an entire campus, maybe just one or more classrooms who want to do a particular project - maybe make it a pilot project!
If you are fortunate enough to not be in such an impossible situation, there are many ways you can ensure that your students are learning the required content - at high levels - while still enjoying the experience of high quality projects. Students will be highly motivated by these projects. They will be engaged, they will learn at high levels, and discipline problems will virtually disappear. Plus your students will be developing 21st century skills as well as multiple literacies. Literacy is not just about the 3 R's any more! AND, your students will perform much better on their standardized tests!
How is this possible? First of all, when you are designing and implementing project-based learning you are able to easily "bundle" the standards. Also, by combining disciplines you save enormous amounts of time. Instead of spending huge amounts of time "marching through the standards" every day, your students will gain this knowledge much more quickly when the standards are organized into groups within your curriculum.
This means you have the opportunity to teach the standards and the skills from within, and through, thematic projects that are rigorous, relevant and real world!
5. Suggestions for Assigning Project Themes to Your Annual Schedule
If you are fortunate enough to not be in such an impossible situation, there are many ways you can ensure that your students are learning the required content - at high levels - while still enjoying the experience of high quality projects. Students will be highly motivated by these projects. They will be engaged, they will learn at high levels, and discipline problems will virtually disappear. Plus your students will be developing 21st century skills as well as multiple literacies. Literacy is not just about the 3 R's any more! AND, your students will perform much better on their standardized tests!
How is this possible? First of all, when you are designing and implementing project-based learning you are able to easily "bundle" the standards. Also, by combining disciplines you save enormous amounts of time. Instead of spending huge amounts of time "marching through the standards" every day, your students will gain this knowledge much more quickly when the standards are organized into groups within your curriculum.
This means you have the opportunity to teach the standards and the skills from within, and through, thematic projects that are rigorous, relevant and real world!
5. Suggestions for Assigning Project Themes to Your Annual Schedule
Once you start exploring, you will discover an infinite number of amazing, exciting themes/projects through which your students can learn. I recommend getting a long piece of bulletin paper (longer than the one pictured above :-) and creating a timeline for the school year. Actually, my favorite paper for brainstorming, planning and concept mapping is the Fadeless Paper Rolls; it is much wider, heavier and comes in brilliant colors. It is also very inexpensive! I use it in all my workshops!
Divide your school year into the number of projects you wish to do. (Not every project has to be equal in length.) This is mainly for the purpose of pre-planning at which time during the year you may want to place a particular project. It doesn't mean you are going to plan every single project right now. Just create some place-holders!
For example, you may wish to divide your school year into six segments. Looking at the calendar for the school year you will see places where there are breaks, or holidays with no school, or testing dates. You will just need to be aware of those when planning your project. The main thing to consider, though, are Seasons and Holidays or Special Days. Find some ideas and resources on our Curriculum21CSI web site.
I like to do a mini-unit at the beginning of the school year devoted to Constitution Day, which is September 17 in the United States. Later in the year, I circle back to what we did in September for Constitution Day and connect it to the work we are doing for Black History Month, February, which is where I love to do a PBL21 unit on the Civil Rights Movement. This gives students an opportunity to dig deeper and apply what they learned during the introduction to Constitution Day.
You can a huge project integrating civics, music, art, dance, literature, history . . . and I love to share these: Who was Yankee Doodle?, Music of the American Revolution and the fabulous US Army Pipe and Drum Corps. You can even have them come to your school!
Halloween and Day of the Dead also offer many exciting and high level possibilities for projects that integrate ALL THE STANDARDS plus cultural studies, global competencies, pop culture (Michael Jackson's Thriller and Thrill Day, a global event)multiple literacies and all the 7 Survival Skills of the 21st Century. Get creative! I love this project from a 7th grade English teacher - The Frankenstein Project. It involved analyzing two novels: Frankenstein and War of the Worlds. In the end students created a modern Frankenstein story, wrote a screenplay and produced a film! Actually, they ended up producing several films! Here is how the teacher introduced the project to the students and parents - via a YouTube video they were all assigned to watch the night before:
Divide your school year into the number of projects you wish to do. (Not every project has to be equal in length.) This is mainly for the purpose of pre-planning at which time during the year you may want to place a particular project. It doesn't mean you are going to plan every single project right now. Just create some place-holders!
For example, you may wish to divide your school year into six segments. Looking at the calendar for the school year you will see places where there are breaks, or holidays with no school, or testing dates. You will just need to be aware of those when planning your project. The main thing to consider, though, are Seasons and Holidays or Special Days. Find some ideas and resources on our Curriculum21CSI web site.
I like to do a mini-unit at the beginning of the school year devoted to Constitution Day, which is September 17 in the United States. Later in the year, I circle back to what we did in September for Constitution Day and connect it to the work we are doing for Black History Month, February, which is where I love to do a PBL21 unit on the Civil Rights Movement. This gives students an opportunity to dig deeper and apply what they learned during the introduction to Constitution Day.
You can a huge project integrating civics, music, art, dance, literature, history . . . and I love to share these: Who was Yankee Doodle?, Music of the American Revolution and the fabulous US Army Pipe and Drum Corps. You can even have them come to your school!
Halloween and Day of the Dead also offer many exciting and high level possibilities for projects that integrate ALL THE STANDARDS plus cultural studies, global competencies, pop culture (Michael Jackson's Thriller and Thrill Day, a global event)multiple literacies and all the 7 Survival Skills of the 21st Century. Get creative! I love this project from a 7th grade English teacher - The Frankenstein Project. It involved analyzing two novels: Frankenstein and War of the Worlds. In the end students created a modern Frankenstein story, wrote a screenplay and produced a film! Actually, they ended up producing several films! Here is how the teacher introduced the project to the students and parents - via a YouTube video they were all assigned to watch the night before:
If you wish to do a project related to Environmental Studies or Sustainability, you might want to place it in the calendar so that it encompasses special days such as Earth Hour (March 30, 2019) and Earth Day (April 22, 2019). This is the official video from Earth Hour 2018; they have one every year, but this one is my favorite!
The 2013 Earth Hour official video is also excellent! In 2016 there were 170 countries participating in Earth Hour. (When you click some of the links below on our Curriculum Resources web site you will need a password. Request it here.)
Depending upon your climate you may wish to place certain types of projects at the appropriate place in the calendar, depending on the season. Or, if you are engaging in a study of the Solar System or the stars, choose a time of the year when the view of the night sky includes many meteor showers. See this EarthSky Meteor Shower Guide for 2018.
6. The Next Step - Planning Your PBL21 Project!
Depending upon your climate you may wish to place certain types of projects at the appropriate place in the calendar, depending on the season. Or, if you are engaging in a study of the Solar System or the stars, choose a time of the year when the view of the night sky includes many meteor showers. See this EarthSky Meteor Shower Guide for 2018.
6. The Next Step - Planning Your PBL21 Project!
You've prepared your classroom, you're ready with a well-designed social/emotional environment, you've mapped out possible projects for the school year. Now it's time to create that project - write the unit/project design, plan the curriculum, organize your resources and create your schedule.
This can go much more quickly if you collaborate on this with other teachers. Three heads are better than one! You will find colleagues who can contribute many excellent ideas, resources, possible activities, etc. An interdisciplinary group is ideal for this planning.
Get your group together, and grab a pack of broad-tipped markers and a big piece of that bulletin board paper. Six to eight feet in length is recommended. Now you are going to brainstorm the theme you have chosen. We do this in my workshops by concept mapping the theme. Start brainstorming every way you can for how to integrate each discipline within your theme. While you are at it, create some spaces (in the corners) where you can add specific resources you think of, such as children's literature titles, films, or organizations and agencies that may have resources, web sites you know of, experts (from the community, at a local university, at museums and other organizations), etc. Also, start a "maybe" list of possible activities. Begin to generate ideas for integrating the multiple literacies and 21st century skills.
Here are sample activities I developed for my column in Education Times, an educational journal in Australia (readership is students from middle school to university) to help develop various literacies: media literacy, visual literacy, physical fitness and health, the arts and creativity, global competencies, ecoliteracy, financial literacy!
Here is sample "mind map" on the topic of William Shakespeare. (I am not that artistic, but I've seen many teachers who are this talented when we do concept mapping in a workshop!) The one you create for your project should include multiple disciplines - this one is just an example of possible formatting.
This can go much more quickly if you collaborate on this with other teachers. Three heads are better than one! You will find colleagues who can contribute many excellent ideas, resources, possible activities, etc. An interdisciplinary group is ideal for this planning.
Get your group together, and grab a pack of broad-tipped markers and a big piece of that bulletin board paper. Six to eight feet in length is recommended. Now you are going to brainstorm the theme you have chosen. We do this in my workshops by concept mapping the theme. Start brainstorming every way you can for how to integrate each discipline within your theme. While you are at it, create some spaces (in the corners) where you can add specific resources you think of, such as children's literature titles, films, or organizations and agencies that may have resources, web sites you know of, experts (from the community, at a local university, at museums and other organizations), etc. Also, start a "maybe" list of possible activities. Begin to generate ideas for integrating the multiple literacies and 21st century skills.
Here are sample activities I developed for my column in Education Times, an educational journal in Australia (readership is students from middle school to university) to help develop various literacies: media literacy, visual literacy, physical fitness and health, the arts and creativity, global competencies, ecoliteracy, financial literacy!
Here is sample "mind map" on the topic of William Shakespeare. (I am not that artistic, but I've seen many teachers who are this talented when we do concept mapping in a workshop!) The one you create for your project should include multiple disciplines - this one is just an example of possible formatting.
Note: Some teachers want to just sit at a table, discuss ideas and have someone take notes on a notepad. Some may wish to use an online mapping tool. This is discouraged!
The reason I urge teachers to sit on the floor (or at a table) and create this map together is for the benefits of the kinesthetic and visual thinking experience. I read a research report once that said that we think differently with this type of activity than we do when using a keyboard or a tablet. So, be adventurous, and get your brains and bodies engaged in the process! You can then refine it later using an online mapping and sharing tool.
If you are like most teachers, you will soon have a map with enough ideas and material to last for several years! Now, it is time to narrow it back down and focus. You will find that you have probably changed direction from what you were thinking when you began. If you had not done all this brainstorming, you would not have arrived at the fabulous conclusion for how you will approach your theme/project!
Narrow it down to what it is you want your students to know, be able to do and be like once this project is over!
But, what about the standards? Now that you've brainstormed the possibilities you can take a look at your content standards. You should NOT begin with the standards when planning a project. If you had begun with the standards, many excellent possibilities would have been eliminated before you even began. This has the same effect as putting on a set of blinders! As I always say,
The reason I urge teachers to sit on the floor (or at a table) and create this map together is for the benefits of the kinesthetic and visual thinking experience. I read a research report once that said that we think differently with this type of activity than we do when using a keyboard or a tablet. So, be adventurous, and get your brains and bodies engaged in the process! You can then refine it later using an online mapping and sharing tool.
If you are like most teachers, you will soon have a map with enough ideas and material to last for several years! Now, it is time to narrow it back down and focus. You will find that you have probably changed direction from what you were thinking when you began. If you had not done all this brainstorming, you would not have arrived at the fabulous conclusion for how you will approach your theme/project!
Narrow it down to what it is you want your students to know, be able to do and be like once this project is over!
But, what about the standards? Now that you've brainstormed the possibilities you can take a look at your content standards. You should NOT begin with the standards when planning a project. If you had begun with the standards, many excellent possibilities would have been eliminated before you even began. This has the same effect as putting on a set of blinders! As I always say,
Blinders are for horses, not explorers!
From here you will write your guiding questions or outcome statements for your project. These will guide the students through the project. You may see an example of the eight outcomes I created, and how they were designed down, in this unit I taught on the Civil Rights Movement. Scroll to the bottom of the Civil Rights Movement page to download it.
7. Note - two misconceptions about project-based learning.
a. Not every discipline must be integrated into every project!Sometimes people get the impression that they are supposed to integrate every standard and every discipline into every project. That would be overwhelming! Do include disciplines, or parts of disciplines, that are a good and natural fit for your theme. Do NOT try to force fit every standard from every discipline into every project.
In general, most PBL curriculum is focused, or based upon, either a Science or a Social Studies theme. For example, a PBL project on the Civil Rights Movement is primarily social studies, although some science is integrated. A project on Sustainability is based primarily upon science, although social studies is integrated. I like to alternate the focus of the PBL projects between science and social studies over the course of the year. Some schools do semester-long projects with one on social studies and the next on science.
Some required courses, such as Texas History (or your state), usually have to be taught separately, although we have created PBL projects for Texas History. You can cover a huge number of the required content standards in a PBL unit, which condenses the amount of time it takes to "cover" all the standards.
By combining courses whenever possible, you make the information more relevant.
b. PBL does not mean that students spend every day, all day, doing project-based, hands-on activities.In addition to what I call "PBL time" there are other times during the day when we must do other kinds of activities. This includes some skills-based, direct teaching. The caveat is, however, that you do not spend an entire class period on it. You do a mini-lesson, five to ten minutes. Then you can integrate the practice and assessment of the skill as it is being utilized by the students as they integrate it into their other work.
In the case of a self-contained classroom or SLC (smaller learning community), a good rule-of-thumb is to divide your day in this way:
8. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
From here you will write your guiding questions or outcome statements for your project. These will guide the students through the project. You may see an example of the eight outcomes I created, and how they were designed down, in this unit I taught on the Civil Rights Movement. Scroll to the bottom of the Civil Rights Movement page to download it.
7. Note - two misconceptions about project-based learning.
a. Not every discipline must be integrated into every project!Sometimes people get the impression that they are supposed to integrate every standard and every discipline into every project. That would be overwhelming! Do include disciplines, or parts of disciplines, that are a good and natural fit for your theme. Do NOT try to force fit every standard from every discipline into every project.
In general, most PBL curriculum is focused, or based upon, either a Science or a Social Studies theme. For example, a PBL project on the Civil Rights Movement is primarily social studies, although some science is integrated. A project on Sustainability is based primarily upon science, although social studies is integrated. I like to alternate the focus of the PBL projects between science and social studies over the course of the year. Some schools do semester-long projects with one on social studies and the next on science.
Some required courses, such as Texas History (or your state), usually have to be taught separately, although we have created PBL projects for Texas History. You can cover a huge number of the required content standards in a PBL unit, which condenses the amount of time it takes to "cover" all the standards.
By combining courses whenever possible, you make the information more relevant.
b. PBL does not mean that students spend every day, all day, doing project-based, hands-on activities.In addition to what I call "PBL time" there are other times during the day when we must do other kinds of activities. This includes some skills-based, direct teaching. The caveat is, however, that you do not spend an entire class period on it. You do a mini-lesson, five to ten minutes. Then you can integrate the practice and assessment of the skill as it is being utilized by the students as they integrate it into their other work.
In the case of a self-contained classroom or SLC (smaller learning community), a good rule-of-thumb is to divide your day in this way:
- 10 to 15 minutes in a class Team Meeting, also known as Advisory Time.
- Remainder of the morning dedicated to PBL.
- Lunch
- Recess
- Reading aloud to the class - this is appropriate for students of all ages, including adults, and is not only enjoyable but a great learning experience for students. Read about the benefits here.
- 30 minutes dedicated to test prep - for now, standardized testing is an unfortunate reality. Taking 30 minutes per day for practicing everything from how to use the bubble sheets or the online testing format to learning how to analyze and answer questions, or practicing and sharpening specific skills, is a good idea. In a school where I taught we gave practice tests to all 400 students. The "specials" teachers then analyzed the results and created a comprehensive, personalized schedule for all the students. We had 16 home room teachers. Each week, each of the homeroom teachers was assigned a specific skill to teach. Students were then assigned to go to a particular classroom each day for 30 minutes. So, if you were assigned to teach adding and subtracting mixed fractions, the students who needed extra help on this skill would go to your class that week for 30 minutes per day.
- Class periods in the afternoon can be dedicated to other content that did not fit well into the PBL project. For example, a math class, or a specific content standard for science or social studies.
- If time allows, continue work on activities from the morning's PBL time.
- 15 minutes - closing and reflection.
- Clean up and getting ready to go home for the day.
8. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
Don't stress yourself out by thinking that you have to create a perfect, interdisciplinary PBL21 unit the first time out. Start small, then grow. Definitely, do not expect yourself to have a PBL21 unit ready to go for every grading period during your first year of project-based learning. You might want to begin with one for the fall semester and then plan another for spring. Developing these projects takes time - a lot of planning.
You will learn as much or more than your students. Each project you develop will be better than the last. If you do not make mistakes, you are not learning. You WILL make mistakes, and that is OK!
You will learn as much or more than your students. Each project you develop will be better than the last. If you do not make mistakes, you are not learning. You WILL make mistakes, and that is OK!
If you have a goal this school year to begin transitioning into project-based learning, but you are a bit nervous about it, you might like to read my story of how I transitioned from a traditional, fragmented curriculum - that was horribly boring for my students - and for me - into relevant, powerful, fun, high level projects! One step at a time, er, I mean - one bite at a time!
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If you would like help with:
Please contact us to request an on-site or virtual/blended workshop, PBL21 - Designing the 21st Century Classroom!
Anne Shaw is Founder and Director of 21st Century Schools
[email protected]
21st Century Schools web site
21st Century Schools' Curriculum Resources web site
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If you would like help with:
- Planning a PBL21 project
- Writing your Curriculum Plan for the project
- Integrating technology meaningfully
- Creating the project schedule - including weekly and daily schedules
- Organizing your classroom or campus
- Preparing to teach your students the strategies and thinking tools they require to become Self-Directed, Independent and Interdependent learners!
- Ensuring that the content standards are not only met, but exceeded!
- Design performance-based assessments - formative and summative,
- Translate the performance-based assessments into grades
- and much more!
Please contact us to request an on-site or virtual/blended workshop, PBL21 - Designing the 21st Century Classroom!
Anne Shaw is Founder and Director of 21st Century Schools
[email protected]
21st Century Schools web site
21st Century Schools' Curriculum Resources web site
