Project Based Learning
Project Based Learning
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
Thinking Through
PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
Guiding Deeper Inquiry
FOR INFORMATION:
Corwin
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13 14 15 16 17 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xv
About the Authors
xvii
13
25
37
53
65
67
73
87
Chapter 9: Science
101
119
145
151
173
179
183
References 187
Index 193
Preface
W
hen Jane was a high school student, her history class took a field
trip to a historical Western town located about 50 miles from her
school. At the local museum, she and her classmates followed a docent
from exhibit to exhibit. They wandered among Native American artifacts,
a display about Chinese miners and gold prospecting, and collections of
19th-century housewares, toys, and farming implements. After the tour,
students were free to stroll the citys wooden boardwalks, visit tourist
shops, and buy treats at an old-time soda fountain. The day stands out as
a fond high school memory when Jane looks back, but not because of any
academic content she learned. The field trip was disconnected from what
was happening back in the classroom.
As an adult and veteran teacher, Jane happened to revisit the same
town. This time, she and her friends wandered off the beaten path and
found themselves at the local pioneer cemetery. Many aspects of that
place piqued their curiosity. They noticed how graves were organized
into separate sections depending on religious affiliation, with one particular section sporting the largest and most ornate headstones. They wondered why so many gravestones were inscribed with 1918 as the year of
death. Even though Chinese laborers made up a large part of the population in the towns early years, there was a dearth of Chinese graves. Why
was this so?
Wearing her project-based learning hat, Jane couldnt help but
imagine what a different experience she and her classmates might have
had if they had started their tour at that cemetery. They would have
been full of questions by the time they arrived at the museum. Chances
are they would have ended their visit with a deeper understanding of
pioneer history and a desire to learn more. They would have been
primed for an engaging and academically meaningful project-based
learning experience.
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own recollections. Think back to your school days and quickly (without
filtering!) focus on an especially vivid, sticky memory.
How would you classify your memorywas it academic, social, extracurricular, or interpersonal in nature? Perhaps it involved a field trip,
guest speaker, performance, or other novel event? Maybe it was purely
social. In hindsight, can you tell whether this experience contributed to
any enduring understanding? What did you take away from it?
Take another moment to imagine your current students, years from
now, looking back on their K12 education. Which of todays experiences do you expect will have staying power for them? Will they
remember events that were fun because they were a break from the
regular school day or experiences that whetted their curiosity and
engaged them as thinkers and learners? Can you imagine any of their
experiences becoming a springboard for lifetime of curiosity about the
world around them?
Preface
the future if they dont start gaining experience with them during
their K12 years. PBL offers arguably the best way to develop these
21st-century skills.
Growing networks of schools that are adopting PBL as a wall-towall strategy for teaching and learning. These schools have been
serving as laboratories for developing best practices in PBL. Many
are eager to share field-tested resources and classroom success stories, paving the way for others to get a faster start with project-based
learning.
New networks of educators driving their own professional learning.
Connecting via Twitter, Skype, and a host of other tech tools, teachers are coming together around shared interests, including projectbased learning. Many meet weekly on Twitter for a #PBLChat, while
others focus on subject-area innovation. Across these contexts,
teachers are stepping into new leadership roles as influencers and
experts. Many are natural collaborators who bring good thinking to
project design teams.
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WHAT TO EXPECT
The book is organized in two sections.
Section One, Inquiry: The Engine of Deep Learning, builds a foundation to help readers see how theory and concepts translate to better thinking in PBL. It includes five chapters:
Chapter 1, The Whys and Hows of PBL, offers an overview of projectbased learning, distinguishes the project approach from other instructional strategies and explains the critical role of inquiry in PBL.
Chapter 2, The Inquiring Human Animal, turns to human development, cognitive science, and brain-based education to draw lessons
about learning, particularly the deep kind that has students inquiring
to construct their own meaning.
Chapter 3, Making the World Safe for Thinking, explores critical factors that influence inquiry, including features of the learning environment, design of learning experiences, and interactions that maximize
childrens development toward mature inquiry.
Chapter 4, The Thinking-Out-Loud-and-in-View Classroom, focuses
on PBL teaching methods, including discussion and questioning techniques and thinking routines that can be applied across grades and
subject matter.
Chapter 5, Designing Rich Learning Experiences, summarizes our
approach to effective project planning with a step-by-step guide for
developing inquiry-rich projects.
Each chapter in Section One is illustrated with project examples and
advice from teachers.
Section Two, Taking a Page from the Experts, makes connections
between core content areas and the ways in which experts in affiliated
professions approach problem solving. In each chapter, we contrast how
subject matter is typically approached in school with real-world applications of knowledge by historians, scientists, journalists, community
Preface
activists, and other capable people. We consider the language, tools, and
methods professionals use in their investigations and draw lessons for
classroom practice.
Chapter 6, Thinking Across Disciplines, sets the stage for this section
by comparing disciplinary and interdisciplinary thinking.
The next four chapters focus on PBL in core content areas:
SPECIAL FEATURES
Whether you are reading alone or reading along with colleagues,
whether you are new to project-based learning or a PBL veteran, we
hope the book inspires you to reflect deeply on your own practice.
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xii
Preface
how you might guide your students into deeper inquiry. After all, revision
and reflection are important aspects of the project experience. Thats equally
true for students and for educators.
Wherever you are starting, we hope you will be inspired to take
project-based learning in new directions. That might mean planning your
first interdisciplinary project, connecting your students with community
experts, or planning for projects that spiral out of your classroom and into
the local neighborhoodor into the wider world.
For school leaders, instructional coaches, and other decision makers
who are interested in project-based learning as a route to school improvement, we hope you will come away with a clear understanding of how to
support teachersand studentsas they make the shift to PBL. Developing
your critical eye for quality projects will help you know what to look for
when you visit PBL classrooms or offer feedback on projects. Understanding
the right environment for inquiry projects will help you plan for changes
that will allow PBL to flourish in your learning community so that teachers
and students alike can do their best thinking.
xiii
Acknowledgments
I
n the main, this book is built on the stories and experiences of teachers
and school leaders who fulfill the promise of project-based learning
every day. We are grateful to these exemplary educators for their contributions to students and to our book: John Burk, Cherisse Campbell,
Kathy Cassidy, Teresa Cheung, Richard Coote, Diana Cornejo-Sanchez,
Vicki Davis, Jenna Gampel, Andrew Gloa, Mike Gwaltney, Heather
Hanson, Amy and Randy Hollinger, Laura Humphreys, Maggie
Johnston, Diana Laufenberg, Julie Lindsay, George Mayo, Lisa Moody,
Frank Noschese, Jeff Robin, Julie Robison, Terry Smith, and Neil
Stephenson.
We appreciate these educators who, as they reflect on their practice
in blogs and other publications, teach us so much: Jackie Ballarini,
Sue Boudreau, Jenna Gampel, Dan Meyer, Margaret Noble, John Pearson,
Lacey Segal, Sarah Brown Wessling, Shelly Wright, and many others who
regularly share their thinking.
Many schools, districts, and educational organizations have informed
our thinking. We wish to acknowledge: Birkdale Intermediate School,
Buck Institute for Education, Conservatory Lab Charter School, Edutopia,
High Tech High, High Tech High Media Arts, Manor New Technology
High School, National Writing Project, New Tech Network, Science
Leadership Academy, Teach 21-West Virginia Department of Education,
Technology High School, and TESLA, the Technology Engineering Science
Leadership Academy.
A chief intent of this book was to relate the mindsets and practices of
accomplished people for whom inquiry is central to their work. We are
grateful to these experts for the personal stories and advice they shared
that inform authentic practices in school: historian H. W. Bill Brands,
chemist Catherine Katie Hunt, author Rebecca Skloot, and computer
scientist Jeannette Wing.
It all starts and ends with kids. Thank you to Grace, Zoe, Eli, and
especially Michael Greenberg for your exemplary project work. A+.
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PUBLISHERS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Corwin wishes to acknowledge the following peer reviewers for their
editorial insight and guidance.
Patricia Allanson, Math Teacher/Department Chair
River Springs Middle School
Orange City, FL
Tania E. Dymkowski, Instructional Support K8
Hays CISD
Kyle, TX
Jeanne R. Gren, Principal
Anna Jarvis Elementary School
Grafton, WV
Susan Harmon, Teacher
Neodesha Jr./Sr. High School
Neodesha, KS
Telannia Norfar, Technology Coach/Math Teacher
US Grant High School
Oklahoma City, OK
Lisa Parisi, Teacher
Denton Avenue Elementary School
New Hyde Park, NY
xvii
SECTION I
Inquiry
The Engine of Deep Learning
1
The Whys and
Hows of PBL
The educators part in the enterprise of education is to furnish the
environment which stimulates responses and directs the learners
course.
John Dewey
START:
Which best
describes you?
Family member of a
green card holder or
citizen of the US
I do not fall
into one of these
cateogories
A current or future
employee of a
US employer
Refugee or
aslyee living
in the US
$420
$580
Yes
No
Practicing
polygamy?
$1070
No
Committed a
crime, been pardoned
or exercised diplomatic
immunity?
$355
Yes
Committed
crime against
Haitians, associated
with Colombian
terrorists, forced women to
undergo abortion against
their will or involved
with child
soldiers?
Disease
and/or drug
addiction?
No
Yes
Involved in
trafficking
or religious freedom
violations?
No
Knowingly
made frivolous
application
for asylum?
Plan to be
involved
in espionage, sabotage,
illegal exportation or
terrorist
activities?
Yes
No
Yes
Participated
in genocide?
No
Yes
Yes
No
Former
exchange
visitor who has not
fulfilled residency
requirement?
Practicing
polygamy?
No
Convicted
of
a felony?
Yes
Yes
Avoided
No
US draft?
Yes
Served
in prison or labor
camp?
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Plan to
spy, overthrow US
government or export
illegal goods, technology
or sensitive
information?
Yes
No
Communist
or other form
of totalitarian?
No
Congratulations!
You have been
approved as a
permanent resident
of the USA and can
now receive your
green card!
No
Affiliated
with Nazis or
persecuted based on
race, religion, political
opinion or national
origin?
Yes
No
Yes
Immigrant
undergoes
interview
with USCIS
official and if
accepted:
Been
deported
from US?
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Falsified
information or
documents to
enter US?
Have
or plan to
sabotage, kidnap,
assassinate, hijack, or
commit other
acts of
terror?
No
Are you
ineligible for US
citizenship or have
you avoided
a draft?
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
Been
or plan to be
a prositute,
involved in illegal vice,
trafficking or illegal
immigration?
Yes
No
Participated
in weapon-carrying
unit, received weapon
training, or used
weapons against
someone?
Former
exchange
visitor who has not
fulfilled residency
requirement?
No
Yes
Yes
Likey
to become
a public
charge?
Avoided
deportation
hearing or
committed
visa fraud?
Yes
Yes
No
No
Received
public assistance
or will need it in
the future?
Tortured
killed, raped,
severely injured a
person?
Withholding
custody of a US
citizen child from a
person granted
custody?
No
No
It causes them to inquire, and their investigations require that students grapple with complexity.
They learn together and from one another, and their learning is
meaningful to people beyond school.
Students are personally affected by what they learn and are likely to
remember it.
A student named Grace, for instance, examined the process of getting
a green card for permanent residency in the United States. She and her
project partner found the process to be so convoluted that they created a
flow chart to be able to visualize the many steps (and opportunities for
confusion) between application and approval (see Figure 1.1). Lets listen
to Grace reflect on what she learned:
This bureaucratic function has become so complicated because
over the years, United States immigration standards have become
more exacting. Many believe that if a person cannot complete the
process, they do not deserve to be in the U.S.
The most upsetting realization I had was that immigrants go
through this process. If my partner and I, both English-speaking
seniors, had this much confusion during the process, it must be
nearly impossible for a person just learning English to do.
Meaning
So
In project-based learning,
to make meaning
Rigor. These two examples also demonstrate a difference in rigor. In thematic projects, rigor can be wanting. Students often research factual information and report it back as a summary. Activities are connected by the
theme but, as we saw in the first case, do not necessarily add up to fundamental understanding greater than the sum of the parts. In contrast,
through Why Here?, students learn interconnected concepts about classification and habitat that they will return to and build upon as they study
science in years to come.
At times, a lack of rigor in thematic projects is masked by digital wizardry. Students may create appealing brochures, slideshows, podcasts, and
other media to transmit information, but the content is often the same as
can be found in a reference book, on the Internet, or in a traditional report.
In quality PBL, students use technology to investigate and construct
new meaning. Technology helps them reach beyond the classroom to a
community of learners. Projects like the Square of Life are Googleproof. Students could not have searched for the right answer online; they
had to actively investigate to figure out their own answer to the intriguing
question, Why here and not there?
Two more examples help illustrate the difference in rigor.
Shopping on a Budget
Middle-school students research the question, How does someone get the greatest bang for the buck when grocery shopping? With a partner, students devise a
healthy 1-week meal plan for four based on USDA guidelines. Next, each partner
selects a store, and they comparison shop to find the best price per unit for each
ingredient or menu item. Based on their per-item and per-grocery basket comparison, teams reach a conclusion about the most affordable place to shop. They
get bonus points if they figure out how to put coupons to work to lower their
grocery bill.
This is a good projectrelevant to students lives and connected to core
content. But it could be better if it challenged students to think more critically
about broader issues. The next project, similar in its intention of having kids use
math, understand nutrition, and explore personal economics, is more rigorous
and builds civic understanding to boot.
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explain their reasoning with evidence. The first project may sound interesting,
but the second involves rigorous thinking and deeper learning.
When you DO something, not only do you learn it better, but it just
affects you in a way that I think is a lot more influential in the long term.
High school student reflecting at the end of a project
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communities around the globe are diverting bulky waste from landfills.
After reading about a project in the United Kingdom that recycles carpeting and food waste and programs in the United States that deconstruct
used mattresses and construction debris, students look for opportunities
in their own community. The project continues with students working
with a reuse and recycle center to find ways to source, clean, donate, place,
and even advertise and resell used carpeting.
The first example falls in the range of problems while the second is
very much a project. With good design, the second example addresses the
learning objectives of the first (imagine students working with clients to
measure and place quantities of carpet), while taking it furtherinto the
world of math, and into the world.
WHATS NEXT?
Now that you have a good working definition of PBL, along with a few
project examples in mind, youre ready to dive deeper into your exploration
of inquiry. In the next chapter, youll consider why humans are such curious
creatures, how traditional schooling can extinguish the spirit of inquiry, and
what you can do to rekindle your students questioning nature.
2
The Inquiring
Human Animal
H
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Sense and meaning are two filters the brain uses to decide whether
an idea will take hold. To make sense, new information has to fit
with the brains existing scheme for how the world works. If
theres no connection with prior understanding, then the
information is discarded. Meaning refers to perceived significance.
For an idea to stick, it has to have personal relevance. Otherwise,
the brain casts it off. PBL happens within an authentic context
where it makes sense. By focusing on topics students care about,
the teacher imbues the project with meaning.
*Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2010
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16
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18
(Continued)
Skill or Disposition
Flexibility
Organization
Use a systematic
approach for reaching
goals
Self-control
Task initiation
Time management
Metacognition
seat of executive function, is also the part of the brain in which higher-order
thinking happens. Like executive function, higher-order thinking skills get
better with practice.
Unlike instruction that rewards memorization and rote learning,
project-based learning asks students to arrive at their own meaning. In a
typical project cycle, students learn important content and apply their
understanding to create something new. This process causes students to
meld their creativity with higher-order thinking skills of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. With practice, critical thinking becomes a habit.
This is not to say that students are working at peak performance at
every moment during a project. Attention waxes and wanes during a
learning period.
During projects, when teams are engaged in research, investigations,
and product development, students are likely to be working with some
degree of independence. This is an opportunity to help students manage
their learning by teaching them to take advantage of periods of peak
attention.
Students can also learn to recognize when they need to take a break
from hard thinking. They can figure out when they need to move to get
the blood circulating and the wheels turning more efficiently. In effect,
they can learn to reset the learning cycle and get back to peak attention.
A project-based classroom should be organized to allow for these resets to
happen naturally.
Good teachers assess and connect to students prior experience as they
introduce new ideas. Meaning refers to the personal relevance of an idea.
We assign meaning to the things that we value, find interesting, or respond
to emotionally.
Imagine these two introductions to a project. Which do you think
would have more meaning for eighth-graders?
In the years 1860 and 1861, the Pony Express ran mail by horse and
rider between St. Louis and San Francisco. At its peak, the Pony
Express employed 80 young riders who were paid $25 a week.
In the years 1860 and 1861, the Pony Express ran mail by horse and
rider between St. Louis and San Francisco. Ads in newspapers at
either end of the line read: Wanted. Young, Skinny, Wiry fellows
above 13 but not over 18. Must be expert riders willing to risk
death daily. Orphans preferred. Wages $25 per week.
The second introduction has meaning because it is relatable. The ad
asks for applicants not too different in age from eighth graders. It is
meaningful, too, because the riskiness of the job and preference for
riders who have no parents to worry about them elicits an emotional
response.
Project-based learning helps students not only make meaning but also
make meaning that lasts. Applying what they know causes students to
consolidate their understanding, making learning more memorable.
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20
Reflection and feedback, both of which are built into the project cycle, also
help to make learning stick in long-term memory.
Learning doesnt end when the school day is over. During sleep, the
brain consolidates what it has learned, strengthening the connections
between neurons that form when we absorb new knowledge. Telling students to sleep on it after a day of deep learning improves their ability to
grasp and retain new ideas.
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22
23
24
(Continued)
Take the results into account as you consider project ideas. Compile students individual responses to develop a class profile that reflects which activities students would most enjoy. Refer to your interest inventory when making
team assignments too to make sure each team has a good mix of interests represented.
As a next step, have your students craft their own interest inventory. Their
individual contributions to the survey might tell you as much as the results!
WHATS NEXT?
Now that youve explored some of the internal factors that drive curiosity,
lets turn your focus to the external environment for learning. How can
you customize the learning environment to encourage inquiry? Lets find
out in the next chapter.
3
Making the World
Safe for Thinking
I
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CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
We heard earlier about Birkdale Intermediate School and its long tradition of
teaching through projects. The school has intentionally developed a climate
and curriculum to encourage deep thinking, which is reflected by the physical environment. Because the school values collaboration, it has built nests
where small teams can work. Like glass-walled study rooms in a university
library, nests are soundproofed spaces tucked between classrooms with
windows that allow teachers to keep track of whats happening. Coote
describes these as semi-supervised spaces, where up to a dozen students
at a time can enjoy a degree of independence. Working in the nest, students
might brainstorm solutions to a problem, rehearse for a public presentation,
construct a model, or have a script meeting to plan what they will say. They
can engage fully in teamwork without disrupting their classmates.
Similarly, the Birkdale library is specially outfitted to reinforce project
work. Displayed here are museum-quality exhibits that relate to each
project. In a Quest called The Real Pocahontas?, students compare modern representations of Pocahontas with historical accounts to arrive at
some truths about her life. A library exhibit of blue Venetian glass trade
beads circa 1700, a silver shilling from 1601, a bone powder horn, and
other authentic artifactsalong with Disney snow globes and figurines
spark imagination and link project studies to the past. Developing the
exhibits has involved searching eBay and antiques stores for artifacts, but
its been well worth the effort because of the increased student engagement, according to Coote.
Many teachers show similar creativity in how they expand the functionality of the classroom box. For example, English teacher Susan Lucille
Davis has a space outside her office thats dubbed the Teaching and
Learning Leadership Center. As she explains in a blog post, the right space
offers an invitation to collaborate (Davis, 2012):
In it we have collected books, games, a tired white board, a coffee
pot and refrigerator, and a long conference table surrounded by a
hodgepodge of mismatched chairs. Sometimes the students who
come early like to gather there (exactly what we hoped when some
of my colleagues and I put this space together).
Working with limited budgets that dont allow for wholesale remodeling, many schools are investing in no-frills makeovers that better accommodate the needs of project-based learning and teaching. For example,
weve seen schools that have painted interior walls with whiteboard paint,
creating giant canvases for capturing and sharing ideas. To encourage students to make their thinking visible, teachers might encourage students to
write on their desks or the floor with dry-erase markers or provide them
with mini-whiteboards cut from melamine shower board to use while
tackling problems that may require multiple attempts to solve.
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30
Knowledge building involves learners in actively gathering information, making observations, formulating questions, and then creating new
ideas or solutions to answer their own inquiries. Critical thinking is
embedded throughout the process.
For example, an engineering class began a recent project by taking a
walking tour of a neighborhood that had been hit hard by a tornado (an
example of an engaging, relevant, and novel entry event). Students
observed the damage through the lens of engineering, raising need-toknow questions about why some buildings survived while others were
devastated by the force of nature (a real-world use of comparing and
contrasting). They also interviewed survivors of the storm, establishing
an emotional connection to the project. Then they worked in teams to
develop new designs that would answer their own inquiries about everything from building codes to the social aspects of how people interact
with their community (Ebbetts, 2012). In constructing new ideas, student
teams were going through the same thinking processes that experts
would bring to a similar challenge.
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32
33
34
(Continued)
PBL Activity
Storytelling
Field research
Scenario-based projects or
simulations that put students into
immersive environments
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WHATS NEXT?
Now that you have considered the physical environment and norms for
PBL, youre ready to look more closely at how questions themselves help
set the stage for deep inquiry. The next chapter focuses on questioning
techniques and thinking routines that are applicable across grade levels
and subject areas.
4
The Thinking-OutLoud-and-in-View
Classroom
I am not a teacher, but an awakener.
Robert Frost
n a culturally diverse urban school in Northern California, fourthgraders interviewed family members for a podcasting project called
Stories from the Heart. It took practice and preparation for students to
gently prod their elders with just the right questions that would unlock
memories: How did you play before you had television or video games?
Where did Grandmothers nickname come from? What was it like to come
to America as a child?
To model good interviewing and listening techniques, teacher Teresa
Cheung drew on her own experiences. In a recording for the national
StoryCorps project, she prompted her father, then 82, to talk about the lessons he learned while attending a Confucian school in China. In a touching
moment near the end of the interview, she thanks him for passing along
his strong values to his seven children (Conley, 2008).
Teachers are in an excellent position to be role models for inquiry. By
making the classroom a place that invites good questions from adults and
students alike, you help students understand that curiosity is not only
welcome, its expected.
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example: How does the debate over genetic engineering affect our
future?
{{Or: In what ways are stories a reflection of the time in which they were
written?
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example: How would your view of water change if our taps failed?
How can I turn a hobby (or talent) into a business?
example: What does our in-depth study of the pond by our school
teach us about oceans?
{{Or: How does the availability of local food shape our diet and culture?
Along the same lines, the Buck Institute for Education (BIE) encourages teachers to craft driving questions that are provocative or challenging, open ended, and/or complex and linked to the core of what they want
students to learn (Larmer, 2009).
To increase student engagement, BIE suggests looking for opportunities
to relate the driving question to students own lives or communities. For
example, you might revise the broad question What is a hero? to ask, Who
were the unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement in our community?
Building in a charge for student action is another strategy to boost engagement. Revise the previous question again, for instance, to ask, How can we
honor our communitys unsung heroes from the Civil Rights Movement?
Along with a good driving question, an effective entry event sets the
stage for a project launch. The entry event (which we discussed briefly in
Chapter 2) will be the first exposure your students have to a project. It
might unfold with a mysterious letter, jarring news, provocative video, or
other unusual event. It should be novel (to make students alert) and have
emotional resonance (to make them care).
Consider the following examples and imagine how your students
might respond:
A process server slaps student witnesses with subpoenas, compelling them to testify in an upcoming trial.
Short documentary videos from Kiva (a microfinance site that
focuses on helping developing world entrepreneurs) or Not in Our
Town (an online community speaking out against discrimination)
spur kids to action in their community.
A friendly dog on loan from the humane society comes to school
and delivers a letter asking students to launch a pet adoption
campaign.
A 10-minute documentary about child slavery on cocoa plantations
kicks off an investigation into global commerce and fair trade.
A teacher Skypes in her brother-in-law, who is serving in Afghanistan,
at the start of a comparative study of conflict.
A box of rosy apples is delivered to class. As they munch, students
consider the question Why these apples?, which starts an investigation into agriculture, economics, supply chains, and transportation.
Crafting the driving question and entry event is part art and part science. Proponents of PBL can debate what makes the best questions and
entry events, but all agree that they must be generative, sparking inquisitiveness and a need to know. The driving question and entry event should
hang together, as these do:
Entry event: An engineering class is visited by a group of marauding
Vikings who demand that the engineers design a trebuchet for an upcoming siege on Paris.
Driving question: How does the design of a trebuchet influence its
accuracy?
By planning a good driving question and entry event, youve set the
stage for inquirybut dont stop there. Follow up on the project launch
with a whole-class discussion that elicits the questions students are now
wondering about. Facilitate the conversation so that you spend little time
on procedural questions (i.e., When is this due?) and get into the meatier
questions that relate to content or strategies for research. Be sure to capture
everyones questions and keep a visible record of what students need to
know right now. This list of questions will guide the next steps as students
dig into research and problem solving.
Dont overlook the thinking strategies weve explored in previous
chapters. For instance, before debriefing the entry event with students,
you might ask students to sleep on it before getting them to unpack their
need-to-know questions. After the Viking scenario described above, imagine
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students going home and talking with their families about this event. Its
likely the whole family will want updates as the project unfolds. A strong
entry event can generate new directions for inquiry and strengthen the
homeschool connection.
Budding biologists want to consider the same question from the standpoint of evolution and ecology:
Could a giraffe have become a giraffe anywhere but in Africa?
Why do animals like starlings do well practically everywhere, while other
animals, like pandas, need very specialized environments?
Why do canary grass, blackberry, and kudzu crowd out native plants? Why
are barred owls out-competing northern spotted owls?
Are genetically modified crops doing us any favors?
Others are interested in studying competition for scarce natural
resources:
What can we do to prevent global water wars?
How can we reduce our schools carbon footprint?
How can we help a local business create new jobs by going green?
The teacher now has a rationale for making team assignments based on
student interests in these three topics, each of which connects to important
content in life science. Students are ready to dive deeply into their team
investigations. The inquiry project is fully launched.
The shrewd guess, the fertile hypothesis, the courageous leap to a
tentative conclusionthese are the most valuable coins of the thinker
at work.
Jerome Bruner
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44
At any age, the trick to doing your best thinking is to have lots of ways
to think, and knowing how to think in the ways that best suit the situation.
Think about a time when you had trouble making a choice. Perhaps you
wrote down the pros and cons of each option and then gave each a hard
look. This sort of analytical (compare-and-contrast) thinking aids decision
making.
When you use a variety of thinking strategies regularly and flexibly,
they become second nature. Whether your students are trying to make
connections, bring a fuzzy thought into clear view, or build explanations,
they will be more successful if they have a variety of strategies to draw
from to tackle each challenge.
Here is an assortment of thinking routines, study strategies, and conceptual organizers students will find helpful when faced with common
challenges during projects. Plan on modeling how and when to use them.
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46
When Stuck
Try a variety of ways to get unstuck.
Write a letter to a friend explaining that you are stuck. Describe in
detail what it is you are trying to accomplish.
Take a break. Walk around and get blood circulating. Recharge your
thinking batteries.
Get a change of scenery; move to a new spot to work.
project to someone for the first timestart at the beginning and bring
your listener up to the point at which you are working now.
Giving Feedback
Give classmates constructive feedback with a CLAM Sandwich. Listen
to the speaker, then ask C = Clarifying questions; describe what you L = Like;
offer A = Advice; and M = Meet in the middle (discuss).
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48
Traditional Classroom
PBL Setting
This means you will need to be ready to think and operate in new
ways during projects, just as your students will do. As New Zealand
Principal Richard Coote suggests, a teacher becomes the meddler in the
middle during PBL.
Try these methods for effective meddling in order to expose and
support good thinking. Many are PBL adaptations of the thinking routines
developed by Project Zero at Harvard.
Focusing
Ask: What is going on here? What are you trying to accomplish? What
is important to understand?
Extending
Say:
Ask: How does this help us understand the bigger picture? Have you
considered...? What would happen if...?
Justifying
Ask: How can you be certain that...? What evidence backs up your
statement that...?
Provoking
Ask:
Why do you think so? Why does that matter? What would ___ say?
Observing
Set an expectation that activity doesnt stop because you appeared on
the scene.
Say:
Monitoring
Ask: Show me what youre doing. Where are you in the process? What
happened right before I arrived? What do you plan to do next?
Evaluating
Say:
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50
Its important for her students to build a strong foundation of the project skills they will use throughout their 4 years at HTH. By the time they
are seniors, they will be designing their own inquiry projects. But as freshmen, they start with the basics. For their first project, the teacher makes
most of the decisions about project design.
Cornejo-Sanchez explains: When I introduce the project, I give students
a detailed description sheet. It explains why were doing it, what it will
involve, the community resources they may want to take advantage of, the
skills they will need. And theres a very detailed timeline that helps them
with time management. I include everything were going to do so they can
see the steps: interviewing, drafting, giving feedback, working on photography, learning from expert visitors. In later projects, students will need less
direction as they gradually take on more responsibility for their own learning. But for their first PBL experience, she says, Its all there, day by day.
Because Cornejo-Sanchez wants to learn about the strengths and interests of each student at the start of the year, she has them produce individual products. Students also team up on aspects of the project, however,
which gives them opportunities to build collaboration skills.
Students learn to work collaboratively through a series of planned
activities, such as interviewing a partner and providing critical feedback to
inform revision. Here, too, the teacher is deliberate about teaching collaboration skills.
We might spend two or three days talking about why you critique
each others work, why its scary, the kind of feedback you would like to
receive. She models the process by sharing with students feedback she
received on her writing from a college professor.
Field trips and guest speakers are routinely incorporated into projects
at HTH. Once again, Cornejo-Sanchez deliberately guides students to take
advantage of these resources. A Hero in My Eyes, for instance, involves
producing a photo portrait that captures a heroic moment. Theres no photography teacher on campus, so Cornejo-Sanchez takes students to a local
museum of photography and invites a local photographer to come work
with students. Through her facilitation, they are learning how to access
resources. Thats a skill they will continue to draw on throughout high
school. She adds, Our students learn how to ask experts for specific help.
Thats part of our school culture.
For their culminating event, students present their work in a gallery
setting. Standing next to their exhibits, students talk with parents and
other community members about what defines a hero to them (using presentation skills they have practiced in class with their peers). Once again,
this is a right-sized event that gets them ready for the larger audiences
they will share their work with later in the year.
By the end of the year, these ninth-graders have developed the confidence and competence to perform before an audience of 200 as part of a
spoken-word project. Its no accident that the ambitious final project is also
about identity. It brings the year to a full closure, Cornejo-Sanchez says,
and it takes us all year to build up to it.
If you have used starter projects with your students in the past, think
about how well the projects have met these goals. How might you improve
your starter ideas?
If you are new to PBL, investigate examples of short-term projects that
you might want to borrow or adapt to introduce students to the project
approach:
A Hero in My Eyes is a good example for the high school level (read
more and see student work samples at http://www.hightechhigh
.org/unboxed/issue3/cards/3.php).
Middle-school science teacher Sue Boudreau blogs about introducing students to PBL at the Take Action Science Projects Blog (http://
takeactionscience.wordpress.com/2012/04/04/yeah-yeah-yeahbut-how-do-you-get-started-with-pbl/).
Elementary teachers might want to consider joining the Monster
Project (http://www.smithclass.org/proj/Monsters/), a wellstructured project that emphasizes collaborative problem solving
with a fun challenge.
WHATS NEXT?
Before moving into subject-specific project discussions in Part II, we conclude the first half of the book with an overview of project design principles. If you are brand new to PBL, you may want to explore additional
resources for more detailed planning advice. If you are a PBL veteran,
Chapter 5 offers a reminder of the key considerations to keep in mind for
effective project design.
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5
Designing Rich
Learning
Experiences
W
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54
55
56
WHATS NEXT?
This chapter concludes Part I. In Part II, we will dive deeper into subject
areas for inquiry projects. If you teach a specific content area, we encourage you to also read the chapters that focus on other disciplines and look
for interdisciplinary project opportunities. Chapter 6 sets the stage with an
exploration of interdisciplinary thinking.
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Key Concepts
Point of view,
literary devices,
reporting,
opinion,
archetypes,
argument and
persuasion,
creative
expression,
vocabulary
Subject
Language
Arts
Persuasion
influences the
minds and actions
of others. Being
persuasive is a life
skill and so is
knowing when one
is being subjected
to persuasion.
Significance and
Relevance: Why are
these subjects
important to teach?
Who do they affect?
Choosing a
charity to fund
requires critical
thinking to
make an
informed
judgment.
Crafting a
persuasive
argument is
necessary to
convince others
to give. Students
apply supported
reasoning to
draft operational
definitions of
both need and
doing good to
select among
causes and
charities that
address those
causes. They
evaluate
persuasive talks
and identify
important
Engage Critical
Thinking
In this project,
students turn to social
media to learn how to
Project Sketch
Driving Question:
How can we
spend money to
do the most good?
Entry Event:
Students learn
how much money
goes to charitable
causes in their
community each
year. They draw
pie charts showing
how they imagine
the money is
apportioned to
local causes, then
compare this to
the actual
distribution.
Driving Question
Entry Event
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Key Concepts
Change, causal
relationships,
cultural
understanding,
systems,
production of
goods, movement
of people, power,
government, laws
and other social
contracts
Subject
Social
Studies
Life on earth is a
complex web of
interconnected
natural and humanmade systems. Any
assortment of
things that have
some influence on
one another can be
thought of as a
system.
Understanding how
elements in a
system interact
helps us grapple
with complexity.
Significance and
Relevance: Why are
these subjects
important to teach?
Who do they affect?
Understanding
complex
interactions is
fundamental to
problem solving
and innovation.
Any systemsoriented project
would benefit
from diverse
perspectives.
Technology can
be instrumental
in representing
and making
sense of
dynamic
systems.
Engage Critical
Thinking
2. Ninth-grade
English students
examine how
events unfold to
1. A second-grade
class designs its
own airport. Their
challenge is to get
all the parts
working together
so passengers
make their way
through ticketing,
security and
boarding and get
to their seats in
time for a
scheduled flight.
Project Sketch
(Continued)
Driving Question:
How do airports
work?
Entry Event: A
pilot visits school,
gives every
junior pilot
wings, and invites
them to design
their own airport.
Driving Question
Entry Event
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Subject
Key Concepts
Table 5.1(Continued)
Significance and
Relevance: Why are
these subjects
important to teach?
Who do they affect?
Engage Critical
Thinking
4. History students
examine events
and conditions
that contributed to
the U.S. Civil War
and compare these
to factors
3. An ecology class
considers factors
of regulation and
equilibrium by
modeling
population
dynamics in a
desert ecosystem.
points interact in
story arcs of
favorite movies or
books.
determine whether
Hamlets fate
would have
changed if his
actions, such as his
timing for killing
Claudius, were
different.
Driving Question:
How does an
ecosystem hang
together or fall
apart?
Entry Event:
Students plot data
and look for
relationships
between coyote
and desert hare
populations over
time.
Driving Question:
Was Hamlets fate
inevitable?
Driving Question
Project Sketch
Entry Event
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Key Concepts
Compounds,
forces,
electromagnetic
waves, speciation,
interdependence,
interactions of
matter and
energy,
atmosphere and
climate, geologic
processes
Subject
Science
Electromagnetic
waves transfer
energy, which
governs natural
processes and can
be harnessed by
humans.
Significance and
Relevance: Why are
these subjects
important to teach?
Who do they affect?
Physicists discoveries
influence developments
ranging from space flight to
house paints that hold up to
solar radiation. As they
bring products to market,
engineers and
manufacturers create
schematics (involving
computer-assisted design)
and product manuals
Students
working in teams
as consumer
advocates
develop product
guides for
manufactured
goods that
involve the
electromagnetic
spectrum.
Engage Critical
Thinking
In physical science,
students are expected
to understand the
nature of
electromagnetic
waves and
differences and
similarities between
kinds of waves as a
means of
transmitting
4. Title: Conflict
Then and Now
influencing
contemporary civil
wars.
(Continued)
Entry Event: A
news article about
health damages to
children and
technicians in
Central America
that happen
during X-ray
scans from badly
refurbished
Driving Question:
Is war inevitable?
Entry Event:
Students watch a
news report about
the conflict that
led to the
formation of South
Sudan. They meet
a newly minted
citizen of South
Sudan over Skype.
Driving Question
Project Sketch
Entry Event
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Subject
Key Concepts
Table 5.1(Continued)
Significance and
Relevance: Why are
these subjects
important to teach?
Who do they affect?
(technical writing). Retailers
work with advertisers to
create marketing campaigns
(persuasive imagery and
language) to sell products.
Watchdog groups attend to
safety and help consumers
select quality products
(awareness campaigns and
publications). Government
policy makers and wastemanagement experts set
(and communicate) policies
for the use and disposal of
consumer goods that make
use of electromagnetic
waves.
Engage Critical
Thinking
*Products or devices
involving
electromagnetic
waves include but are
not limited to: X-rays,
MRIs, and other
imaging technologies;
compact fluorescent,
incandescent, and
LED bulbs; ultraviolet
light-protecting
products like house
paints and sunscreen;
laser beams; digital,
energy. Students
study this by
examining consumer
products that put
electromagnetic
waves to work.*
Their task is to write
consumer manuals
that explain how
products function
and to advise on their
safe use and disposal.
Project Sketch
Driving Question:
How can we put
energy from the
electromagnetic
spectrum to work?
second-hand
equipment.
Driving Question
Entry Event
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Key Concepts
Pattern, quantity,
trends, size/
shape/position/
Subject
Math
Linear equations
help us solve for
the unknown and
Significance and
Relevance: Why are
these subjects
important to teach?
Who do they affect?
An investments
project asks
students to solve
Engage Critical
Thinking
Student consultants
advise a city council,
the director of a
Project Sketch
(Continued)
Entry Event:
Students turn the
Driving Question
Entry Event
64
Subject
Significance and
Relevance: Why are
these subjects
important to teach?
Who do they affect?
find patterns,
trends, slope,
change over time,
and proportional
relationships.
Key Concepts
scale, inequality,
ratios, linear
equations,
probability, logic,
statistics
Table 5.1(Continued)
Engage Critical
Thinking
retirement home, a
business owner, or
other ratepayers on
ways to invest in
improvements
(i.e., solar panels,
insulation, regulation
sensors) that will
save them energy
and money. On the
way to proposing a
plan of action, each
team conducts an
energy audit,
evaluates options for
saving energy, and
calculates investment
costs, loans, and
payback based on the
clients budget. They
seek advice from a
nonprofit that helps
utility customers save
energy and run their
proposals by experts
here before sharing
them with clients.
Project Sketch
Driving Question:
Can we spend
money to save
money?
schools energy
bill into fun
equivalencies,
such as number of:
miles of car travel,
laptops powered,
gallons of soft ice
cream dispensed.
Driving Question
Entry Event
SECTION II
Taking a Page
From the Experts
6
Thinking Across
Disciplines
I
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68
result from people with different kinds of expertise contributing their best
thinkingand building on each others ideas. Learning to collaborate
with team members is one important outcome of projects. Just as important
is the chance to walk in the shoes of expert problem solvers.
This chapter sets the stage for the second half of the book, in which we
will explore project-based learning in four core academic disciplines. It
might be tempting to think of these fieldslanguage arts, mathematics,
science, and social studiesas separate areas of a library, each containing
its own collection of content that students need to master. But that would
be short sighted. Along with important content, each discipline also offers
a distinct set of lenses for viewing the world, investigating questions, and
evaluating evidence. As students become more deeply steeped in the disciplines, they learn both rich content and expert ways of thinking.
When students are confronted with real-world problems, they may
need more than one set of disciplinary lenses to see a complex issue or
design a solution. Constructing an answer may require them to integrate
ideas or approaches from diverse perspectives.
Before we dive deeply into discussing inquiry strategies for projects in
language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, lets take time to
consider the nature of interdisciplinary thinking and the role it plays in
expert problem solving.
the ring of a bell. John Dewey (Dewey, 2011, p. 62) cautioned against this
practice nearly a century ago when he observed, We do not have a series
of stratified earths, one of which is mathematical, another physical,
another historical, and so on...All studies grow out of relations in the one
great common world. Learning driven by the traditional bell schedule is
distinctly unlike real life, something that critics continue to point out. We
simply do not function in a world where problems are discipline specific
in regimented time blocks, noted Heidi Hayes Jacobs in her 1989 publication Interdisciplinary Curriculum: Design and Implementation (Jacobs, 1989).
The complexity of todays challenges and the connectedness that technology affords are making interdisciplinary thinking increasingly important. Veronica Boix Mansilla, principal investigator of the Interdisciplinary
Studies Project at Harvards Project Zero, describes interdisciplinarity as
the hallmark of contemporary knowledge production and professional life
(Boix Mansilla, 2006; Boix Mansilla & Dawes Duraising, 2007). Crosscutting issues facing todays youth range from the ethics of stem cell
research to the human role in climate change to the politics of financial
reforms. Preparing young people to engage in the major issues of our
times requires that we nurture their ability to produce quality interdisciplinary work (Boix Mansilla & Dawes Duraising, 2007).
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70
talent
teacher
agent
business
accountant
owner
graphic
venture
artist
entrepreneur
capitalist
insurance
concert
adjusters
promoter
musician
costume
designer
costumer
graphic
novelist
financial
poet
analyst
writer
banker
database
editor
administrator
blogger
geographer
surveyor
reporter
actuary
songwriter real estate agent
travel
consumer statistician
chemist
dancer
engineer
agent
advocate
forester
author
city
research
marketing
zookeeper
planner librarian
director
art historian
flight engineers
emergency
screenwriter
illustrator
philanthropist mgmt. director anthropologist
paleontologist
agriculture
computer
coach
lobbyist economist architect
scientist
programmer
biographer museum
technical
transportation
curator teacher
forensic veterinarian writer
planner
lawyer
epidemiologist scientist
tour
politician
guide
teacher
visual
dietician
environmentalist
op-ed columnist
effects
social worker
artist
news
patent
attorney
genealogist
linguist
meteorologist
analyst
judge
meteorologist
science
draftsperson
detective
advertising
park ranger writer
docent executive
cartographer
documentarian
librarian
teacher
web/social
media producer
S
SS
LA
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72
WHATS NEXT?
In the next four chapters, we take a close look at inquiry in each of these
core content areas: language arts, social studies, science, and math. You
will hear from experts working in each discipline about what inspired
them to pursue their professions and how they have honed their speciali
zed thinking skills. If you are a content-area specialist, we encourage you
to read outside your discipline and look for interdisciplinary project
opportunities. In Chapter 7, we start with language artsan area that
touches all disciplines.
7
Language Arts
ife isnt always what you want it to be. Sometimes, your parents get
divorced. Sometimes, you have to start over in a new city, state, or
even country. Sometimes, you have to seek professional help for emotional
issues.
These insights come from an eighth-grader named Zoe (Nerdy Book
Club, 2012). She took part in a publishing project in which student writers
shared their wisdom to help other children learn from lifes challenges.
Transitions, their beautifully illustrated book of stories, is available for sale
on Amazon.com. Whats the authors strategy to help children develop
better coping skills? You have to speak their language, Zoe explains.
The Transitions project offers a powerful example of students using
language for authentic purposes. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening
skills all belong in the toolkit of a literate person in todays world. Students
applied these skills, along with visual literacy, creativity, empathy, and
an understanding of media arts, during this ambitious interdisciplinary
project.
As the Common Core State Standards for Language Arts and other
21st-century frameworks make clear, literacy involves a complex set of
competencies. Students who meet the standards know how to read carefully for understanding. They can critically assess the quality of information. They are able to engage with a variety of texts and make well-reasoned
arguments. They can harness their own creativity and use digital tools to
produce original work that engages audiences.
Project-based learning offers an excellent vehicle to help students reach
these important goalsand not only in the English classroom. Perhaps
more so than any other core content area, the foundational skills of the
language arts reach across the curriculum. The deep and authentic connections between literacy and other subjects set the stage for interdisciplinary
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74
Language Arts
for an environment that supports projects. (He teaches many students for
three consecutive years, so they already own this space.) As the teacher
explains during our interview, When were in this room together, were
all here to support and encourage one another. Its a no-put-down zone. I
want even the quietest, shyest kids to be able to speak up and feel part of
the group. We start setting that tone early.
After the freewrites and formation of project teams, Mayo quickly
shifted gearsand genresso that students were focusing on broader
themes. Each teams challenge was to turn their shared experiences into
a metaphorical story. That meant students needed to understand the
qualities of a good story. Childrens literature offered them familiar and
accessible examples for close reading.
Mayo provided a selection of childrens books for students to examine
and also invited them to bring in their favorites from home. When students began sharing dog-eared copies of the books they had loved as
younger readers, they were primed for rich conversations about why certain titles have lasting appeal. Each day, they read aloud another book
from the growing collection.
For more deliberate instruction in literary devices, Mayo used a book
called Two Bad Ants for a whole-class discussion. We picked it apartthe
story structure, rising action, character traits of the ants. We analyzed it for
metaphors and examined the theme, Mayo said during the interview.
After this close read of a text, Mayo invited local childrens book authors
(a husband-and-wife team) to describe the process they go through to create a book. We did a lot of modeling, the teacher adds.
With that foundation, teams were ready to start collaboratively writing their own stories. To engage creativity, Mayo introduced a variety of
visual thinking tools to help students generate original plots. In his language arts class (which in eighth grade is called Lights, Camera, Media
Literacy!), he makes regular use of storyboarding, plot diagramming,
and other methods of capturing ideas in quick sketches. Once students
had done enough visual brainstorming to get them ready to write, they
shifted to Google Docs. This platform enabled teams to collaborate in real
time, providing one another with just-in-time peer feedback to improve
their compositions.
Students understood that illustrations would be important for appealing to younger audiences. Many of Mayos students, however, lacked
confidence in their artistic abilities. That changed when Mayo invited a
professional artist, Arturo Ho, to share his expertise. As Mayo watched the
artist guide students through the stages of creating illustrations, the veteran teacher had a revelation of his own. Mayo shared his reflections on
Digital Is, an online journal of the National Writing Project (Mayo, 2012):
The art process is very similar to the writing process...Students
first had to create their rough sketches, just like writers must first
create their rough drafts. Then students slowly developed more
refined illustrations based on their rough sketches. By the time the
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Language Arts
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78
Sometimes, students leverage the power of inquiry to make a difference in their world. That was the case for a class of eighth graders at
Amana Academy, a public charter school in Alpharetta, Georgia, that
emphasizes STEM along with service learning and environmental stewardship. Students focused a recent investigation on the issue of homelessness. Specifically, they wanted to find out if they could use their
understanding of science to improve temporary housing for homeless
people in their community.
Teacher Cherisse Campbell partnered for the project with an Atlanta nonprofit called Mad Housers that provides temporary huts for people who are
homeless. Before her students could suggest and test design improvements
for the huts, they first had to understand what its like to be homeless. The
entry event for the project was a visit to a homeless camp, where students
used their communication skills to interview residents. What they learned
firsthandand from follow-up research about homelessnesscaused them
to confront their own biases and to challenge media portrayals of homeless
people. One student observed: The media portrays that the people who are
homeless are out there for a reason. That was stuck in my head until I was
out there and met the people. They were normal like me and they wanted a
way to come back. I think that the huts are the first step (Felton, 2012).
Based on their interviews and observations, students gained new understanding of the shortcomings of the huts, such as trouble with heating, cooling, lighting, safety, sanitation, and so forth. Back in the classroom, students
dug into research and problem solving. They used the scientific method to
experiment with heat-transfer options, for instance, comparing the results
for conduction, radiation, and convection. They made prototypes of suggested design improvements that incorporated sustainable resources. One
team suggested making insulation out of lunch trays. Another designed a
solar oven to heat bricks, which would keep a hut occupant warm at night.
Finally, students shared their proposals in a public exhibition. It was
attended not only by parents but also by the director of the Mad Housers.
Nick Hess said later, What pleased me is that these students really were
doing it right (Felton, 2012). Students were able to thoroughly explain
and advocate for their proposals, backing up their suggestions with scientifically reliable data.
By emphasizing inquiry in interdisciplinary projects that draw on the
language arts, we set the stage for students to pose and pursue the questions that most interest them. Whether they wonder about neighborhood
news or improving housing for marginalized citizens, they can hone and
apply their language skills through research, interviews, observations,
and writing and speaking in a variety of genres and formats. When students share the results of their inquiries with audiencesin podcasts,
broadcasts, public or online forums, or print or digital publicationsthey
gain even more opportunities to use language in authentic ways.
Here are a few examples of driving questions for projects that integrated the language arts and the real-world results of the investigations
that followed:
Language Arts
Driving Question: How can we all cross the finish line together?
Result: Students took part in 26 Seconds, a national advertising campaign in which they challenged one another not to become statistics
(every 26 seconds, a student in the U.S. drops out of high school).
Students produced a video intended to appeal to a specific audience
their peers.
Driving Question: Can we help the blue fender butterfly?
Result: Students learned that a butterfly species relies on a prairie
habitat that is rapidly diminishing. Their letter-writing and leafleting
campaign got the communitys attention, and a local park was returned
to prairie.
Driving Question: How is a story like a pebble dropped in water?
Result: Elementary students interviewed family members for a podcasting project called Stories from the Heart (Cheung, 2010). By making their interviews public, the class helped listeners learn from each
others stories and recognize the importance of drawing out stories
from their own families.
Driving Question: What can we do to address modern-day slavery
around the world?
Result: After reading a novel about a girl who was trafficked, students
launched a social media campaign to speak out against modern-day
slavery. They incorporated research on human rights to add authority
to what could have been a strictly emotional appeal.
Driving Question: How should we honor the heroes in our community?
Result: Students interviewed civil rights activists who were Freedom
Riders during the 1960s and created a traveling museum exhibit
about their contributions and sacrifices. By gathering oral histories
and photographs, students created historically valuable primary
source materials. They interpreted their findings with the dual goals
of educating others and also honoring the contributions of important
citizens.
Driving Question: How can ethics keep up with science?
Result: After reading Mary Shelleys Frankenstein, students investigated contemporary ethical issues of cloning, stem cell research, and
bioengineering. For an online publication, they weighed pros and cons
of controversial issues and supported their positions with scientific
evidence and expert testimony.
In each of these examples, students are using language to help them
figure outand sharethe answers to their open-ended questions.
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They are writing to understand, just as experts do. As author Joan Didion
(1976) reminds us: I write entirely to find out what Im thinking, what
Im looking at, what I see and what it means.
Language Arts
spent in the inquiry setting, the more they improved in core content areas.
Researchers found that hands-on inquiry activities not only provided a
context for learning but also allowed learners to engage in more authentic
conversation (Amaral, Garrison, & Klentschy, 2002). Similarly, a study of
middle school and high school language arts students found that discussion-based inquiry approaches improved students literacy skills. Students
showed gains across the board, including high-achieving and struggling
students (Applebee, Langer, Nystrand, & Gamoran, 2003).
LITERACY-BUILDING ENVIRONMENT
A language arts teacher we met recently was eager to give her students
opportunities for more authentic literacy experiences. She signed up for a
PBL workshop we conducted for her district. By the end of our 2 days
together, she seemed like an enthusiastic convert to project-based instruction. During a follow-up call a few weeks later, however, she was voicing
doubts. Why? She worried about letting go of classroom strategies that
had always served her students well. For instance, she encouraged a love
of literature by asking students to read at least one book each term for pure
enjoyment. When we asked why she was jettisoning this fine tradition,
she said, It just isnt part of the project.
Time for a course correction! We asked her to picture an accomplished
person who works with languageperhaps a journalist, songwriter, or
documentary filmmaker. Wouldnt this person keep a stack of books or
magazines on the nightstand (or perhaps downloaded on an e-reader) and
read for pleasure? Isnt this someone who would choose words with care,
drawing on a vocabulary that continues to expand through personal
engagement with literature, film, and other media? Reassured, the teacher
reinstituted her reading-for-pleasure assignment, which she now saw as
part of the larger context for helping her students become proficient readers,
writers, and critical thinkers.
A good project environment doesnt eliminate proven strategies for
increasing literacy. Instead, projects offer students motivating reasons to
expand their language arts skills.
At Manor New Technology High School in Texas, for example, students were drawn into reading classic literature by a project that integrated science and engineering. Their challenge: improve on the weaponry
used by the losing side in The Epic of Gilgamesh so that the vanquished
might emerge as victors. To succeed, students had to understand the epic
poem in detail.
In a few carefully phrased sentences, the Common Core State Standards for
English Language Arts describe the skills and dispositions of a literate person:
[They] readily undertake the close, attentive reading that is at the
heart of understanding and enjoying complex works of literature.
They habitually perform the critical reading necessary to pick
carefully through the staggering amount of information available
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today in print and digitally. They actively seek the wide, deep, and
thoughtful engagement with high-quality literary and informational texts that builds knowledge, enlarges experience, and
broadens worldviews. They reflexively demonstrate the cogent
reasoning and use of evidence that is essential to both private
deliberation and responsible citizenship in a democratic republic.
(National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council
of Chief State School Officers, 2010, p. 3)
Whats more, the standards call for increasing rigor and critical thinking as students progress from grade to grade. By their senior year in high
school, students are expected to spend 70% of their reading and writing
time on nonfiction. Meeting these goals is unlikely without an emphasis
on increasingly challenging yet engaging literacy experiences throughout
a students K12 years.
The National Council of Teachers of English, in a publication that
addresses the CCSS, emphasizes that it remains up to teachers to determine how to meet these learning goals:
Teachers who immerse their students in rich textual environments,
require increasing amounts of reading, and help students choose
ever more challenging texts will address rigor as it is defined by the
CCSS. This means keeping students at the center, motivating them
to continually develop as writers and readers, and engaging them
in literacy projects that are relevant to their lives. When students
feel personal connections, they are much more willing to wrestle
with complex topics/texts/questions. (Wessling, 2011, p. 11)
Across the arc of a project, students are likely to encounter a variety of
situations in which they will need specific, deliberate help to build their
literacy skills. Some will be opportunities for whole-class instruction,
while other situations will lend themselves to just-in-time work with small
groups or individuals.
Here are a few scenarios that are likely to arise during projects that
integrate the language arts.
CURATING CONTENT
Early in her teaching career, Sarah Brown Wessling, 2010 National Teacher
of the Year, started designing reading experiences in such a way that texts
would talk to each other. This approach helps students understand that
reading doesnt happen in isolation; understanding comes from making
connections. As she explains:
The Stranger wasnt as powerful without excerpts of Sophies World,
Charlie Chaplin, or punk rock music to amplify it. Our investigation
of it wasnt complete without juxtaposing Camus to Jean-Paul
Language Arts
Sartres No Exit to offer contrast, to spark questions, to prompt curious distinctions. Before long, we were hearkening back to Salinger,
Peter Kupers graphic novel of The Metamorphosis, and One Flew Over
the Cuckoos Nest....I had not only learned to teach thematically, but
I had also learned how to design a recursiveness in text selection that
mirrored and honored the kind of recursiveness we practiced as
writers, thinkers, viewers, and readers. (Wessling, 2011, p. 23)
Through her careful and deliberate selections of texts, Wessling acts as
content curator for her students learning experience. Her choicesincluding graphic novels and music along with more traditional readingsset
the stage for students to make connections across genres, leading to deeper
understanding.
Remember Birkdale Intermediate, the New Zealand school that teaches
through inquiry-based projects called Quests? The Birkdale staff is similarly deliberate about curating content for each Quest so that students
have ready access to high-quality, multimedia resources during their
investigations. These might include texts, maps, photos, videos, and perhaps interviews with expert sources. Students can still go find more
resources on their own, notes Birkdale Principal Richard Coote during a
personal interview, but teachers are assured that students will be starting
their investigations with a storehouse of rich and meaningful content.
The schools long-term goal, of course, is to produce independent
learners who can find and assess information on their own and then make
their own meaning. They will become their own curators who know how
to search for, assess, and give credit for content; provide context; and remix
material in original ways to create something new. Getting students to that
level of information fluency takes time. In the meantime, Coote says, content curation by teachers provides students with necessary scaffolding to
make sure they set off in the right direction.
Teachers who are accustomed to more traditional instruction may need
to rethink when and how they introduce specific readings or offer background explanations during PBL. In an ongoing research project led by
researchers from the University of Washington, teachers have redesigned
Advanced Placement courses to integrate project-based learning methods.
Goals are to encourage deeper mastery of content and to make AP courses
more accessible to diverse student populations. The PBL design emphasizes putting engagement first before introducing lectures, texts, or more
traditional explanations of content (Boss et al., 2012).
What does this look like in practice? Heres how researchers described
a project called Congress 111 in a redesigned AP government class. Notice
that students are demonstrating a high level of competency when it comes
to reading, writing, listening, and speaking:
One day of Congress 111 might feature legislative committee work,
the next day a lecture or preparation for a floor debate, and the next
day a mid-unit assessment of student learning. Homework consisted
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of reading, planning, and reviewing as well as working collaboratively at the projects website at www.legsim.org. A few students
in each classroom were designated videographers and would use
Flipcams to interview classmates and film committee meetings
and other legislative events. Eventually, a culminating performance activitya floor debate with an elected speaker presiding
completed the project. An adult expert (e.g., a lawyer or legislator)
was invited to play a role in the culminating performance. This
elevated the authenticity of the project while affording students
feedback on which aspects of their performance rang true or not
to the experts knowledge and experience. (Parker, Mosborg,
Bransford, Vye, Wilkerson, & Abbott, 2011, p. 541)
Tech Spotlight
A number of technology tools help with content curation, enabling teachers or
students to pull digital information from a variety of sources, comment on it, and
make it shareable. For example:
Storify (http://storify.com/) enables users to turn content published
on social media (such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr) into annotated stories. For example, after each weekly #PBLChat on Twitter, a
curator from New Tech Network produces a Storify that serves as an
archive of that weeks event. See examples here: http://storify.com/
newtechnetwork.
Scoop.it (www.scoop.it) is a curation tool that allows anyone to create
an online magazine on any topic. Users pull content from the Web
using RSS feeds or keyword searches. Heres an example of a Scoop.it
focusing on PBL: http://www.scoop.it/t/project-based-learning-a-recipe
-for-lifepractice.
Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/) is a virtual bulletin board tool.
Users pin images or other content to their interest boards. Heres an
example that focuses on reading: http://pinterest.com/mydaisydoodle/
reading/.
Language Arts
Tech Spotlight
A variety of technology tools can help students navigate online research.
For example
Diigo (www.diigo.com) is a social bookmarking tool and then some. At
its simplest, Diigo enables users to track links online and share
resources with an online community (such as a project team or classroom group). In addition, users can add comments to text with virtual
sticky notes. This enables readers to engage directly with the text,
practicing critical-thinking skills and close reading.
Instagrok (www.instagrok.com) is a search engine specifically for education. Special features include visual representations that show connections among topics. Users who create accounts can track their research
in online journals.
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WHATS NEXT?
Chapter 8 focuses on inquiry in the social studies. A professional historian
reflects on the thinking skills and dispositions that are essential in his field.
We hope you will journey with us into this exploration of the social studies
even if its not the subject you teach. Much like language arts, social studies
offers authentic opportunities for interdisciplinary projects.
8
Social Studies
C
anadian history teacher Neil Stephenson sees the world as one big
learning opportunity. When he came across the museum exhibit
Canada in a Box: Cigar Containers that Store Our Past, he knew hed
struck it rich. Collected and curated by Dr. Sheldon Posen of the Canadian
Museum of Civilization, the cigar box exhibit covers a large swath of
Canadian history, with each box telling a bit of what Canadians are about,
who and what they value, what they think is funny, and what it means to
be Canadian. Thus, Stephensons Cigar Box Project was born.
Stephensons 12- and 13-year old students set to work, operating as
historians do to understand Canadas colorful history. They examined the
commercial art on cigar boxes, researched the people and events they portrayed, and sought to interpret the stories the panels illustrated. They met
with museum curator and historian Posen to share their interpretations,
ask questions, and go deeper.
Students started to wonder, as historians do, about the stories the
boxes didnt tell. Intent on revealing a more comprehensive account of the
past, students pulled on gloves and wielded magnifying glasses to study
other artifacts of history. Through iterative cycles of questioning, research,
and interpretation, a more nuanced story of Canada emerged, one that
included human events that often escape the history books.
Now Stephensons students were ready to present their interpretations
of the past in cigar boxes of their own. They studied graphic design and
learned to use a digital editing program to create illustrated panels that
were historically accurate and beautiful to behold.
At first glance it would appear the theme of cigar boxes was the glue that
held the project together, but at a deeper level it was the disciplinary practices of historians that shaped the investigation. With Stephensons guidance
and mentoring from their colleague Dr. Posen, students donned the
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mantle of the expert, inquiring, investigating, using the tools and methods
of the discipline, holding up their conclusions for the scrutiny of others, and
presenting their interpretations in meaningful ways.
Even those of us who are not history teachers can appreciate the power
of the Cigar Box Project. Stephensons students learned deeply because
they inquired as experts do. They honed new skills, many of the 21stcentury variety. They worked in earnest to produce high-quality and
memorable work.
Many social studies teachers, like Stephenson, are retooling their learning environments and creating opportunities for students to work as
economists, lawyers, city planners, folklorists, activists, philosophers,
anthropologists, and philanthropists.
Subjects of the social studies lend themselves to the project approach.
Because they are based in the human experience, real-world connections
abound. In this chapter we examine three principles for designing quality
projects. They include
Aligning student work to the values embodied in the social studies
Designing for personal meaning
Working in the manner of professionals and active citizens
A SUBJECT AT RISK
Given stringent testing mandates for other subjects, social studies subjects risk being put in the back seat of the school curriculum. With
lengthened periods or even double doses of reading and math, students
spend less time studying the arts, science, physical education, and social
studies.
A 2007 report by the Center on Education Policy describes the shift in
time in instruction among subjects as school districts responded to the No
Child Left Behind mandate.
Grades K5. Among districts that reported increasing time for English/
language arts and math (i.e., most of them), 72% indicated that their elementary schools reduced time by a total of at least 75 minutes per week for
one or more other subjects. Of these, more than half (53%) cut instructional
time in social studies from 239 to 164 minutes, or exactly 75 minutes.
Grades 612. Middle and high school programs have increased credit
requirements for math and science and, in low-performing schools,
increased the number of reading/language arts credits students must take.
Reporting for these grade bands isnt as tidy as for K5, but any way you
look at it, for most of their school career, todays students are spending less
time learning social studies.
Why is this a problem? Competence in these subjects has a benefit that
goes beyond the individual. The ideals embodied in the study of culture,
history, economics, government, geography, and global issues are central
to a functioning society. Quality learning experiences help students learn
Social Studies
more than a body of knowledge based on facts and dates; they help them
develop character, a sense of connectedness, and civic responsibility.
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Social Studies
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(Continued)
Professor of History, he teaches both undergraduates and graduate students.
Teaching and writing are quite closely connected. I think of my readers as
students I just havent met yet.
Engaging young people in the study of history can be a challenge. For a
teenager to be thinking about history is relatively unnatural, he admits.
Theyre thinking about the future, not the past. The older we get, the more
history of our own we have, the more naturally history comes to us. When
Brands lectures to public audiences, its not unusual for the average age
to be 70.
How might we help history come alive for the current generation of students? What helps young people learn to think about problems in the way that
historians do? Brands offers some pointers.
Start with the present. I have a better chance of engaging students interest if I talk about something thats happening today. I often teach from todays
headlines. Its relatively easy to go from the events of the day to ask: So how did
this situation come about? How did we get here?
Make it personal. If I can get students to read old diaries or old letters, if
they can see that people in history were people like them, then they may find
that engaging. A student might read the letters of young Abraham Lincoln and
realize, here was somebody who was also dealing with issues of, Who am I?
What career should I follow?
Evaluate information. With so much information available on the Internet,
we can access materials today that werent available 10 years ago except to
people with specialized credentials and research budgets. This also means that
evaluating of evidence is more important than it used to be. Theres so much
stuff online, and much of it is noisy and can be self-interested. Theres almost no
expense to publish it. I encourage students to ask: How reliable is this? Is the
source somebody with an ax to grind? Even with an authoritative-looking published book, you still just have the authors word to go on. Do you require corroborating evidence? Is there a reason to believe it?
Talk it out. Sometimes students get stuck. They dont know what topic to
research. But theres got to be something that interests them. So well talk. Ill
ask, What brought you into this class? Maybe they have an interest in a particular president. If I can get them talking about their interests, theyll realize
that there was more in their head than they knew was there. That helps if theyre
having a hard time getting ideas down on paper, too. Almost no one has a
speaking block.
Be inspiring. Information is the death of interest in history if information
comes first. I tell my students, if I fill you with information but bore you, youll
start to forget your information as soon as you walk out of the final exam. On
other hand, if I inspire you with interest in history, then you will continue to
teach yourself history for the rest of your life. History is a very accessible subject.
Its not like chemistry or physics. If youre interested in history and you can read,
the world is open to you.
Brands doesnt expect all his students to go into what he calls the history
business. What they gain from studying the discipline are reasoning and communication skills that will serve them well in life, regardless of their career
choices. If you can think and communicate, then youll have a leg up.
Social Studies
What else belongs in a historians toolkit? Here are four tools Brands considers essential:
1. Curiosity: History is for the curious. If you want to know why the U.S. is the
way it is, if you want to know why the position of women in Africa is the
way it is, if you want to know why this world exists, then history is for you.
2. Empathy: If youre going to understand the past, you have to be able
to put yourself in the position of people who lived in the pastthe people
youre studying. If you simply go to the past seeking confirmation for
your current prejudices, you might find the confirmation but youre certainly not going to understand the past.
3. Facility with reading: If reading is a chore, then youre probably not
going to make a very good historian. You have to read through lots of
stuff. And if you take this on as a job, you cant read every book from
start to finish. There will be parts that have information you need and
parts that do not. In fact, youll find yourself putting down books that
you find interesting because you have to work to do!
4. Love of writing: I have some colleagues who dont particularly like to
write. The fun part for them is tracking down the information. Then its
like pulling teeth getting them to write. But the rest of the world cant
evaluate the kind of research you did until you write it down. Im often
asked, how is it you do so much writing? The simple answer is, I like
doing it. Every morning, I get to get up and do this thing I like to do.
Big Questions
Project Snapshot
Culture
(Continued)
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Table 8.1(Continued)
Thematic Strand
Big Questions
Project Snapshot
Time,
Continuity, and
Change
People,
Places, and
Environments
Individual
Development
and Identity
Individuals,
Groups, and
Institutions
Power,
Authority, and
Governance
After an incident of
cyberbullying in their school,
students develop their own
code of conduct for life
online.
Production,
Distribution,
and
Consumption
Science,
Technology,
and Society
Social Studies
Thematic Strand
Big Questions
Project Snapshot
Global
Connections
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Resources
Access to photography archives. See local or state historical socie
ties and museums, the Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/
pictures), and the National Archives (http://www.archives.gov).
Experts: historians, archivists, photographers
Maps, reference books, online materials
Collaborative projects such as HistoryPin (www.historypin.com/)
GPS devices
Digital cameras
Skills
Experts
Photographers
Historians
Archivists
Docents, tour guides
Social Studies
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(Continued)
Bhutan $1,930 per person per year
Sri Lanka $2,020 per person per year
Pakistan $930 per person per year
Bangladesh $497 per person per year
Interestingly, Sri Lanka and Bhutan have greater per capita income but they
are much smaller than Pakistan and Bangladesh in sheer numbers of people.
The team wonders how this compares to their country. India comes in the middle
at $1,077 per capita income per year, and it has a lot of successful Caf Coffee
Day franchise stores. They note this, and then move ahead.
They make this query in Wolfram Alpha: Compare GDP of Bhutan, Sri Lanka,
Pakistan, and Bangladesh. It returns this information:
Bhutan $1.327 billion per year
Sri Lanka $40.56 billion per year
Pakistan $164.5 billion per year
Bangladesh $79.55 billion per year
So far, Pakistan seems to be a good choice. Its the most populous country,
and its GDP and per-capita income are high compared to Bangladesh, the second-most-populated country.
A question occurs to the team: Do people in these countries drink coffee?
They type: Compare coffee consumption of Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and
Bangladesh. The search returns this result:
Bhutan (data not available)
Sri Lanka 6,873 sh tn/yr (short tons per year)
Pakistan 899.5 sh tn/yr
Bangladesh 1,141 sh tn/yr
They wonder what these numbers mean. Does any one person drink a lot of
coffee or only a little? They wonder if they can use these numbers to calculate
per capita coffee consumption. Wolfram Alpha is a step ahead. Scrolling down
the same search page, students find:
Percapita coffee consumption
Bhutan (data not available)
Pakistan 0.1764 oz/person/yr (ounces per person per year)
Social Studies
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WHATS NEXT?
Chapter 9 focuses on inquiry in science, a rich domain for project investigations. Well hear from a prominent scientist whose curiosity about how the
world works began at a young age. Once again, we encourage you to come
along for the journey even if you dont teach science. Your own curiosity
may be sparked by the interdisciplinary project examples ahead.
9
Science
To a person uninstructed in natural history, his country or sea-side
stroll is a walk through a gallery filled with wonderful works of art,
nine-tenths of which have their faces turned to the wall. Teach him
something of natural history, and you place in his hands a catalogue of
those which are worth turning around.
Thomas Henry Huxley 18251895
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The yellow bird changes velocity with the tap of a finger. Analyze
more than one flight path to answer this: What are the details of its
change in velocity?
Based on a reasonable estimate for the size of an angry bird, determine the value of g in Angry Bird World. Why would the game
designer want to have g be different than 9.8 m/s?
Shoot an angry bird so that it bounces off one of the blocks. What is
the coefficient of restitution and the mass of the angry bird?
To investigate these questions, students first make screencasts of game
play using Jing, Screencast-O-Matic, or Camtasia Studio. Then they do
analysis. To support their scientific thinking, students use tools for data
analysis and modeling, such as Logger Pro and Tracker Video. As Noschese
explains in an interview about Angry Bird Physics with CUNY-TVs
Science and U! show, My goal is to show kids that physics is all around us.
They dont have to be rocket scientists to do physics (Demillo, 2011).
Given the enthusiasm students show for this approach, it wont be
surprising if some do become rocket scientists!
Science
predictable labs, but this approach makes it less likely that students will
appreciate how science works as a creative human endeavoran endeavor
they can participate in.
By bringing project-based learning into the science classroom, we
increase opportunities for students to do the real work of scientists.
Projects invite students to think as scientists do from a young age.
Second graders from Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton,
Massachusetts, applied their scientific know-how to improve the image of
reptiles that often get a bad rap. Their interdisciplinary project was aptly
titled Dont Be S-s-scared: The Truth About Snakes. One of their products
was a music video that students wrote and starred in, set to the tune of
Lady Gagas hit, Born This Way. Its delightful, to be sure, but the clever
lyrics include scientific facts that students discovered during their indepth investigation of snakes. Students also produced a richly illustrated
book, What Snake Am I? A Clue Book of Snakes From Around the World, and
donated copies to the Harvard Museum of Natural History and a local
wildlife sanctuary for use in educational programs.
Heres how teacher Jenna Gampel explains the purpose behind this
project that turned her students into young herpetologists: The focus on
snakes was designed to challenge students to think beyond their initial
conceptions and misconceptions and to use scientific inquiry to dispel the
myths behind peoples aversion to this universally feared creature. As students deepened their knowledge, they felt the need to become snake
ambassadors and to share the truth about these reptiles with the world
(Gampel, n.d., p. 1).
Opportunities for deep learning expand when we encourage students
to investigate scientific questions in the wider world and across disciplines. This doesnt mean that science labs go out the window or that
teachers no longer have a hand in guiding investigations. For the snake
project, Gampel had students perform a number of specific activities,
including observing, questioning, conducting and analyzing surveys,
researching, inferring, taking notes, and drawing scientific sketches. With
the right approach, we can design projects to balance student-driven and
teacher-directed inquiry.
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the population was spread out among small, rural communities, and education was local in every sense. The movement toward compulsory education was still 30 years away.
The Committee of Ten sought to bring coherence and rigor to education across the nation. Chaired by Harvard University President Charles
Eliot, the Committee drew a line separating education into two domains:
the studies of school that prepared students for a classical university education, and the practical learning that occurred in home occupations and
the tradesthat is, hands-on learning.
Their report urged high schools to adopt Latin, Greek, English, modern
languages, mathematics, physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, zoology,
physiology, history, civil government, political economy, and geography as
the core curriculum. These were the subjects of scholars who worked with
ideas, not things.
The distinction the Committee of Ten made 120 years ago has had a
lasting influence. Engineering back then was viewed as a concern of farmers, manufacturers, and machinists, not gentlemen.
Today, proponents of engineering and its modern ally computer science fight to squeeze these subjects into the K12 curriculum. Why should
it matter whether these subjects are taught? Both are central to modern
life. We need the power of engineering and computer science to solve
long-prevailing problems and confront
new ones. As importantly, both subjects
Worth noting: Students whose teachers conduct
offer the hands-on, minds-on experihands-on learning activities on a weekly basis
ences that develop our intellects.
outperform their peers by more than 70% of a
One bright spot is the maker movegrade level in math and 40% of a grade level in
ment, a rapidly growing subculture of
science (Wenglinsky, 2000). Hands-on learning
tinkerers, inventors, hackers, crafters,
experiences develop handeye coordination, spaand hobbyists who take the do-it-yourtial reasoning, and problem-solving abilities. Such
self credo to heart. Schools would do well
experiences, once part of everyday life outside of
to adopt the maker ethos by giving time
school, are less common now. As inexpensive and
to making and outfitting a maker space
disposable goods become the norm, activities like
with design software, 3-D printers, sewtinkering in basement workshops and sewing
ing machines, shop tools, and good old
from patterns have become practically extinct.
twine and wire.
Science
COMPUTERS AS THINGS
(FOR EVERYONE) TO THINK WITH
When we think of hands-on learning, we usually focus on the manipulation
of physical stuff. Seymour Papert, deemed by many to be the father of
educational computing, thinks of computers as stuff you think with. Just
as a pendulum is a wonderful tool to think with as you explore properties
of time and motion, a computer allows you to apply precise logic. Robotics,
phone apps, diagnostic tools, networks, and computer-generated imagery
are just a few of the expressions of computer logic. Papert considers computers as tools to develop the intellect and invented the LOGO computer
language so children could get started with a dead-simple user interface to
learn formal logic as it is applied in computing to make things happen.
Paperts constructionist philosophy, situated solidly in constructivism,
holds that learning to program a computer is learning not just by doing
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but by making. Being able to pose a problem in such a way that a computer
can help you solve it is the cornerstone of computational thinking.
You might not think of participation in fields like engineering and
computer science as a social issue, but it is. Jobs in these professions are
growing, but few of our students are being prepared for them.
Looking just at computer science, consider this: the U.S. Department of
Labor projects that between 2008 and 2018, 1.4 million computing jobs will
have opened in the United States. For those jobs that require a bachelors
degree in computing, only 29% can be filled by U.S. computing-degree
earners (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012b). Too few students study computer science and computer engineering at the college level, and rigorous
computing that gets kids ready for these majors is seldom taught in K12
schools. And, among those who do study computing and go on to technical careers, very few are women and minorities.
Why does this matter? For one, everyone benefits when the pool of
people innovating is as diverse as the people using the products of those
innovations. Point in fact: the first digitized voicemail system was calibrated to the male voice. Women trying to leave messages were hung up
on because their speaking voices were of higher register than the technology was designed to capture. Had women been part of the design team,
this issue might not have been overlooked.
Second, computing jobs are plentiful and lucrative, and it is unfair that
few of our children are either exposed to computing or encouraged to participate. (The median starting salary for a computer science major in 2012
was $56,000, just below that for the highest-paying job, engineering, at
$59,000.)
Fortunately, from the presidents Educate to Innovate initiative to the
National Science Foundations effort to train 10,000 new computer science
teachers by 2015, change is afoot. Look for opportunities to expose your
students to computing through projects that incorporate Scratch visual
programming, Arduino electronics prototyping, or LEGO robotics (to
name a few). These are low-bar approaches that teachers with no background in computing can introduce.
MOVING TOWARD
EXPERT UNDERSTANDING
A confluence of factors supports doing project-based learning in the sciences as well as interdisciplinary projects that deal with scientific issues.
A call for reconsidering how students learn science comes from the
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). NGSS represent the continuation of efforts to improve science education that started with the 2061
Science for All Americans initiative in 1985. The intent of reform, then and
now, is to promote a constructivist approach that has students investigating as scientists do. This is how they will build a foundation of core concepts and at the same time come to understand the nature of science.
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talking down to her, he would break down concepts to make them understandable. She reflects, He had a way of thinking that made you ask: Why does that
happen? How does that work? And where else could you use that in something
youre trying to do? Its all about connecting.
Not surprisingly, Hunt has followed in her fathers footsteps by becoming an
accomplished chemist herself. She has also followed the family tradition of
encouraging good thinking in budding scientists. As soon as her son started
preschool, she began paying classroom visits to help students understand what
scientists do and how they think. She engages students by relating new concepts
to something familiar, often something they can see or touch. She encourages
good questions that get to the heart of how things work.
Baby diapers, for instance, offer a good example of super-absorbent polymers. During one classroom visit to middle school students, Hunt challenged
them to think about the properties of super-absorbent polymers. A discussion
about what causes the material in disposable diapers to soak up liquids led to
a conversation about pH. And that sparked a good question: How can you
change the pH? One seventh grader suggested, You let the baby pee in the
diaper. Hunt replied, Exactly! Next, she got them thinking about using superabsorbent polymers to release water instead of holding it. Where might that be
useful? And they were off and running, thinking in the way thatscientists do.
At any age, good science comes from asking good questions.
You have to constantly put yourself into situations where you dont know
whats going on, Hunt recommends. Thats the only time youre going to
learn. She follows her own advice. When she goes to professional society meetings, Hunt forces herself to get out of her comfort zone and attend sessions that
deal with unfamiliar topics.
She encourages students to study broadly, because you dont know all the
things youll need to know. She can hold her own in discussions about biotechnology, for example, because years ago, as a postdoc, she audited courses in
biochemistry. I was laying a foundation, even though it didnt have a direct
application to what I was doing back then.
Along with curiosity, what else belongs in a scientists toolkit? Being able to
use technology is important, but specific tools are ever changing. More stable
are the habits of mind that serve scientists well throughout their careers. Here
are a few that Hunt considers essential.
Finding your focus. When Hunt arrives for a school visit, she makes a point
of wearing street clothes. I ask the students, do I look like a scientist? No! She
morphs into a chemist by donning her lab coat, gloves, safety goggles. Like a
baseball pitcher going through pregame rituals, shes also getting her mental
muscles ready for the work ahead. Its about moving yourself, getting yourself
ready so you can focus and learn and do whatever it is you have to do. Part of
focusing is clearing your mind of day-to-day clutter so that youre ready to think.
You have to free up your brain, whether its through yoga or writing down the
things you need to remember, or whatever you do. You need to free your mind
so you have room to process new things.
Risk taking. You have to be able to take chances. You have to be willing to
be wrong, Hunt says. Everything in life doesnt come with directions. She was
reminded of this when her sons Montessori teacher advised her, You cant help
Science
your son do everything right the first time. Hunt says she promptly replied,
Why not? I know how to do it right. The teacher wisely said, Good point!
Remember, your sons in third grade. Is there ever a better time to fail, and then
learn from your mistakes? Theres no down side. (When Hunts son entered college, he followed the family tradition by pursuing a degree in chemistry.)
Critical thinking. The work of science often involves gathering data, but
it takes critical thinking to recognize which results are garbage data and
which are reliable. Hunt asks herself, How do you know that it was good
data? How do you know that you asked the right question? She describes one
of her favorite strategies as zooming in, and then panning out. Shell zero in
on a question she wants to research by applying the scientific method. Then
she pans out for a broader perspective, testing her hypothesis in a variety of
ways. Panning out might be by peer review, or seeing if someone else can
repeat your experiment, or reading things others have written, or challenging
what others have done.
Mystery loving. Unsolved mysteries suggest new frontiers for science. When
she talks with lay audiences, they sometimes mistakenly assume that we have
it all figured out, Hunt says. Its important to talk about all the things we
havent solved yet. Tomorrows scientists can anticipate no shortage of good
questions to investigate.
COUPLED INQUIRY
While learning though inquiry holds a lot of promise, in practice, studentdriven investigations can have uneven results. Teachers, understandably,
want to maximize learning in their classrooms and worry that student
investigations might be ineffectual and waste time. A brand of instruction
called coupled inquiry strikes the balance between teacher-directed
and student-driven inquiry, providing the right amount of structure and
guidance to assure success.
Coupled inquiry is a sequence of teaching and learning activities that
leads to solid student-driven science investigations. The approach constrains student activity (in a good way) so it stays focused on the learning
objective the teacher has in mind and, at the same time, encourages critical
thinking and creativity (Dunkhase, 2003).
Coupled inquiry and PBL go well together. Both begin with the invitation to inquire. The project approach couches the science in a realistic context, and the coupled inquiry method ensures students engage in effective
processes of inquiry.
In the example that follows, students study wind power and the function of turbines through the coupled inquiry method. Its easy to imagine
expanding from the six steps of this structured inquiry experience into a
full-blown project by involving experts and introducing real-life applications and issues around wind power.
Laura Humphreys (2011), fourth-grade teacher in Las Cruces,
New Mexico, designed this investigation. The six steps described here
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show the typical phases of coupled inquiry. We have annotated her plans
(in parentheses) to show how such an inquiry exercise could expand to
become a project.
4. Inquiry resolution: Teams share their claims and findings from the
open-inquiry investigations. Additional material is provided in the
form of a grade-level reading or websites about harnessing wind
energy using wind turbines. This may lead to a second cycle of
inquiry (revisiting step 3) in which teams construct and test new or
improved turbines. (In PBL, this leads into the in-depth inquiry
phase, when students are engaging in iterative cycles of modeling,
testing, and refining their solutions. They might consult with
experts at this stage to gain authentic feedback on their models.)
Science
the teacher information to adjust instruction and address misunderstandings. Students final productsincluding their public presentationsare formally assessed at the conclusion of the project.)
6. More inquiry: Students might proceed with additional investigations of wind turbines or shift to studying other mechanical devices
that operate when a force moves a blade or a shaft. Turbines powered by water (waterwheels, hydroelectric dams) might be one path,
and propellers, which operate with power to the shaft, might be
another. (In PBL, student interest in related topics might provide the
direction for a future project.)
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be grown in the other schools environment and send these to the partner
school as part of Planting Day ceremonies.
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Access to quality experiences. Use constructivist methods, take students on field trips, involve them in real-world science, and introduce
them to camps, clubs, competitions, and classes outside of school.
Exposure to role models. Connect students with people who do science. Students are especially responsive to near peers, those not too different from them in age or life experience. Get role models to tell their
stories.
Encouragement. Acknowledge achievement and compliment hard
work. Sometimes a breakdown precedes a breakthrough, so compliment
students who take risks and persist. Help students see where their interests today might lead in the future.
Recognition. Shine a light on students achievements and science
projects. Brag about a student in front of other teachers or to the students parents. Hold science celebrations, invite the media to highlight
their science achievements, nominate students for scholarships and
awards.
One way to encourage young scientists is to steer them toward science
competitions. Such events hold students to expert-level standards when it
comes to doing research and presenting their findings. At the same time,
students receive feedback on their investigations and, often, gain access to
positive role models (both adults and near peers).
Recent award-winning projects in the Intel International Science and
Engineering Fair offer a window into how young scientists think about
problems. In many cases, student researchers are motivated by circumstances from their own lives. Science inquiry offers them a way to satisfy
their curiosity and also take action on issues that matter to them. For
example:
A girl whose grandparents are visually impaired develops a traffic
control system that improves safety for blind pedestrians.
Students from Thailand develop recyclable packaging material from
fish scales, putting to use a material they have in abundance and, at
the same time, potentially reducing their countrys reliance on
petroleum-based plastics.
News that tin shields meant to protect workers at a local nuclear
power plant actually cause a scattering of radiation led two students
to develop a possible treatment for cancer.
How else might you build on (and spark) students interests to plan
meaningful, engaging projects? Consider these strategies:
Play off the news. Encourage students to share stories of technical
innovation, natural disaster, global issues, science conflicts and controversiesany news around which to have science conversations.
Whenever a science innovation is in the news, discuss how it came
about. A little research often reveals that it is part of a long chain of
accumulating innovations. Encourage students to predict which
subsequent developments are likely to come out of the innovation
at hand.
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CITIZEN SCIENCE
As we have discussed in previous chapters, students are more motivated
when they see their projects as relevant and having a purpose. By setting
the stage for students to be citizen scientists, you will help students learn
science, learn how scientists conduct research, and appreciate how public
efforts contribute to scientific discovery.
Several clearinghouses connect scientists with the public so that they
conduct research together. In many such projects, scientists need access to
real-time data that widely dispersed citizens can help to gather.
Consider this sampling to get a sense of the kinds of projects your students might take part in as citizen scientists.
Ancient Lives
Suitable for high school students, this archaeology project has
citizen scientists measuring and transcribing 500,000 digitized fragments
of one-thousand-year-old texts from Greco-Roman Egypt.
Benefit to science: The data will help scholars understand the literature,
culture, and lives of Greco-Romans in ancient Egypt.
Benefit to students: They learn history and methods of archaeology. They
get to correspond with researchers at Oxford University and other international groups. See: http://ancientlives.org.
Target Asteroids!
Citizens use their own telescopes (or view from remote telescopes on
loan to them) to track asteroids, cataloging the position, motion, rotation,
and changes in the light they reflect.
Benefit to science: Astronomers learn about the characteristics of asteroids
similar to one they will collect a sample from during a space mission in
2019. The theoretical models needed to accomplish the space mission
improve with direct-observation data contributed by citizens.
Benefit to students: Students learn astronomy and observation and datacollection skills. They learn about the long-range planning that goes into
space missions and participate in one that will be in the news for years
ahead. See: http://osiris-rex.lpl.arizona.edu.
NoiseTube
Researchers need help tracking noise pollution. A free mobile app on
a smart phone is all participants need to measure the level of noise in
their areas.
Science
Tech Spotlight
Remember Frank Noschese and Angry Birds physics? He incorporated technology
tools to help students analyze data and make sense of their observations. Follow
his lead and look for technologies that will support the scientific thinking and
problem solving that you want students to be doing in a project.
For example:
Data gathering, a fundamental skill in science investigations, is enabled by
a variety of digital devices. Smart phones can be used for taking photos
embedded with GPS information to pinpoint the location and time data were
gathered. Add an app like Leafsnap (http://leafsnap.com) for plant identification, and students now have an electronic field guide at their fingertips.
Models and simulations are important ways that scientists make their thinking visible. Familiar models help us understand the solar system or visualize
the double helix of DNA. Using tools of digital gaming, scientists might
draw on large data sets to simulate the spread of pandemics. Students can
learn to represent their thinking using 3-D modeling software such as
Trimble SketchUp (http://www.sketchup.com/). STELLA software (http://
www.iseesystems.com/) has an easy-to-use graphical interface for building
models of complex systems.
Scientists need to keep orderly research notes and lab records. Help
students organize their work (and share it with team members) using
tools like LiveBinders (www.livebinders.com), the online equivalent of a
three-ring binder.
When students are presenting their research findings, an online tool like
Glogster (http://www.glogster.com) enables them to turn the old-school
trifold poster into a publishable, multimedia presentation.
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WHATS NEXT?
In Chapter 10, we examine the role of inquiry in the study of mathematics.
A computer scientist explains how her career direction was influenced
by an early love of puzzles and math games. Once again, we encourage
nonmath teachers to read along and look for project opportunities to
connect math to your subjects in authentic ways.
10
Math
Mathematics is a study of patterns and relationships; a science and a
way of thinking; an art, characterized by order and internal consistency;
a language, using carefully defined terms and symbols; and a tool.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory
hink back to your years as a math student. Does this definition resonate
with you? If not, it may be because you spent a lot of time on the procedural rather than the conceptual aspects of math. Math projects flip this
around, making math concepts important to the resolution of a problem or
challenge. The procedures of math develop in the context of projects and are
undergirded by a developing conceptual understanding and need to know.
Picture an eighth-grade class that is deciding how to spend fundraising money to help stock a local food pantry. The pantry is committed to
distributing food boxes to low-income families every week. As they plan,
it becomes clear to students that that certain questions must be explored
mathematically. Students ask:
Should we contribute food over the long term or buy it all at once? What
are the merits of each strategy?
Where should we shop, and how often?
A can of beans is less expensive than a can of tuna, but is it as nutritious?
How do we balance food cost and nutritional value?
Large packages can be cheaper per pound, but buying large packages means
we must buy fewer, so what sizes of packaged foods should we buy?
As these questions arise, students begin predicting, estimating, modeling, and calculating, using whatever prior experiences and mathematical
means they have. After a time, an approach takes shape and formal math
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and encouragement, they return to their work. The interplay of the conceptual
and procedural strengthens both kinds of knowledge.
Remember the TIMSS that showed more than 90% of time in eighthgrade math classrooms is spent practicing routine procedures? (Its possible that the emphasis on procedures is less extreme at other grades, but its
likely not far off.) Whats wrong with teaching math procedures in a
straightforward way? It turns out that learning procedures outside of rich
contexts in which their use is necessary makes the learning less sticky.
Research suggests that students who develop conceptual understanding early perform best on procedural knowledge tasks later (Grouws &
Cebulla, 2000). The project is one more opportunity for the students to
develop lasting skillsand autonomyas mathematical thinkers.
Students without conceptual understanding are able to acquire procedural knowledge when the skill is directly taught, but they need more
massed practice (Grouws & Cebulla, 2000). To put it another way, its hard
to learn to drive when you cant see over the steering wheel!
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10
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10
Elapsed Time (Minutes)
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Representing Data
Public utility analysts graph customers monthly power and water
usage.
Pollsters collect and report voter preference prior to an upcoming
election.
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Math
counterpoint to a high school counselor who tried to steer her away from maledominated career fields. Meanwhile, her mother instilled confidence, encouraging Wing to take risks and explore new interests.
As an undergraduate at MIT, Wing initially studied electrical engineering
but soon found herself attracted to the then-relatively-young field of computer
science. My father assured me that computer science wasnt a fad. I could count
on it being around for a while, she says with a laugh, and I never looked back.
Key traits and thinking habits are part of Wings toolkit as a computational
thinker. These traits also need to be encouraged in todays students if we hope
to prepare them to meet tomorrows challenges:
Forward thinker: When Im deciding which problems to research, I try
to think far out in the future. What is a problem thats going to manifest
itself in 10 years thats going to need a solution? Then I can start working on that problem now. One of the reasons Im interested in cybersecurity is because we need to anticipate the threats of the future. The kinds
of attacks we can expect may be much more extreme and sophisticated
and complex than we can imagine. If we can imagine potential vulnerabilities many years out, then we can start to think about solutions.
Collaborator: Ive always collaborated with colleagues and students
across computing. Now, with my research interests in the science of privacy, Im starting to look beyond computer science to understand how the
social sciences think about this issue. What are the legal and ethical
issues? When I was at the National Science Foundation, I was a great
advocate for interdisciplinary research. The grand challenges that society
facesenergy, education, health carewill require interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration. It takes time and effort to collaborate across fields,
but were seeing this happen more and more. The next generation of
Ph.D.s are coming out with degrees like computational biology. Its not
that one is a computer scientist doing biology or a biologist doing CS. Its
an honest-to-goodness merger of the two fields. Thats happening across
many disciplines. Well see many more computational Xs in the future.
Risk-taker: In research, its always about taking risks. In my own
research career, Ive been willing to start on one trajectory, learn what I
need in that area, and then move into other areas. Ill work on a problem
thats perhaps not popular or doesnt get published easily. But Ill stick
with it if I believe in it. I have sufficient confidence in knowing that its
a hard problem, that the approach Im taking is a reasonable one, and
that the community may not be ready for it but thats OK; I still believe
in it and in myself for working on it.
Good communicator: I guess being a communicator is part of who I am.
In computer science and in many other science and engineering disciplines,
the people doing the research in these areas are often not the best communicators of the importance of what they do. When I was at the NSF, I had
to explain and argue to congressional staffers why funding research translates into economic impact, innovation, and societal good. Your typical scientist or engineer may not be good at translating what some technical
research is good for in the eyes of the public. The science and engineering
community needs to have people who are able to do that. So I guess Im
known for being logical and analytical, and also quite passionate.
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Start reading and interacting with reflective, blogging PBL math teachers.
Here are three to begin with:
Jackie Ballarini, Continuities (http://continuities.wordpress.com).
Ballarini teaches high school math and blogs about her effort to
improve her practice.
John Pearson, Learn Me Good (http://learnmegood2.blogspot.com).
Anecdotes, observations, and the occasional rant from a former
design engineer turned third-grade math teacher.
Dan Meyer, dy/dan (http://blog.mrmeyer.com). Meyer taught high
school math before starting doctoral studies. He reflects on math
teaching and describes how he applies his interests in graphic
design, filmmaking, motion graphics, and infographics in teaching.
(Follow him on Twitter @ddmeyer.)
Join Math Chat discussions on Twitter. Follow hashtag #mathchat to
follow the stream of comments of math teachers and join real-time chats
each Monday and Thursday.
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reason, insight, inventiveness, and technical proficiency. Tell them students learning will mirror authentic work in which math is important and
that makes math relevant now and useful in the long term. Math proficiency is a gateway to rewarding professions such as medicine, computer
science, engineering, and finance. Let parents know that through projects,
students will build on and make connections among mathematical concepts and find the connections between math and other subjects.
Present examples of projects the class will do. Deconstruct one to show
its rigor and the concepts and skills students will learn through doing it.
Present a rubric so parents can see how your expectations for learning map
to the school curriculum. Help parents become as excited about your projects as their children will be.
Invite parents into projects. Ask them to participate as experts, classroom helpers, and field trip chaperones. Send updates and encourage
parents to talk with their children about projects at home. Post announcements, student testimonials, and pictures to a project blog.
Reshape students thinking, too. Some students believe only certain
people have an aptitude for math and that a natural affinity or love for
math is necessary for moving ahead in the subject. Let students know they
dont have to be math whizzes to do well in it. Hard work, rather than
some inborn talent, is the true discriminating factor that leads to success in
math (and all the doors that math ability opens).
The very act of adopting the project approach upsets the old paradigm
in which math is a strictly structured activity that yields single right
answers and is done on ones own. For many students, math projects represent a new chance at math. Any math anxiety or defeatist attitudes they
come in with are erased when students are presented with an engaging
project and encouraged to proceed in inventive and collaborative ways.
High-achieving students benefit from projects too. Because projects have
no upper limit, it is less likely that accomplished students will go unchallenged and become bored or disinterested in math.
Many small acts can make your classroom safe for math. Consider these:
Bring current events with math connections into the classroom. (Did
you hear? An iceberg the size of Connecticut calved off a glacier in
Greenland.) Encourage students to do the same and marvel with them.
Tell math jokes, show math comics, and present math puzzles.
Make math visual (see information about infographics later in this
chapter).
Tell life stories of mathematicians. (Eratosthenes, Gauss, and
Fibonacci are a good start.)
Muse aloud about the nature of things mathematical, especially
those that can be investigated, such as: I wonder if all green lights in
town stay green for the same amount of time. Encourage students to
wonder, too. Post these wonderings in a visible place so students
can ponder them over time.
Dont rush students when they are explaining their thinking.
Acknowledge effort, not smarts.
Math
Project Math
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Table 10.2(Continued)
Textbook Math
Project Math
Math
Textbook Math
Project Math
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calculating mean, median, and mode. In addition, they met new friends
around the world and learned about geography, culture, and differences and
similarities (for instance, no matter where laced shoes come from, the eyelets
are set in multiples of four!).
MATHEMATICAL PRACTICES
Make Sure Students Operate as Mathematicians
Whichever route you take into project planning, make sure your plan
prompts students to operate as skillful mathematicians. The Common Core
State Standards initiative combined NCTM Process Standards with the
National Research Councils Strands of Mathematical Proficiency to arrive
at one set of Mathematical Practices. Mathematical Practices describe processes and proficiencies students should develop as they learn math. These
practices have longstanding importance in mathematics education and have
parallels in the capabilities of mathematicians that Plya described.
Your project should cause students to
6. Attend to precision
Math
Once the project is underway, be aware that math facilitation is a bit different from
other project facilitation. There are more landmines to avoid (crushing confidence,
getting bogged down in procedures), and specific questioning techniques ala Plya
that can prompt good thinking at different stages.
Encouragement. What kinds of encouragement will help math students
persist when problems get tough or in the face of confusion or miscalculation? Remember to encourage effort (not smarts), and use encouragement as
a gateway into asking clarifying questions that help students learn.
Questioning. In How to Solve It (1945), Plya organized the problemsolving cycle into four parts and provided questions teachers or mathematics students themselves could ask while solving challenging problems.
Plyas terminology is a bit antiquated and less than kid friendly. As
you read his language in the box below, consider rewriting his questions in language you would use and your students can understand.
One caution: Retain significant math terms. For instance, if you teach
students to approach every problem by identifying the unknown, the
data, and the condition, the consistent use of those terms will strengthen
their approach to math problem solving.
How to Solve It
Four Phases of Problem Solving and Questions to Drive Each
1. Understanding the problem
What is the unknown? What are the data? What is the condition?
Is it possible to satisfy the condition? Is the condition sufficient to determine the unknown? Or is it insufficient? Or redundant? Or contradictory?
Draw a figure. Introduce suitable notation. Can you use pictures or math
notation to represent the problem?
Separate the various parts of the condition. Can you write them down?
2. Devising a plan
Find the connection between the data and the unknown. You may be obliged
to consider auxiliary problems if an immediate connection cannot be found. You
should obtain eventually a plan of the solution.
Have you seen it before? Or have you seen the same problem in a slightly
different form?
Do you know a related problem? Do you know a theorem that could be
useful?
Look at the unknown! And try to think of a familiar problem having the
same or a similar unknown.
Here is a problem related to yours and solved before. Could you use it?
Could you use its result? Could you use its method? Should you introduce
some auxiliary element in order to make its use possible?
Could you restate the problem? Could you restate it still differently? Go
back to definitions.
(Continued)
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(Continued)
If you cannot solve the proposed problem, try to solve first some related problem.
Could you imagine a more accessible related problem? A more general
problem? A more special problem? An analogous problem?
Could you solve a part of the problem? Keep only a part of the condition,
drop the other part; how far is the unknown then determined, how can it vary?
Could you derive something useful from the data? Could you think of
other data appropriate to determine the unknown?
Could you change the unknown or data, or both if necessary, so that the
new unknown and the new data are nearer to each other?
Did you use all the data? Did you use the whole condition? Have you
taken into account all essential notions involved in the problem?
3. Carrying out the plan
As you are carrying out your plan of the solution, check each step. Can
you see clearly that the step is correct? Can you prove that it is correct?
4. Looking back, examine the solution obtained
Can you check the result? Can you check the argument?
Can you derive the solution differently? Can you see it at a glance?
Can you use the result, or the method, for some other problem?
During math projects, get ideas out in the open through discussion,
writing, and graphical representations. The acts of speaking, writing, and
representing ideas shape the ideas themselves. Model the expression of
ideas that you want students to emulate.
Writing shapes students thinking and helps you interact with that
thinking. Do your math students write every dayabout mathematics?
NCTM Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (2000) state that
written communication should be nurtured and that math instruction
should include writing so students learn to:
Organize and consolidate their mathematical thinking through
communication
Communicate their mathematical thinking coherently and clearly to
peers, teachers, and others
Math
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(Continued)
Most math teachers are familiar with common representations in math,
such as charts, tables, and graphs. One form of visual representation that is
growing in use outside of school is the infographic. Lets look at infographics and
imagine how students might work with these interesting visual displays of quantitative data.
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Figure 10.4 F
igurative Map of the Successive Losses in Men of the French Army in the Russian Campaign
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Math
1. Consider your audience and purpose. Take into account who and
what your graphs and charts are for, and design accordingly.
Imagine how the viewers will take it in. Design a graphic to be
super-detailed for a poster that people can stare at for hours. But
limit complexity if its for a presentation.
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2. Check the data. If your data sets are weak, your infographics are
weak, so make sure the data are accurate and make sense. Verify or
correct any data that do not make sense.
1. Explain encodings. Maybe you use a color scale to indicate magnitude or the size of a square to represent values. Maybe its a combination of both. Explain what these encodings are supposed to
indicate. The most common ways of explaining encoding are to
provide a legend, directly label shapes, or describe the graphic in a
lead-in paragraph.
2. Label axes. Label your axes so that readers know what scale points
are plotted on. Is it logarithmic, incremental, exponential, or per 100
flushing toilets? Also, in most cases, youll want your value axis to
start at zero.
4. Include sources. Always include where the data come from. Put it
directly in a graphic, or if its part of an article or report, the source
can be specified in the copy.
In the end, all of these rules can be broken for specific cases. Youll
learn where you can bend with practice.
Infographic design tools. A variety of technologies are useful for making infographics. In his blog about creating Ski Utah, student Michael
Greenberg describes how he used graph paper, spreadsheets, and InDesign,
a desktop design software program, to create his infographic.
Greenberg uses Photoshop and Illustrator for infographics, too. These,
along with InDesign, are graphic design programs commercial artists use
that may not be in of the suite of tools used in most classrooms.
Luckily, free, Web-based tools are available. Consider using Google
Spreadsheets for data collect and manipulation. Because their spreadsheet
lives in the cloud (on Google servers), students in a team can use it at the
same time and get to it from any computer. For design software, give
Science Pipes, Tableau Public, and Inscapes a try. Finally, if your students
want to represent multiple data sets as individual elements in an infographic, they may want to use Glogster, interactive poster software with
lively text, graphic, and background options.
Glogster: http://www.glogster.com
Google Spreadsheets: http://www.google.com/drive/start/apps
.html#product=sheets
Math
Inkscape: http://inkscape.org
IBM Many Eyes: http://www-958.ibm.com/software/data/cognos/
manyeyes/
Science Pipes (for biodiversity data): http://sciencepipes.org/beta/
home
Tableau Public: http://www.tableausoftware.com/public
PROJECT IDEAS
Finally, remember that math reaches beyond the math classroom, and projects in other subject areas will use math in significant ways. See the Project
Library in Appendix A for more ideas for projects, including ones that
incorporate math in interdisciplinary studies.
WHATS NEXT?
Now that we have explored inquiry in the four core content areas, lets see
what happens when a project takes off in unexpected directions. Chapter 11
helps you anticipate the project spiral. Thats what happens when projects expand beyond the classroom, engaging the community and perhaps
even the larger world. Are you ready for your project idea to go big?
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11
The Project Spiral
H
eather Hanson is always looking for material that will engage her
students at Todd County High School in South Dakota. Thats why she
took the risk of screening a network television documentary that she knew
would draw a strong emotional reaction from her students, nearly all of
whom live on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. Children of the Plains, narrated by Diane Sawyer of 20/20, focused on the hardships of growing up on
the reservation, including alcoholism, poverty, and family dysfunction.
How did students respond? Some cried. Some were outraged at what
they saw as stereotypes of their Lakota Sioux culture. Others shrugged off
the one-sided portrayal as the way they always talk about us. Hanson,
who teaches speech and communication, challenged students to do something productive in response. That challenge was the entry event for a
project that took students places they couldnt have imagined, including
two trips to Washington, D.C., to use their newfound voice to speak up for
their communityand for themselves.
Project-based learning enables students to become active participants
in their world. Through projects, students may discover that they have the
ability to influence others, make meaningful contributions, or even right
wrongs. Such opportunities may not happen with every project, but savvy
teachers are ready to let a worthy project spiral out in new directions.
What do we mean by the project spiral? Its what happens when students projects go big, creating a buzz in their community or a greater
impact than anyone expected. Its what happens when their project video
goes viral on YouTube (as happened for the students from South Dakota).
The project spiral takes learning beyond the classroom and inspires the
larger community to ask questions, reflect, consider alternatives, or take
action.
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146
The project spiral is also a way to describe the infectious energy that
good projects generate. An engaging project experience in one classroom
has the potential to spread interest in PBL across grade levels or across
content areas, potentially influencing the culture of a school. The project
spiral fosters professional growth, too, as PBL veterans share what they
know with peersin person or through ever-expanding online networks.
PREPARE TO SPIRAL
Lets look at three ways you can be ready for the project spiral:
Go bigger: Extend projects in directions you didnt anticipate.
Go public: Broadcast your students project results.
Connect with your network: Share insights with your professional
network to grow the culture of PBL.
Go Bigger
When Heather Hanson challenged her students to respond to that television documentary, she knew she wanted them to apply what they were
learning in speech class and think critically about media messages. She
didnt tell students what to produce; that was left up to them.
Before students decided on the medium and message for their project,
Hanson led them through a critical analysis of the documentary. As if they
were doing a close reading of a text, they analyzed the piece for point of
view, bias, and audience manipulation through words and images. For
instance, students timed the number of minutes in the documentary that
showed Native American children crying. The data helped them think
about deliberate decisions by videographers to get an emotional reaction
from viewers.
Students decided to produce their own video in response, countering with more positive images about growing up Native American.
After writing a script in speech class, they teamed up with a media arts
class to produce a YouTube video titled More Than That (Falcon Daily,
2011). In the tightly edited black-and-white video, filmed on their campus, students have written words on their own bodies. While students
enact short vignettes, close-ups show words such as family, determination, pride, honor, peace, bravery, creativity, resilience. These are terms that
more accurately describe who students say they are and convey what
they care about.
They uploaded their video to YouTube, hoping to inspire dozens or,
with luck, hundreds of people. Instead, the video quickly went viral, with
hits topping 80,000 as a national audience responded to their positive,
creative message.
Then Hanson got a call from a nonprofit organization, the National
Association of Federally Impacted Schools, inviting her to bring students
to speak to their national conference in Washington, D.C. During their trip
to the nations capital, National Public Radio interviewed students about
their project and why it mattered. Students put their speaking skills to
authentic use when they addressed the conference and, later, lobbied
Congress to fund programs in their community.
Of course, the original project plan included none of these activities. As
the project spiraled in new directions, Hanson welcomed each opportunity
for her students to engage with the wider world. They have discovered
the power of words. They know how to use their own voice to get their
message across, Hanson said in an interview with the authors, and now
they know how it feels to be motivated.
Keep your eyes open for unexpected opportunities to take your students projects in new directions. At the end of a project, when students
reflect on what they have learned, you might ask them to imagine next
steps. A final reflection prompt might ask: If you have the chance to keep
going with this project, what will you do next? Their answers might point
you in unexpected directions.
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Go Public
In the previous example, the press arranged to interview South Dakota
students during their trip to Washington, D.C. Some teachers make a point
of inviting the media into the classroom to learn more about students
projects.
Remember George Mayo, the middle-school teacher whose Transitions
project was described in the chapter on language arts? He lets the media
know when his students are doing newsworthy work. When I listen to
them answer a reporters questions about what inspires them to write their
stories, their answers blow me away. This is a real-world way to encourage
reflection, he said in an interview with the authors.
On the day that his young authors received their Transitions books
from the printer, for instance, a camera crew from the school district was
on hand to record the occasion. The resulting video allowed students to
share their learning experience with their families and gave other teachers
in the district a window into a project-based classroom.
Mayo also plans an event each spring when his young filmmakers
share their best work in a documentary showcase. They hold the event at
an historic movie theater and even roll out a red carpet for student filmmakers. Such grand gestures inspire students to do their best work. That
doesnt mean that the weeks leading up to the premiere are free of challenges. It gets crazy, Mayo admits, as students work furiously to edit
material they have been gathering for months. But the extra effort is worth
it when students see their final cuts presented in a professional space.
To go public with projects, look for allies at your district public information office. Invite reporters from local media to consider writing about
noteworthy student projects. Encourage students to issue press releases
about their culminating events (developing their real-world marketing
and public relations skills), or find other ways to let the public know what
they have accomplishedand why its worth knowing about.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
In our own experiences as PBL advocates, we have enjoyed the spiraling
effects of working withand learning fromteachers from around the
globe who are interested in improving learning through engaging, meaningful projects. Weve seen projects grow more ambitious as teachers gain
confidence and get better connected through professional networks. Weve
seen the real-world connections grow, too, as experts and other community members become willing partners in the project-based learning enterprise. The biggest beneficiaries, of course, are the students who are taking
a more active role in learning experiences that will stick with them for
years to come.
We look forward to staying connected and hearing about the exciting,
memorable learning opportunities that projects create for you, your
community, and your students.
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Project Library
Appendix A
Appendix A
PROJECT SKETCHES
Many projects are described in Thinking Through Project-Based Learning.
Here they are again in an easy-to-scan digest, interspersed with additional
project sketches that will get your imagination flowing.
Projects are loosely organized by grade band under the subject matter
headings of Social Studies, Science, Math, and Language Arts. Because
good projects extend into the real world, and because real life seldom
happens in content-specific silos, most sketches describe interdisciplinary
projects.
We encourage you to read with an open mind. If you see a project that strikes
your fancy but is a grade band below or above what you teach, ask yourself, How
could I scale this up? Down? If a project has an emphasis in a subject you do not
teach, consider doing it anyway. Ask yourself, How could I adjust this project so
its sure to address significant instructional aims for my subject? Who from other
disciplines might want to collaborate?
If you are reading this book as a staff activity, gather in groups of five or six
and divide up the projects for close reading. In your groups, have each person
share two or three projects that he or she thinks deserve the groups attention.
Discuss. Together, ask yourselves, which projects resonate the most? Why? How
might we adopt or adapt these projects for our classes?
SOCIAL STUDIES
1. Come Fly With Us: p. 59 (Grades K2)
Driving Question: How do people work together to get a big job done?
After a commercial pilot visits school, a second-grade class designs its
own airport. Their challenge is to get all the parts working together so
Note: To read more about projects that are described in more detail elsewhere in the book, see
corresponding page numbers.
151
152
Appendix A
PROJECT LIBRARY
153
Appendix A
154
Appendix A
PROJECT LIBRARY
155
are in order. Students present their mayor with critical issues and viable
solutions to include in an upcoming State of the City speech.
Appendix A
156
Appendix A
needs of different citizen constituencies (elderly, disabled, bike commuters, parents with strollers, joggers, young pedestrians, etc.). They develop
reasoned solutions to mobility concerns for those groups, develop an
action plan, and campaign for change.
PROJECT LIBRARY
Appendix A
157
Appendix A
158
of trade (these may include bartering, gift economics, time banks) and test
them through commerce for feasibility and fairness. Next, students study
the history of money, work in groups to design their own national currencies, and then establish an exchange rate with other countries currencies
by calibrating against the value of a common basic good such as a loaf of
bread. Tariffs, embargoes, and other mitigating factors are introduced during a final trade simulation designed by students.
PROJECT LIBRARY
159
SCIENCE
28. Blue Fender Defender: p. 79 (Grades K5, 68)
Appendix A
160
Appendix A
PROJECT LIBRARY
Appendix A
oil but related to other emissions, too. In The Great Carbon Race, students
are challenged with the question: Who can save the most carbon from
entering the atmosphere? They have to defend their results using clear,
credible evidence for the class courtroom. Students are graded by the quality of their evidence, and the biggest footprint reducers are crowned
Carbon King and Carbon Queen. Credit: Sue Boudreau, Orinda, California.
See more Take Action Projects at http://takeactionscience.wordpress.com.
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162
and look for relationships among populations (example: coyote and desert
hare) over time as they investigate the question What causes an ecosystem to hang together or fall apart?
Appendix A
PROJECT LIBRARY
163
MATH
45. Birthday Math: p. 132 (Grades K5)
Driving Question: How can we know who we are as a group?
It turns out that two students in class were born on the same day, which
causes students to speculate, How could we find out whether other kids in our
school were born on September 7? Could we find and connect all the birthday buddies in the school? Small groups propose research methods such as examining school records and surveying classes and then discuss the merits of
each before settling on a plan. Once all birthday buddies are identified,
students plan a social event through which all buddies become acquainted.
Appendix A
164
Appendix A
PROJECT LIBRARY
165
Appendix A
166
Appendix A
PROJECT LIBRARY
167
solids as they can. Next, they design their own buildings in SketchUp and
tell stories of their historical or architectural significance.
Appendix A
168
Appendix A
LANGUAGE ARTS
64. Building Bridges to Tomorrow (Grades K2)
Driving Question: Whats life like for other children?
In a project of cultural understanding, young children from around the
world use digital media to collaborate around topics such as: How We
Play, Celebrating Together, Part of a Family, Making a Meal, Sharing
Stories, and Our View From the Window. Credit: Flat Classroom Project.
Join A Week in the Life at the Flat Classroom website: http://www.flatclass
roomproject.org.
PROJECT LIBRARY
169
Appendix A
170
Appendix A
PROJECT LIBRARY
171
Appendix A
Appendix B
Discussion Guide
hinking Through Project-Based Learning introduces strategies and exercises to take inquiry deeper in PBL. The authors recommend discussing these ideas with colleagues to foster professional learning and personal
reflection. This discussion guide is intended as a starting point for collegial
conversations.
Appendix B
173
174
Appendix B
3. What do you notice about your students attention cycles? What are
some ways you can maximize phases of peak learning?
5. Which of the brain-based project strategies have you tried with your
students? What did you notice as a result?
4. Whats at the top of your PBL wish list? Discuss your additions to
the table at the end of this chapter.
DISCUSSION GUIDE
175
3. Think about your strategies for scaffolding students critical thinking (such as use of thinking maps or Socratic seminars). Discuss
how you might incorporate these strategies into projects.
4. Share your project sketches with colleagues. How might you revise
your project sketch based on critical feedback?
1. The authors suggest that most work that gets accomplished takes
interdisciplinary efforts. They write, Its hard to think of a career
field or profession that operates in isolation. Do you emphasize
interdisciplinary thinking with your students? How?
Appendix B
176
Appendix B
1. George Mayo describes the kind of classroom environment necessary for students to be successful writers. He says, Before you can
get students to open up in their writing, you have to make sure they
feel comfortable, that they respect one another, and that they will
not be put down if they honestly share ideas. What are your strategies for creating a respectful climate for learning?
5. Common Core State Standards call for increased emphasis on nonfiction reading. How do you help readers engage with challenging
text? If your content area is not language arts, how might you team
up with the literacy experts in your school to support your students?
1. The authors point out the shrinking time allotted to the social studies in U.S. schools. What is your experience with finding time in the
curriculum for teaching social studies? How do you ensure that
students are developing the skills and attitudes to become competent, contributing citizens?
DISCUSSION GUIDE
177
CHAPTER 9: SCIENCE
1. How do you respond to the authors question, Do you consider
yourself a scientist? Compare your response with colleagues.
3. Chemist Katie Hunt shares some of the early life experiences that
whetted her interest in science. When she learned something new,
for instance, her father prompted her to ask, Where else could you
use that in something youre trying to do? How do you help students see the connection between what they are learning today in
science and what they might want to accomplish or understand in
the future?
1. This chapter begins with a comparison of routine math procedures versus math concepts. Where do you spend more of your
time with students? Discuss the challenges of exploring concepts
before teaching procedures. How might students respond if you
put concepts first?
2. Think about the finding from Alan Schoenfeld that students understanding of math methods tends to be inert. Have you seen students struggle to apply problem-solving strategies to new or
ambiguous situations? How do you help them work through this?
Appendix B
178
Appendix B
Appendix C
Professional Development Guide
1. RANDOM REMODEL
Appendix C
Using the examples in the Project Library, randomly assign two or three
projects to each participant.
After reading silently, participants discuss sketches (in pairs or small
groups): How would you remodel these projects to suit your context? For
example, how would you want to change a project to meet grade-level or
subject-area standards? What would you keep from the sample project?
What else would you like to know about a sample project?
2. GO GLOBAL
The following projects, all included in the Project Library, offer the potential to connect students with a larger, often global community:
3. Whats in a Name?, p. 152
4. A Week in the Life, p. 152
21. Digiteens, p. 157
22. Eracism, p. 157
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180
Appendix C
3. FOCUS GROUP
Invite at least four students to serve as a focus group to review project ideas.
Participants select their favorite examples from the Project Library and
share them with students in a way thats age appropriate. (For example,
older students could read summaries from Project Library; younger students might benefit from having teachers describe the projects to them.)
Students provide feedback about:
Which projects appeal to them? Why?
Have students describe what makes them most curious about the
projects they like. What would they look forward to learning from
the project experience?
Are there any projects that students say they would not want to do?
Why?
Do students have suggestions to change or expand on the project
ideas?
After receiving the students focus group feedback, participants
examine the same projects again. How has their thinking changed about
which projects are worth implementing? Or how they might alter selected
181
projects based on students feedback? How might the experience of working with student focus groups inform from scratch project design?
Extension: Do the same activity with parents, other community members, or mixed groups of students and adults.
4. CLOSE TO HOME
Several projects described in Thinking Through Project-Based Learning
emphasize local problem solving. For example, in the project Deserts in
Rainy Seattle? (Chapter 1: The Whys and Hows of PBL, p. 3), students
addressed the issue of poor access to nutritious food in local neighborhoods. In an example mentioned in Chapter 7: Language Arts (p. 73),
students created an exhibit to honor the nearly forgotten civil rights heroes
in their community.
In both examples, students had to thoroughly understand the issue
they were solving before they could design a solution. As part of their
project, they developed the skill of problem finding.
Participants discuss (in small groups or as a whole group): How can
we find the issues in our community that could form the basis for good
projects? Who might have an ear to the ground? Who can help us learn
more about local issues?
After their discussion, participants develop an action plan for problem
finding that might include
5. EXPERTISE EXERCISE
In this book, we have emphasized the value of disciplinary thinking, that
is, getting students to operate in the manner of professionals for whom
certain subject matter is central to their work. See how far you can go with
identifying professions aligned to specific subjects. Start with a warm-up
and ask the group to think of professional people whose work causes them
to engage in the language arts (reading, writing, listening, and speaking).
They will easily name many occupations, from editors to politicians to marketing executives to journalists. Now give the group a challenge. At table
groups, make a list of professions for which math is central to the work.
A little healthy competition adds to the fun. Stop the teams after 2 or 3 minutes
and ask them to count and report on the number of occupations on their
lists. Set a goal. Ask: Can anyone beat this table with 13? Encourage them
to keep going and stop after 5 minutes. Ask the group with the most to read
Appendix C
Using community surveys, focus groups, data analysis, or interviews with local experts to identify potential issues
Engaging students in the problem-finding process
Inviting local advisers (through parent groups, business or civic
organizations, professional groups, and so forth) to help with local
problem identification
182
their list. Encourage others to challenge items and ask for justification. End
the exercise with a reminder that this was all in fun but to remember that
a generative exercise such as this is useful when they start planning projects, how their students will operate within the project, and as they seek
expertise, too.
6. PROJECT SPIRAL
Appendix C
a. Readiness: How prepared are our students for a project that lasts for
an extended time or involves more than one content area?
b. Preparation: How can we prepare our students to tackle more ambitious projects? What precursor activities or mini-projects would get
them ready to tackle larger efforts?
Appendix D
Project-Based
Learning Resources
PBL BOOKSHELF
Build a PBL bookshelf for your own professional reading and share titles
with colleagues to promote deeper discussions about the opportunities and
challenges of project-based learning. Here are several titles we recommend.
Berger, R. (2003). An ethic of excellence: Building a culture of craftsmanship with students. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman.
Katz, L., & Chard, S. (2000). Engaging childrens minds: The project approach (2nd
ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
Appendix D
183
184
With a specific focus on PBL in the elementary grades, this book combines practical tools with classroom tips for scaffolding critical thinking,
fostering collaboration, and building a foundation for other 21st-century
skills. Seven project spotlights illustrate PBL from grades K5.
Larmer, J. (2009). PBL starter kit: To-the-point advice, tools, and tips for your first
project. Novato, CA: Buck Institute for Education.
Along with practical tools for project design, management, and assessment, this guidebook includes detailed descriptions of six spotlight
projects in middle school and high school.
ONLINE RESOURCES
Buck Institute for Education (www.bie.org)
Buck Institute for Education (BIE) promotes project-based learning to
improve 21st-century teaching and learning. In addition to delivering
professional development and coaching to districts nationwide, the nonprofit organization maintains an online library of project plans and videos;
provides downloadable tools for project planning, management, and
assessment; and tracks research on the effectiveness of PBL.
Appendix D
Edutopia (www.edutopia.org)
Edutopia, produced by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, promotes project-based learning as a key strategy to improve teaching and
learning. The website includes an extensive library of videos, articles,
blogs, research summaries, and classroom guides, along with online communities where educators can connect with colleagues.
Envision Education (www.envisionschools.org)
Envision Education includes four all-PBL, college-prep high schools in
California, along with Envision Learning Partners, which provides professional development and coaching. Envision Schools Project Exchange
(www.envisionprojects.org) includes detailed project examples, including
videotaped reflections from teachers and students.
ePals (www.epals.org)
The ePals Global Community is a collaborative space for sharing project
ideas and connecting with classrooms from around the world.
Expeditionary Learning (http://elschools.org/)
A national network of PBL schools, Expeditionary Learning publishes
detailed project examples in its online project showcase.
185
Appendix D
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191
Index
Abbott, R., 84
Agile classrooms, 28
Allington, R., 80
Amana Academy, 78
Amaral, O., 81
American Institute of Mathematics, 128
Angry Birds Physics project, 101102, 166
Applebee, A., 81
Archaeology, 116
Arkansas: Shape of Things to Come? project, 153
Arnold, S., 7, 83
Asteroids, 116
Attentiveness, 16, 19
Authentic connections, 7071
Ballarini, J., 129
Ball Skills and Parabolas project, 165
Barrows, H., 10
Baxter, J., 137
Beanbag chairs, 33
Belcastro, S.-M., 166
Be Prepared project, 159160
Bereiter, C., 30
Best, C., 67
Bike Theft project, 154
Bilibos, 33
Birkdale Intermediate School, 2526, 28, 2930, 39, 55, 83
Birthday Math project, 163
Blue Fender Defender project, 159
Boardman, E., 77
Boardman, K., 77
Boix Mansilla, V., 69
Boss, S., 7, 77, 83
Boudreau, S., 161
Brain-based project strategies, 2224
Brainstorming, 23
Brands, H. W., 9193 (box)
Bransford, J., 7, 83, 84
Bring your own device (BYOD), 33
Brown Burkins, M., 105
Bruner, J., 43
Buck Institute for Education (BIE), 40
Building Bridges to Tomorrow project, 168
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 26, 106
Burk, J., 101
Burns, M., 129, 136
Burns, R., 70
Buy Low, Sell High project, 167
Caf Coffee Day project, 9799, 155
California, Here We Come! project, 152
193
194
Index
Investigation
compelling question and entry events setting stage for,
3942
from teachers driving question to student-driven, 4243
Invisibility Project, 1314, 171
Its All About the Benjamins project, 157158
Jackson, A., 69
Jacobs, H. H., 69
Johanson, C., 7, 83
John Jay High School, 101
Johnston, M., 136
Juice Boxes project, 164
Justifying, 49
Kamii, C., 124
Key ideas, understanding, 45
Kinetic Conundrum project, 163
Klentschy, M., 81
Knit Me Some Math Pants project, 166
Knowledge
creating a circle of, 45
thinking that builds, 3031
Kohn, N., 23
Landmark Game project, 160
Langer, J., 81
Language arts, 7374
curating content in, 8284
encouraging good talk during projects in, 8081
information literacy and, 8485
learning scaffolds for, 8586
literacy-building environment for, 8182
power of good questions in, 7680
process for project success, 7476
project design, 5859 (box)
project library, 168171
Language Comes Alive! project, 170
Larmer, J., 40, 56
Laufenberg, D., 3, 6
Le, T., 27
Leafsnap, 117 (box)
Learning
developing executive function and, 1618
importance of novelty in, 16
Invisibility Project on, 1314
liberating constraints and, 2021
making meaning memorable and, 1820
mind-brain-education science and, 15
playful, 2122
in project-based learning, 12
from research, 1416
stress vs. struggle in, 20
Learn Me Good, 129
Lefstein, A., 30, 39
Lets Be Fair project, 152
Lets Design a Shopping Mall project, 167168
Lets Remember project, 154, 169
Liberating constraints, 2021
Life in the Balance project, 161162
Lindsay, J., 146
Literacy-building environments, 8182
Lockers, Schmokers project, 168
Look into the Past project, 9697, 156
Los Rayos X project, 162
Low Energy at the Fitness Center project, 113, 161
Luce-Kapler, 20
Mad Housers, 78
Maguire, B., 169
Make Me Care project, 154
Manor New Technology High School, 81
Many Eyes, 99, 143
Maps, causal, 46
Martin, M., 120
Marzano, R. J., 85
Mathematics, 119120
applied, 125126
approaches to problem solving in, 122
computational thinkers and, 126127 (box)
ideas presented in writing and in pictures, 136141
infographics used in, 137143
and learning from mathematicians, 124128
learning in artful ways, 134136
making the world safer for, 129131
practices, 134141
project design, 6364 (box), 131134
project library, 163168
projects putting concepts first, 120124
projects supplying the missing ingredient, 122124
strengthening teacher understanding of, 128129
students operating as mathematicians, 134
teaching with projects in, 128134
Math Is Beautiful project, 165
Math Teachers Circle, 128
Mayo, G., 36, 7476, 148, 170
McTighe, J., 53
Meaning, memorable, 1820
Meeting Standards Through Integrated Curriculum, 70
Memorable meaning, 1820
Meyer, D., 121 (box), 129
Microbes Ate My Driveway project, 163
Minard, M., 139, 140 (figure)
Mind, Brain, and Education Science, 15
Mind-brain-education science, 15
Mingling at the Renaissance Ball project, 156
Mioulis, I., 104
Moje, E., 86
Monitoring, 49
Monster Exchange project, 169
Moody, L., 133, 152
Moore, D., 86
More Than That, 147
Mosborg, S., 7, 83, 84
Mullis, I., 120
Museums, 27
National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, 147
National Center for Teaching Thinking, 30
National Council for the Social Studies, 89, 90, 93
National Council of Teachers of English, 82
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 136, 141
National Education Association, 103
National Lab Network, 115 (box)
National Public Radio, 147
National Research Council, 85, 107, 134
National Science Foundation, 106
National Writing Project, 149
Nerdy Book Club, 73
Neurons, 16
New Tech Network, 35
New York Times, 139
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), 106107
Nguyen, D., 7, 83
Noble, M., 13, 171
195
196
Index
project design, 6163 (box)
project library, 159163
project sketching, 111112
Square of Life project, 8, 9, 159
Why Here and Not There? project, 113
World Tree Watch project, 112113
Science Leadership Academy, 31, 35
Science Pipes, 143
Scoop.it, 84 (box)
Segal, L., 13, 171
Seminars, 32
Shifting from wait time to think time, 2223
Shopping on a Budget thematic unit, 9
Sim City Project, 2122, 155
Sketches, project, 55
science, 111112
social studies, 151158
SketchUp, 117 (box), 167168
Skloot, R., 7677
Skype, 33
Slavery in the Third Millennium project, 157
Sleep on it, 23
Smith, S., 23
Smith, T., 33, 160, 169
Snider, L., 77
Social media, 145149
Social studies
Caf Coffee Day project, 9799, 155
Cigar Box project, 8788, 89, 155
databases and computing engines in, 99
focus on big ideas, 9395 (table)
learning capable adults in, 9193 (box)
Look into the Past project, 9697
project design, 5961 (box)
project library, 151158
project planning principles for, 8993
projects aligned with students personal concerns, 8990
projects that reflect values of, 89
students adopting the mantle of the expert, 9091
as a subject at risk, 8889
Spiral, project, 145149, 182
Square of Life project, 8, 9, 159
Stahl, R., 22
Starter project, 4951
State of the City project, 154155
Stephenson, N., 8788, 89, 155
Storify, 84 (box)
Story Like a Pebble project, 168
Strategic thinking, 47
Stress vs. struggle, 20
Struggle vs. stress, 20
Stuck moments, 46
Student presentations, 32
Sumara, D., 20
Sumerlin, J., 165
Swartz, R., 30
Synapses, 17
Tableau Public, 99, 142, 143
Talking about the work, 4647, 8081
Tamblyn, R., 10
Teaching for thinking, 4849
Technology High School (Sonoma, CA), 112
Technology tools, 15, 84 (box), 117
TESLA school, 33
Thakur, A., 85
Thematic teaching and project-based learning, 710
Thinking
197
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