DESIGNING HIGH QUALITY PROJECTS

DESIGNING HIGH QUALITY PROJECTS CPA Institute November 2008

Overview of the Workshop • Introductions • Success Analysis: Powerful Teaching/ Engaging Learning • Learning from PBL Exemplars • PBL PowerPoint: Simultaneous Outcomes & The 6 A’s • Team Time: Designing a Project

Overview of the Workshop (continued) • Creating a 6 A’s Poster (& possibly a Project Story Board) • Exploring PBL Resources • Giving and Receiving Feedback • Next Steps …..Finishing PBL Design, Implementing Your Project, Sharing Project (or work in progress) at the March 2009 CPA Conference

OBJECTIVES • Consider how PBL can help teachers meet simultaneous objectives in their instructional design. • Learn about PBL design principles through examination of project exemplars and design tools. • Begin designing a project using the simultaneous outcomes and the 6 A’s indicators for quality project design. • Produce a 6 A’s Poster & give/receive feedback

Success Analysis • Think about a time when you were very successful as a teacher and students were highly engaged in their work. What about this particular teaching/learning experience was so powerful? Write a brief description of a powerful teaching and learning experience. Be prepared to share. (alternate choice: when you had a powerful learning experience in high school)

The Ideal Learner • Imagining the ideal • Broadening our perspective • Reflecting on the actual • Moving from actual to ideal

THE IDEAL LEARNER • GAP ACTUAL LEARNERS IDEAL LEARNERS PBL

WHAT IS PROJECT-BASED LEARNING? PBL engages students in complex, real-world problem solving… … is Academically Rigorous …is Relevant PBL …uses Active Learning

What is PBL? • Project-based learning can be defined as follows: • Learning experiences which engage students in complex, real-world projects through which they develop and apply knowledge & skills • A strategy which recognizes that significant learning taps students’ inherent drive to learn, capability to do important work, & the need to be taken seriously.

PBL definitions continued • Learning in which the results are not predetermined or fully predictable; • Learning which requires students to draw from many information sources and disciplines in order to solve problems; and • Learning which requires students to coordinate time, work schedules, and project outcomes in order to accomplish goals on a predicted time schedule. –Autodesk Foundation

More on PBL • Project-based Learning: • Engages students in complex, real-world issues and problems; where possible, the students select and define issues or problems that are meaningful to them; • Requires students to use inquiry, research, planning skills, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills as they complete the project

More on PBL (continued) • Provides opportunities for students to learn and practice interpersonal skills as they work in cooperative teams and, wherever possible, with adults in workplaces or the community. • Gives students practice in using the array of skills needed for their adult lives & careers (e.g., how to allocate their time and resources; individual responsibility; interpersonal skills; learning through experiences, SCANS skills, etc.)

More on PBL (continued) • Includes expectations regarding accomplishments/learning outcomes; these are linked to the learning standards and outcomes for the school district and are stated at the beginning of the project • Incorporates reflection activities that lead students to think critically about their experiences and to link those experiences to specific learning standards

More on PBL (continued) • Ends with a presentation or product that demonstrates learning and is assessed; the criteria could be decided upon by the students.” - W. Diehl, T. Grobe, H.Lopez, & C. Cabral

Quality PBL • “Quality project-based learning seeks to blend authentic, real-world experiences with rigorous academic study so that students can practice and demonstrate skills that will serve them well in college, career, and life. It advances the notion of what a “project” can accomplish, emphasizing connections between classroom and community…

Quality PBL • Quality project-based learning is a pedagogy quite compatible with, and receiving considerable momentum from, two current movements in education reform – the school-to-career (STC) movement and the standards movement.” • Jobs for the Future, A Portable Action Lab

PROJECT ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY CURRICULUM DESIGN 6 A’s PBL FRAMEWORK ACCOMMODATIONS, RESOURCES, CONSTRAINTS

Research base for PBL • “There is now a massive amount of evidence from all realms of science that unless individuals take a very active role in what it is they’re studying, unless they learn to ask questions, to do things hands-on, to essentially recreate things in their own mind and transform them as needed, the ideas just disappear.” • -- Howard Gardner, Harvard University

HABITS OF MIND LIFELONG LEARNER/ college/career success PROCESSES ACTIVITIES CONTENT SIMULTANEOUS OUTCOMES based on work of Art Costa & Bena Kallick

Costa’s Habits of Mind • Persisting • Managing Impulsivity • Listening With Understanding and Empathy • Thinking Flexibly • Thinking About Thinking (Metacognition) • Striving for Accuracy • Questioning and Posing Problems • Applying Past Knowledge to New Situations

Habits of Mind (continued) • Thinking & Communicating With Clarity & Precision • Gathering Data Through All Senses • Creating, Imagining, Innovating • Responding With Wonderment & Awe • Taking Responsible Risks • Finding Humor • Thinking Interdependently • Remaining Open to Continuous Learning

THE SIX A’s OF DESIGNING PROJECTS • AUTHENTICITY • ACADEMIC RIGOR • APPLIED LEARNING • ACTIVE EXPLORATION • ADULT RELATIONSHIPS • ASSESSMENT PRACTICES Developed by Adria Steinberg, Jobs For the Future. Used w. permission.

ACADEMIC RIGOR • ACADEMIC RIGOR • ADULT RELATIONSHIPS • AUTHENTICITY • ACTIVE EXPLORATION • APPLIED LEARNING • ASSESSMENT PRACTICES • High-order thinking skills and methods of inquiry from academic and professional fields • Aligned with state content standards

ADULT RELATIONSHIPS • ACADEMIC RIGOR • ADULT RELATIONSHIPS • AUTHENTICITY • ACTIVE EXPLORATION • APPLIED LEARNING • ASSESSMENT PRACTICES • Adult mentors • Experts in the field • Guest artists • Community panels

AUTHENTICITY • ACADEMIC RIGOR • AD\ULT RELATIONSHIPS • AUTHENTICITY • ACTIVE EXPLORATION • APPLIED LEARNING • ASSESSMENT PRACTICES • Real world context • Issues that matter to students • Real and appropriate audience

ACTIVE EXPLORATION • ACADEMIC RIGOR • ADULT RELATIONSHIPS • AUTHENTICITY • ACTIVE EXPLORATION • APPLIED LEARNING • ASSESSMENT PRACTICES • Experiences beyond the classroom • Field-based investigations • Community exploration • Expert interviews • Internships

APPLIED LEARNING • ACADEMIC RIGOR • ADULT RELATIONSHIPS • AUTHENTICITY • ACTIVE EXPLORATION • APPLIED LEARNING • ASSESSMENT PRACTICES • Teamwork • Communication • Product design • Problem-solving • Self-management skills • Information collection, organization and analysis

ASSESSMENT PRACTICES • ACADEMIC RIGOR • ADULT RELATIONSHIPS • AUTHENTICITY • ACTIVE EXPLORATION • APPLIED LEARNING • ASSESSMENT PRACTICES • Exhibitions of work • Variety of assessment tools • Professional standards of performance • Student involvement in creating criteria for project (rubric)

TYPES OF ASSESSMENT Tests, Quizzes, Reports, Recitations KNOWLEDGE (Mastery) JUDGMENT Portfolios, Journals, Observations Exhibitions, Demonstrations UNDERSTANDING (Application of knowledge) REFLECTION (Growth over time)

ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION PRODUCT Tests, Quizzes, Reports, Recitations KNOWLEDGE (Mastery) JUDGMENT PROCESS PROGRESS Portfolios, Journals, Observations Exhibitions, Demonstrations UNDERSTANDING (Application of knowledge) REFLECTION (Growth over time)

COURSE CONCEPTS COURSE CONCEPTS UNIFYING THEMES TOPICS & SUBTOPICS TOPICS & SUBTOPICS CONTENT STANDARDS PROCESS SKILLS HABITS OF MIND EVALUATION ASSESSMENT PROJECT FRAMEWORK PROJECT ESSENTIAL QUESTION(S) PERFORMANCE TASK ACTIVITIES CRITICAL ELEMENTS COMMUNICATION &DISSEMINATION

TRADITIONAL ASSIGNMENT • RESEARCH PAPER • Required Elements: • Select a disease to study • Go to library and do research • Write ten pages • Use proper essay form • Include a bibliography

PBL ASSIGNMENT • HEALTH PROJECT • Required Elements: • Develop family medical histories • Write proposal to study health issue of personal or community interest • Keep research log, including citations • Produce a newsletter, • Develop lesson plans and materials for underserved population • Present to real audience

Traditional Assignment • Student works alone • Context is school • Assessment by teacher only • PBL Assignment • Student works alone and in teams • Context is family and community • Assessment by real audience and teacher TRANSFORMING PRACTICE

Scaffolding for PBL Success • Structure (Format) • Great Groups, Terrific Teams • Content • Training • Expertise • Oversight • Handouts & Documentation • Tools • Time, Supporting all Learners, & more…

PROJECT DESIGN TIME Collaborate with your team to design a project that you can implement with students this year. Prepare an exhibition of your project design for our Gallery Walk. (Create a 6 A’s chart, create a story board or other graphic representation of your project, or other creative display.)

Next Steps Finishing your PBL Design Implementing Your Project Conserving Project Artifacts Sharing PBL work at March CPA Conference

Some Favorite PBL Resources • George Lucas Education Foundation http://www.glef.org • Buck Institute of Education http://www.bie.org • Jobs for the Future http://www.jff.org • What Kids Can Do http://www.whatkidscando.org • Adria Steinberg’s Real Learning, Real Work

DESIGNING HIGH QUALITY PROJECTS