Think of a learning experience that has shaped who you are today. It could have been in kindergarten or it could have been yesterday. Now think about what that looked like. Who was with you? What were you doing? What made it memorable?
Take a minute. Close your eyes. Picture it.
Let me make a few guesses about what you saw: You were with people you trusted, or you were alone and making something you were desperate to show to the world. You were doing something that mattered to you, not because you were trying to get a grade. This is the goal of project-based learning. It is the integration of the heart, the hands and the mind.
Four areas drive project-based learning: public display of product, multiple drafts, critique and an essential question. Each one of these is evident throughout a project. When done right, students and teachers know where each one of these lies within the overall arc of the year. Together they help newly define what “rigor” looks like. As my esteemed colleague Rob Riordan, founder of High Tech High, noted in the latest edition of UnBoxed:
No rigor without engagement
No rigor without ownership
No rigor without exemplars
No rigor without audiences
No rigor without purpose
No rigor without dreams
No rigor without courage
and
No rigor without fun
Put more succinctly, these attributes get at assessing knowledge on a deeper level that requires the student to synthesize and apply what has been learned. This definition is what the deeper learning and project-based learning movement is about. The nearly 300,000 teachers and students who are part of the Deeper Learning Network strive for this type of rigor on a daily basis.
So what does this actually look like in a classroom? Let us dig into some examples.
How hard is it to get away with murder? Tenth-graders went about determining the answer to this question. Their teachers staged a mock murder with the help of some other adults, including a deafening scream when the “dead body” was discovered. Students set out to determine what happened and who was the killer. This was the project launch for “Who Dunnit.” Students began their journey of developing a realistic play that staged the various phases of a murder investigation. A forensics lab was visited to determine the process of beginning an investigation as well as how to realistically represent such things as blood splatter and DNA testing. Workshops were used to create a screenplay. Professionals helped with acting essentials. Students learned the forensic science behind DNA testing, fingerprinting, soil testing and forensic mapping. In the end, students staged a multi-room play on the night of exhibition. Tenth-grade students who had only seen episodes of “CSI” were able to articulate the science behind solving a murder, the writing process of creating a play and the effort it takes to bring together more than 30 people for one common goal.
What does it take to build a drone that will survive in the ocean? This was an essential question in a ninth-grade Survive the Surf project. For a couple of weeks, students disassembled computers and cellphones to figure out how they work and reassembled them back to working order. Each step of the way they meticulously documented the process. A field expert launched the project with video footage of the underwater drones while students tinkered with working drones. The next day, they were given the challenge of creating an underwater drone that could survive the ocean. Over the next month, students built the physical plant, programmed the electrical systems, created prototypes, completed obstacle courses at the Naval Amphibious base and finally attempted to survive the surf. Some failed to survive, but such is life in the robotics industry.
In both projects, students were engaged working alongside professionals to ensure high quality. The students were co-creating every step of the way with their teachers, thus providing buy-in and ownership. Each step in the process, students took time to analyze exemplars – exceptional pieces of work that students and teachers use as a model – in order to guide their work. The audiences were broad in that both projects invited community members but also performed/showed their product offsite in a professional venue. Surviving the Surf had a dream of creating a professional-grade drone from scratch while Who Dunnit strove to understand playwriting and forensic science.
Anyone who has performed an original piece in front of an audience knows it takes courage. It also takes courage to fail when others are succeeding. Despite the high level of accountability and anxiety for students, the unifying atmosphere was that of fun, enjoyment and excitement.
Sean Woytek is head of school at Animas High School. Reach him at sean.woytek@animashighschool.com.
