Hacking, PBLs and failing forward
by Debbie Bacon, Math Teacher
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The construction PBL I created for my honors geometry classes went very well for them. So, in the interest of hacking, I suggested another PBL to my geometry team, Cory Graham and Pam Hunter: Transformations in Butterflies. I used a guide shared with me by JP Sampson to help organize thoughts, align it to CCAP and plan the project. I shared the project with my teammates and received a lot of feedback. I tweaked it, wrote a rubric, and sought out Joe Ventola to interview, which we later played for the students as a launch for the project.
We did not show the students a finished example because we wanted them to be creative in making their presentation unique to them. We structured HOW the learning would happen, gave them rubrics at the start of the project so they knew what content was expected, and then expected them to be able to put their new knowledge onto something physical to display - that bombed!
As a team, we discussed the difficulties. Lack of motivation? Lack of guidance? Unclear directions? We decided to give the students a reflection sheet to complete. The feedback I received is that the students understood what they were expected to LEARN, but they found the openness of the presenting their knowledge to be too much. They wanted examples of finished projects and more clear expectations. They also admitted that PBLs require good attendance and active participation from all group members.
Moving forward, I interpret this as our typical student will need a lot more help in transitioning to project-based learning. Students do enjoy learning by way of projects, but they need more scaffolding. I also believe that the more PBLs we do in our classes, the more excited students will become about learning and the better their attendance and behavior will be.
Will you join me in failing forward? It's not as scary as it seems, it's actually quite exciting! Collaborate with your team, be patient with your students and scaffold for them as needed, and Get Your Hack On!
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