Top skills for authentic teaching

Successful, effective Place-Based Learning is not something that happens overnight. It takes most teachers some time to feel truly comfortable and confident when facilitating place-based projects. It takes patience, determination, and commitment. And remember - your students are figuring out how to learn in this way, even as you're learning how to teach in this way! Here are our four "Top Tips" for PBL educators.

Be flexible.

One of the greatest joys of the PBL approach is that it allows - it celebrates - the natural curiosity of children. As you facilitate your project, students may suddenly discover something new they want to learn, a different project they want to pursue, or a new opportunity in their community. Your job is to foster their interests and be willing to adapt your plan on the fly - as long as the new plan is still fulfilling your learning goals and answering the Driving Question.

Some ways you can incorporate flexibility into your teaching:

• • Build in 1-2 unplanned "spare days" to adapt your implementation schedule as needed. If these are not needed in the end, they can make great reflection or assessment periods.

  • During each lesson plan, build in a few spare minutes of extra time that can be used to address student questions and emerging interests.

  • Be responsive to changing student needs. If someone is assigned a role they find they're not successful in, don't hesitate to switch things up mid-way through the project.

Be patient.

These projects are designed to be long-term, extended explorations. Allow the time needed for students to grasp the content and master the skills they need to be successful. As much as possible, don't let the calendar drive or limit the process. Be patient with yourself, too, as you learn to navigate the PBL process. Don't hesitate to be transparent about this with your students - kids love feeling like their teacher is learning right alongside them!

Some ways you can incorporate patience into your teaching:

• • Take time to reflect. Periodically ask yourself, and your students: How are we feeling about this project? Do we need to make any changes so we will be successful?

  • Don't brush off student reactions. If your students are expressing worries or frustrations, take some time for honest group discussion about what's going on, and what you can do together to improve the process.

  • Give students the time to explore, experiment, fail, and try again. Don't be in a rush to "get to the end", reach a benchmark, or produce a product. The process is the most important thing - savor it, and use it to enhance learning.

Be open.

Strive to be sensitive to what is working - and what isn't. If it feels like your projects have taken a major detour or students just aren't "getting it", it's time to take a step back, regroup, and change course if necessary. Don't beat yourself up or get upset with students - these are not failures, just part of the process. On the other hand, if students are excited and productive about their work, even if it wasn't what you originally planned - keep going! This can be a difficult line to walk, and you will learn over time how to judge progress as you go.

Some ways you can incorporate openness into your teaching:

• • Know when to let students follow their whims and when they're veering off course. Continually ask students, will this help you answer our Driving Question? If yes, assist students in following their interests in a useful and manageable way. If no, redirect them.

  • Let yourself say I don't know! Don't feel that you need to appear to be an expert in the topic - that's what your Community Partners are for. Students love to know that their teacher is learning right alongside them. If you don't know the answer to a question, help students figure out how they can find the answer.

  • Give students a safe space to share feedback. Let them know that you want to hear their concerns, their progress, their successes AND failures. When students do provide feedback, make sure your responses are understanding and constructive, not critical.

Be excited!

This may be the most important tip of all! The most successful teachers have an enthusiasm and passion for their work that is infectious. If you are genuinely interested in and excited about the project, your students will be too. Engage them in the process; make them feel empowered and confident that what they are doing has real meaning. Even if you don't get to all of your planned activities, or student products aren't exactly what you had expected - if students had fun and learned new skills, that is a big win.

Some ways you can incorporate excitement into your teaching:

• • Build in some "surprises" along the way. Keep a field experience, a particular detail about the Authentic Audience, or some other aspect of the project a secret until you announce it with a flourish.

  • Find ways to connect to the topics and subject matter, so your shared interest will be genuine.

  • Be sure that the authentic applications of the project are clear to students. Discuss why their topics and projects are important, and how they will help make their community and the world better. Use examples of students doing similar projects for inspiration.