Teaching curriculum verses teaching students

“Some teachers taught the curriculum today. Other teachers taught the students today. And there’s a big difference.”

This was written on a google slide at our staff meeting relating to PBL today and it really got me thinking. The open ended question design that is a significant attribute of PBL helps create the difference. In PBL the emphasis is on the student experience - this is learning! The teachers role is less instructional. However, the emphasis is instead on designing, preparing, and guiding projects. And is related to the significant focus of learning alongside students.

 With PBL students show what they learn as they journey through the unit, rather than just at the end. "PBL is about learning through identifying real-world problems and developing solutions to these problems.

The 7 design elements of PBL:

Challenging Problem or Question-This relates to gaining knowledge in order to use it and apply it in the future. It is important the knowledge is relevant and challenging and that the teacher provides careful scaffolding and support. Teachers should continually check for understanding and provide necessary clarification.

Sustained Inquiry- This is like the launching part of the inquiry, where challenging problems/questions are posed. Students then dig deeper: further questions emerge as students are seeking answers to initial questions. This becomes a cycle. The goals of PBL are about developing  skills of critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration and self management.

Authenticity- The learning experience should be related to real world problems. Projects have a social impact and personally impact the student and their immediate community. Projects with more authenticity are more powerful and productive.

Student Voice and Choice-Students should be given opportunity to voice ideas and make choices.
Teachers determine the amount of choice students exercise and which choices are going to be most beneficial depending on what students can cope with.

Reflection-It is significant that we focus on the fact the we actually learn from reflecting on an experience rather than from experience. Problem solving and metacognitive strategies should be designed to encourage appropriate thought that relates to the subject.

Critique and revision- The attention should be the progress of the students. It is important to decide on the appropriate form of assessment, provide feedback and make appropriate changes to improve teaching and learning.

Essential Design Elements- The design elements determine how closely the project attains the goals of PBL.

Public Product- This is  about creating authentic opportunities to produce and share something beyond the classroom. This approach encourages engagement and allows students to perceive what they are doing as worthwhile.

In our Tumu hub we are well on the way to journeying through many of these elements. What we have done so far is authentic and has shown elements of increased engagement. The basics of our current PBL are heavily scaffolded by the teacher, however this is important as students are immersed in the transition of learning in this way. Reflection is a significant aspect that I think we need to encourage and allow more time for, rather than move forward with the next step of the PBL. We are working on this!