Now that I have begun to understand inquiry a little better, I realize that when I've assigned projects in the past, I've done way too much work for my students. The projects that I thought were amazing rich learning because they looked so beautiful when they were submitted, were actually little more than hoop jumping. It was I who designed the format, created the planning sheets, selected the format for notetaking, and provided models of finished products. Students never had to devise their own innovative procedures.
Toss that idea! How can students possibly learn to develop a research project, unless they are given the opportunity to plan and develop the processes? How can divergent thinking possibly occur when opportunities to think divergently are not embedded in the task? How can they assess and reflect critically on their processes unless they've designed the process themselves?
For my grade 6 students, I've changed my approach. I've given my students no structure nor model to follow. As part of the project, students have to think about and develop systems for research. My role is to meet with them and prompt them to formulate ideas about planning and process. This initially left students somewhat unsettled, but as they progress, I'm beginning to see new thinking and skills emerge.
What I have done, is give each student a file folder in which to keep the project and on the inside cover, they are to record their process and plan next steps. I interviewed the student below about how he is organizing the project, prompted him to fully explain his thinking and recorded comments as we went. Our conversation centered on reflection and feedback. It took only a few minutes.
During our meeting I asked questions.
What have you done so far?
How are you organizing the information that you gather?
What have you already decided?
Where have you begun to look for information?
How are you keeping track of the sources of information?
Are you assessing the validity of the sites you are visiting? How are you doing this?
What issues are you having? How are you solving them?
For this student who finds organizing challenging, I suggested he look at google docs to see if it would be a useful way to manage the information so it won't be lost. I haven't told him to use it, I've merely pointed him towards it. It is up to him to experiment with the tool to determine if it is effective.
What I am doing is acting as a facilitator of process. By working in this way, students have more opportunity for creativity in the approach to the task and actually have to think about design rather than merely follow instructions.
Please read the comments on this post as well. I received excellent and very useful feedback.
Toss that idea! How can students possibly learn to develop a research project, unless they are given the opportunity to plan and develop the processes? How can divergent thinking possibly occur when opportunities to think divergently are not embedded in the task? How can they assess and reflect critically on their processes unless they've designed the process themselves?
For my grade 6 students, I've changed my approach. I've given my students no structure nor model to follow. As part of the project, students have to think about and develop systems for research. My role is to meet with them and prompt them to formulate ideas about planning and process. This initially left students somewhat unsettled, but as they progress, I'm beginning to see new thinking and skills emerge.
What I have done, is give each student a file folder in which to keep the project and on the inside cover, they are to record their process and plan next steps. I interviewed the student below about how he is organizing the project, prompted him to fully explain his thinking and recorded comments as we went. Our conversation centered on reflection and feedback. It took only a few minutes.
During our meeting I asked questions.
What have you done so far?
How are you organizing the information that you gather?
What have you already decided?
Where have you begun to look for information?
How are you keeping track of the sources of information?
Are you assessing the validity of the sites you are visiting? How are you doing this?
What issues are you having? How are you solving them?
For this student who finds organizing challenging, I suggested he look at google docs to see if it would be a useful way to manage the information so it won't be lost. I haven't told him to use it, I've merely pointed him towards it. It is up to him to experiment with the tool to determine if it is effective.
The students below already have good project planning skills and only needed to quickly jot down their process.
Please read the comments on this post as well. I received excellent and very useful feedback.
Great stuff, Heidi. This process you have designed for intentional student reflection through the project's steps is excellent. As a high school #PBL teacher, I really appreciate how valuable it is for students to have learned to do this in middle school. Besides the obvious reflection value, this step teaches time-management and 'chunking' of large assignments - essential for success on open-ended long-term assignments in high school and college. Nice!
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.
Thanks so much for your feedback. It is very useful to me as I explore teaching using #PBL. Knowing that someone who uses this model thinks that we are on the right track is appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about the difference between a process-approach and a product-approach. One is not necessarily better than the other, it just depends on the project at hand, and really how confident the students/teachers are in terms of flexibility.
ReplyDeleteI think part of the reason the above worked for you is that you are now more confident with PBL itself and thus, able to let go of parts of the process - knowing when it is that you are actually able to provide best input/guidance.
I guess what I'm saying is don't ditch your old way. Rather, judging from what needs to be done by whom and why, switch as required.
cheers.
Hi Malyn,
ReplyDeleteSo appreciate your comments. Your post on process vs. product approach is extremely useful and will help many educators develop clearer understanding. I am attending a conference tomorrow and one of the sessions is on #PBL. It is very nice to have read your post before attending.