by Andrew K. Miller | Apr 25, 2013 | Blog
This post originally appeared on SmartBlogs for Education, where SmartBrief readers exchange ideas and practices. They publish original content on many topics in education. View Original >
I spend a good chunk of time on Twitter, often participating in or lurking on a Twitter chat. I have seen project based learning — PBL — a topic of discussion, but at the same time, I see a lot of claims about PBL that are just not true. What bothers me about these claims is not that they are wrong but that these misconceptions lead to further problems when implementing PBL. I’d like to take some time to dispel some of these misunderstandings in hopes that they clear up other issues teachers may have with PBL.
“I do projects all the time.” Often when I talk to teachers they respond, “Oh I’ve done PBL for a long time. We’ve always done projects in my classroom.” To me this is often a red flag. Projects and PBL aren’t the same. However, I do know teachers that have done projects in the past that have had many of the elements of PBL but might be missing some. I use the Project Essential Elements checklist to ensure that I am in fact doing PBL and not projects.
“I don’t have time to do a PBL project and all the scaffolding needed and lessons.” A PBL project includes both the creation of the authentic product aligned to the project AND the scaffolding, learning activities, drill and skill, etc., that must occur to support student creation of the final product. When I say I am doing a PBL project with my students and it is going to take 2-3 weeks, I mean that it will take that amount of time not only to have students collaborate and create together to solve an authentic problem or address an issue, but also to get the important skills that they need to do so. Worksheets will occur. Direct instruction will occur. Group work will occur. All of the important and effective strategies we teachers use will occur within the context of the project.
“I have to focus on standardized test prep and don’t have time for PBL.” I wrote a blog on Edutopia to give some specific strategies on how PBL and standardized testing can coexist. Instead of making PBL and test prep separate, find a way to embed test prep within the context of the project. Let’s face it; it’s hard to get students to do test prep. Instead of fighting this by begging and pleading with them, make it somewhat useful. Use testing stems as formative assessments and quizzes. Have written products that mirror the template of the test they might take. Because students are engaged in the project, they might be more inclined to participate in a few moments along the way that feel like test prep. The difference is that the test prep serves an important function for both you and the students within the context of the project.
“Students will copy each other’s products.” Even though you may create a PBL project that targets specific content for all students, you must still provide voice and choice for students. We know that students can show their learning in different ways so make sure you are allow that. Voice and choice is an essential element of PBL. In addition, if you are noticing copying, it might be a project design issue. The project might be focused on facts and ideas that are easily copied instead of using the content in a new way. There might not be an authentic need of audience for the project, which in turn does not require students to create a product with the content that is specifically tailored to that audience and need.
Obviously, there are many more concerns and misunderstanding teachers may still have about PBL. There is another blog on Edutopia that goes over some of these. Instead of trying to put up roadblocks for PBL, try to problem solve, just like we want our students to do in a PBL project.
by Andrew K. Miller | Apr 19, 2013 | Blog, Huffington Post
This post originally appeared on the Huffington Post, an internet news and commentary website. The Education section features updated on college, teachers, and education reform, where I regularly contribute. View Original >
As I travel and work with teachers to improve practice and increase student achievement, classroom management is often a topic we focus on in professional development. Whether managing a 1:1 classroom or understanding how a teacher manages a PBL project, teachers are always looking for best practices in how to make sure the classroom is managed effectively.
This topic is also coupled with the idea of engagement. We know that if we are engaging our students, then management issues are alleviated or disappear all together. Whenever I work with teachers I also make this statement:
“What is the best tool for management? Engaging curriculum and instruction!”
However, I’ve come to understand that the term “engagement” needs to be unpacked before addressing issues of management in the classroom. If you ask an educator, “What does engagement look like?” responses will surely vary. I remember when I first started teaching, and preparing for a classroom visit by my principal or supervising administrator. I always wanted to make sure the room was quiet in general, there were no outbursts and that students were silently working on their assignments at their tables. Now I realize these are not quality indicators of engagement. They are quality indicators of compliance, which is different.
Daniel Pink makes an significant quite in his video (and book) Drive, although his context is focus on the workplace. “Management is good if you want compliance, but if you want engagement, self-directed is better.” Here Pink reframes the whole conversation on what it means to be productive, contribute to a goal and do work.
I don’t want just compliance for my students. I want engagement. Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose are three ideas (borrowed from Pink) that can move our classrooms to focus on engagement, rather than on compliance. When we do, classroom management becomes a conversation about strategies to support learners, rather than a way to make them “follow the rules” in a one-size-fits-all model. Let’s reframe the conversation on classroom management, and instead focus on engagement first!
by Andrew K. Miller | Apr 17, 2013 | Blog, Edutopia
This post originally appeared on Edutopia, a site created by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process by using digital media to document, disseminate, and advocate for innovative, replicable strategies that prepare students. View Original >
Project-based learning can provide an intentional and effective opportunity to integrate the arts across disciplines and curriculum. While valuable as a stand-alone discipline, arts education can be given further power and value when used in a PBL project as part of the core curriculum.
When teachers begin designing PBL projects, they often start small, maybe with a recommended idea to internalize the design process and a reflection on how to improve. As teachers become more familiar with PBL, integration is a great next step for taking it up a notch. This is where the arts come in! If you are thinking about your next PBL project, consider using one or more of these intentional moments to integrate art.
The Arts as the Entry Event
When launching a PBL project, it is crucial to have an entry event that engages students and creates excitement for the project. From movies and music to activities and simulations, teachers can launch a project with one or more entry events that relate to the arts. Start the project with an art anchor text, not only to build inquiry, but also to keep the momentum going along the way by revisiting that anchor.
The Arts in Culminating Products or Performances
PBL demands voice and choice in how students spend their time and how they show their learning. Each project culminates in a presentation or product that is presented to a public audience. The best products meet the needs of the audience, which means that creating the project must focus not only on relevance, but also on engagement. Teachers can use this design element to further leverage the arts by providing an arts product as one or more of the choices. We know students can show their learning in a variety of ways and through multiple intelligences. In addition to a persuasive letter, consider a collage or songbook of lyrics.
The Arts as Scaffolding
Students need scaffolding through a variety of instructional activities that will arm them with the skills and content they’ll need to be successful on the project. As you consider this scaffolding, include arts-related activities. Use these activities to help students process their content and represent their thinking. For example, have students do a “tableau” activity where they represent the structure of the cell. From this, the teacher helps students metacognitively and transparently connect this individual activity to the larger project. Students learn from this arts-based activity during the project and will apply it to their product. Role-plays, simulations, music comprehension strategies, visual processing, dramatic acting — all these activities and more can help support and scaffold the many learning targets within a PBL project.
The Arts As Formative Assessment
Similar to assessing their students’ culminating products or performances, teachers must formatively assess learning objectives and skills throughout the PBL project. As students participate in scaffolding and activities, use the arts as the method to formatively assess content and 21st century skills. If you are assessing collaboration, use a visual representation as evidence.
While arts integration in the core discipline alone is valuable, doing it within the context of a PBL project can make the integration seamless as well as valuable. PBL projects provide a space to meet multiple learning targets, whether those are core discipline standards or arts standards. Whether or not you are intending to assess arts standards on your PBL project, you can still find intentional instructional moments for using the arts, not only to value them, but also to create engagement for everyone. Your students can learn the arts as well as learning through the arts.
by Andrew K. Miller | Apr 12, 2013 | Blog
This post originally appeared on Microsoft Partners in Learning Network Hot Topics Blog. Microsoft PIL provides professional development, resources and other tools to support educators across the globe.
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Oftentimes, I see many, many tweets that claim this title or variation thereof: “10 Best Games to Teach Math.” Because I am a GBL nerd, I always click on the link and explore. In my exploration of many of these tools that claim to be games, I have found that many in fact are NOT games, or they are poor games. Games are crafted specifically, with certain mechanics and components present for it to be good. Many companies are putting out “games” that are in fact activities with many “bells and whistles” that make it look like a game. So how do we navigate this huge field of games to find the best ones? Here are some starting tips.
Authentic Identity and Story – We play games because they immerse in worlds, real or fantasy, that truly are engaging. This is done through amazing stories and authentic characters that we connect with. We play as these characters and feel like what we do actually makes a difference in the story, that our actions have consequences. What if there are no characters? What if there is no story or engaging scenario? We get bored and choose not to participate. Look for games where there are characters who have agency in the scenario and story.
Content Learning Connects to Scenario – This relates to indicator above. If players are solving math in a content that doesn’t make sense, then students will often see it as gimmicky. Imagine: You are asked to apply your knowledge of math skills in order to kill cockroaches. How does this content make sense in that scenario? It doesn’t. It might be a fun activity for students to practice skills, but students may not be engaged in it, because the game demands learning of content in an unrealistic situation.
Problem Solving and Critical Thinking – A great game calls for more than just fact recall, or shallow depth of knowledge. A great game requires students to apply this in authentic problem, and critically thinking to solve these problems. Instead of knowing important facts about the Electoral College to win the game, the player must Win the White House by paving the best possible path and strategy by using their knowledge of the electoral college
Now this is just a start. There are still other components of good games, but I feel these tips will help you as an educator start on the path of quality games to use in the classroom. If you try playing a game, or have your students play a game and it does not meet some or all of these criteria, it may in fact not be a game at all. It might be an activity, where game mechanics have been applied to make it more engaging. It might have some elements of a game, but because it doesn’t it would not qualify as a game. If we truly want to legitimize using games in the classroom, then they must actually be games!
by Andrew K. Miller | Apr 8, 2013 | ASCD, Blog
This post originally appeared on InService, the ASCD community blog. ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) is an educational leadership organization with 160,000 members in 148 countries, including professional educators from all levels and subject areas––superintendents, supervisors, principals, teachers, professors of education, and school board members.
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When I work with educators on their professional development needs, rubrics frequently come up as something that teachers want to understand better and be able to find quickly and easily from a variety of sources for immediate use in the classroom. Often, however, rubrics found on the Internet are not of good quality—they may not be grounded in learning targets or the language may be too vague and confusing for students. The good news is that there are many great resources and tips out there to build your own rubrics. Here are some ideas to start.
Use Common Rubrics. For some students, school is one of the few stable routines in their young lives. Let’s support this safe and supportive culture by using common rubrics across subject areas or grade levels. This will help to ensure that each teacher is looking at student work objectively and lets students know that the expectations are the same regardless of the classroom. These common rubrics might be based in content or even 21st century skills. Students will appreciate these common expectations and common language around learning.
Decide Between Checklists or Rubrics. I used to fall into the trap of having too many numbers in my rubrics. I listed different numbers of sources, sentences, and so on, under each level, from approaching to exceeding a standard. Numbers don’t indicate quality. Focus on quality indicators when creating rubrics. However, if students need to have a specific number of something as a nonnegotiable, then create a checklist for them. Ask yourself, is this better on a checklist or a rubric?
Use Them! Rubrics are useless unless you use them. Why do students often throw them away or lose them? Because they don’t see the value in them as a learning tool! It is critical to have students use a rubric for an entire curriculum unit, project, or even over the course of a year. Use rubrics to set goals, provide peer- and self-assessment, and reflect on learning. Through intentional and meaningful use, rubrics can become a tool that students see as invaluable.
Focus on Learning Targets. Unless you are truly assessing creativity, it may not be appropriate to list creativity on the rubric. Similarly, neatness may not be appropriate if it isn’t directly related to the content or core discipline you intend to assess. Make sure you focus on learning targets, which could be standards or specific criteria, when you create the rubric. Articulate what the learning will look like in terms of approaching, meeting, and exceeding standards.
My biggest recommendation is to collaborate with others to create rubrics that are specific to your school, district, and learning targets. Whether they are state, Common Core, or 21st century standards, some of the best rubrics can be developed in-house. Use these tips as well as books from ASCD to support your work in building the best rubrics.
by Andrew K. Miller | Mar 25, 2013 | Blog, Edutopia
This post originally appeared on Edutopia, a site created by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process by using digital media to document, disseminate, and advocate for innovative, replicable strategies that prepare students. View Original >
Financial Literacy Month is April — just around the corner — and it’s never too early to prepare. Personally, I believe this is a great opportunity to use games in an intentional way to teach students financial literacy skills. Games can be used as a “hook” or anchor activity, as well an instructional activity that is revisited throughout a unit of instruction. A game can help scaffold the learning of important content as well as providing context for application of content. If you really trust the design of the game, it can also be an excellent assessment tool!
Fellow Edutopia member Brian Page (on Twitter @FinEdChat) has long been an advocate for financial literacy education and innovative ways for students to engage in it. He was the 2011 Milken National Educator recipient in Ohio, and co-creator of an EIFLE award-winning financial education game of the year, Awesome Island Game. He’s also a Money magazine “Money Hero”. Brian has a huge database of games that can help teach financial literacy skills to students of all ages. In addition, each game is aligned to commonly accepted personal finance national standards. Although the database is extensive, Brian has selected his favorite games and explained how they might be used intentionally in classroom instruction.
Bite Club
In Bite Club, players manage a “day club” for vampires. Players experience the familiar tension between servicing debt, spending money and saving for the future. By featuring vampires, who live forever, the game highlights the impact of long-term savings over a 45-year span in a 15-round game. The game aims to instill three learning objectives:
Save for retirement
Pay down debt
Manage current consumption
Brian says, “I prefer Bite Club as a game-based learning day alternative, and as an anchor activity. It is clearly the online game of choice of my female students. I recommend the game for high school age students.”
Gen i Revolution
Gen i Revolution was developed for middle school and high school students and is managed by the Council for Economic Education. The game gives students a chance to compete against each other while learning important personal finance skills. It includes fifteen financial rescue missions.
“I believe Gen i Revolution is best for middle school students,” Brian tells us. “The game is accompanied with 21 lessons that correlate with each mission. The lessons add value, but they are not necessary for an engaging and exciting learning experience.”
Financial Football
Financial Football is a fast-paced, interactive game that engages students while teaching them money management skills. Teams compete by answering financial questions to earn yardage and score touchdowns. The questions are primarily scenario-based, which is appropriate for the coursework. There are three levels: Rookie (ages 11-14), Pro (ages 14-18), and Hall of Fame (ages 18+). The various levels make it easy to differentiate and provide an avenue for participation by elementary, middle and high school students. Financial Football also has an iPad and an iPhone application.
Brian says, “I prefer to use Financial Football in a tournament format. I provide the game as an optional anchor activity as well. For educators who want correlating lessons, Practical Money Skills provides them here.”
In addition to these great games, you can see a list of Brian’s 30 favorite game- and scenario-based learning programs. If you are still unconvinced about using games for financial literacy instruction, or if you need research and data to convince stakeholders, Brian recommends reading D2D‘s research report on how casual financial literacy video games can lead to improvements in financial capability.
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