B.A. Social Studies
The origins of Project Based Learning (PBL) in my classroom is credited to my spouse, an 8th grade science teacher. She was the first to bring the ideas into our home when she shared all of the challenges, successes, and excitement that she had with it. PBL lends itself to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields extremely well, but is more difficult to incorporate into the social studies, especially American History and Government because most of the content and curriculum deals with events that have happened in the past. The curriculum deals with how the United States system of government works, which students need to understand before diving in and solving the problems that we face through the system (though I would love to teach a “Government II” course, where this could be incorporated to build on content knowledge gained in my course). That was the most significant challenge when making the commitment to implementing PBL in my government course: “How do I get all of the awesome stuff that PBL brings, while incorporating the curriculum and content successfully?” Challenges like this that present themselves while making changes in the classroom keep many teachers from pursuing them. There is a fear of failure. “What happens if it doesn’t work?,” “Will I be wasting my time?,” Or the all important (or not), “What will happen to my test scores?” I decided to take the risk and told myself, "JUST DO IT & LET IT GO."
Most of my study came from the Buck Institute for Education, and their model for project based learning. I immediately understood that the key elements that they included in that model made PBL what it is (“Gold Standard PBL: Essential Project Design Elements:” http://bie.org/blog/gold_standard_pbl_essential_project_design_elements). That model provided a framework for me to follow, but not the details about how to do it. I also understood that it would take a large amount of time and effort to plan and prepare. The more I looked into it, the more I felt that the change would be worth it. Another major focus of my summer reading and learning pertained to the topics of “Growth Mindset,” “Grit,” and “Soft Skills.” As I continue to dive into the topics even closer, I think that this should be the focus for education in general. My school district’s mission statement falls directly in line with these ideas: “Equipping students for their next stage in life.” Implementing these ideas in the hidden curriculum will benefit our students directly in preparation for whatever they do after they leave school. That is the purpose for education after all. In making the change to PBL, I felt that my students would gain these types of skills while providing choice and voice, and a vested interest in their their schoolwork outside of grades. One of the ideas that I have grown more passionate about over the past couple of years is getting students to understand that education is about learning, not ONLY about grades (again, a story for another day). The results that I have had in my class to this point support the research. Though immeasurable, student engagement is at an all time high. A supermajority (there’s a government term for you) of my class is engaged in their assigned tasks and they also seem to really be enjoying their time in government class on a daily basis. Instead of going through the motions, completing assignments for the sake of grades, and simply being there because they have to be, I feel that the students in this course truly enjoy being a part of it. My experiences to this point have been mostly positive, leading me to become an advocate for incorporation of this pedagogy into more classrooms. My goal is to get more teachers to buy into the concept of this student-centered instruction but also want to make the challenges clear. It’s not easy, but it is worth it, if our primary goal is to create the best learning environment for our students. In the process of reflecting on the process of planning and implementing the first project based assignment of my career, the most significant issue that I encountered was the amount of time on the front end planning, and on the back end putting together assessment data. I think it is necessary to reiterate the previous statement: the “work” for the teacher is done before and after, but not during. I mean this in terms of time spent outside of class. Instead of focusing on working my tail off with direct instruction on a daily basis and coming up with separate lessons to hit each curriculum standard, the primary focus in class is providing guidance for students to achieve the best end-results through the inquiry, research, and creation process that covers multiple standards and allowing student to make connections. Instead of concentrating on direct instruction methods, class time is spent guiding students, on a more personal basis, to achieve their goals for their audience while they LEARN the content largely on their own. They know that they have to show understanding of the concepts in order to present the information to their audience successfully, therefore creating an interest in the process instead of focusing on the end result. The most significant challenge in terms of class time is getting students to understand that they have the ability when provided with the proper tools to be successful on their own account. My time during class is spent encouraging and asking the proper questions to prove this to them. This entire learning environment promotes personalized learning. Students aren’t provided with the blueprint for how to achieve the desired outcome, leaving them with the opportunity to learn in the best way for them. Offering students this choice creates a different experience for them. They understand that their success or failure is a direct result of the choices they make along the way--a learning experience for them that will benefit them in the future. If a student struggles because of their choice though, that is an opportunity for them to learn and be redirected toward becoming successful--that is the role of the teacher in the classroom and the focus of my instruction time with my students during this type of assignment. Instead of providing answers for students, my role in the classroom is to provide and guide them toward more questions with the intent of creating an understandable explanation of the big picture idea associated with the essential question that connects the concepts to each other. Perhaps the most important part of project planning is coming up with an essential question that provides a “big picture” end goal that lends itself to the process of creating a project while presenting research and comprehension of the curriculum and content embedded within the assignment. This provides the structure that students crave and the framework that they must follow. I spent hours brainstorming on pages of a notebook to come up with the questions that I have used. The first step in this process is analyzing standards and identifying those that connect multiple ones. When I sat down to create the outline for my government course this semester, I had to alter the sequence that I have used in the past to address my curriculum requirements and make them work well with each other.
As you can see, there was a dramatic shift in the combination and structure of topics that, in my opinion, make the best connections for students. Also, the units overlap so that students can make connections across all parts of the curriculum. The chosen sequence has a drastic impact on the questions. Units should be designed with the content that makes the best connections and lends to essential questions that promote critical thinking and learning. Instead of looking from the beginning to the end, essential questions should help students focus on the end of the story and finding the reasons for why the story ended the way that it did. It turns the process on its head from a “what happened?” question (DOK 1 or 2), to a “why did it happen?” one (DOK 3 or 4). This is the key to creating a successful project based lesson for students, especially when analyzing the past. The essential question should encompass higher level thinking skills and content knowledge, while offering a multitude of options regarding process which is what makes them so challenging to develop.
As we all know, motivation is key for getting students to invest in their education (and anybody for that matter to better themselves). The idea that they have an audience for their work, outside of their teacher(s), provides them with that motivation. The idea that somebody else is taking an interest in their work, leads to a better product that shows student learning at the end. Pride is a powerful intrinsic motivator. Offering students the choice to present their material in their own way along with an appropriate audience that they respect can be the key source that creates “buy in” for students. Finally, intrinsic motivation can and should be created through the use of collaborative learning and group work. It’s up to the teacher to determine the amount of freedom that students have regarding the structure of groups, but this is another opportunity to provide students with a choice in the direction that they will go throughout the creation of their projects. We have all worked in groups and been the one left with doing a majority of the work while others don’t hold up their end. The challenges of collaborating with others are the same in the work environment making this a valuable opportunity for students to learn how to interact and hold each other accountable. Grading group work is a major issue to consider when preparing to implement PBL. It is difficult to assign grades in group work that also provide individual accountability. Also, the grading structure should encourage the intrinsic motivation that students get from having choice and voice as outlined above. If the goal is to teach students that learning is the objective, not grades, the grading system must provide balance between providing an evaluation tool while not squashing intrinsic motivation. After spending hours thinking about and tinkering with how students would be assessed and graded in the end, I decided that they should be measured on how well they completed the assigned tasks throughout the project, how well they worked in their group, how well they presented their content in the end product, and how well prepared they were for their audience. Again, by offering students the opportunity to have a say in the process, they become invested in their groups. Grading should take individual contribution into account, and in my experience, providing peer evaluation of how well group members meet the expectations of their other group members meets this goal. Grades should also include a self-reflection piece and include information regarding how successfully students navigated the research and creation processes.
Clear expectations are integral, and having a neutral, outside audience allows for neutral outside evaluation that matters to students. Finally, the purpose for the unit test piece is to provide students with the responsibility of making sure that all members in their group take on an active role throughout the process. It is a motivating factor for students to both pull up those around them and work to keep from bringing their group down.
The entire purpose of this post is to help teachers and administrators understand that buying into this style of pedagogy has a positive impact on the classroom environment and, I think in the end, can influence the culture of entire schools, districts, and communities. When students take a stake in their learning, they are more likely to attend school and be engaged in it. The biggest issue is that teachers and administrators need to be ready and willing to take the risks and offer the support that come with making this major of a shift in the way that education is done. The availability of technology makes this readily available and is a valuable tool. Project Based Learning provides students with the skills that they need when they leave for the work environment and employers are looking for people with those types of skills. The ability to collaborate, think critically, and have intrinsic motivation have been lost in many cases in part (obviously, there are many other factors) because the education system has not evolved with the workplace. Creating a student-centered learning environment where students have freedom to learn these skills is integral to their success and the success of our communities as a whole, and PBL offers one method of doing so. The benefits--engagement, critical thinking, buy-in--outweigh the costs--time, effort, and risk. This is why I decided to let it go and jump into PBL. My next post will focus on the challenges and successes of executing the plans that I prepared early on. Be sure to come back to see what I have to add over the next couple of weeks! I would love to hear feedback and/or questions from anybody with experience or thinking about implementing Project Based Learning into their classroom. Please contact me or leave a comment below. In the process of contemplating beginning an education blog, I worried that I wouldn’t have anything to write about and make time for on a regular basis. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I have so many experiences to share because of the nine years that I have spent in the classroom. Currently, the terms “growth mindset” and “reflection” are buzzwords in education and concepts that I am excited to discuss. They’re not new, but if we understand what they mean and how to apply them to our personal and professional lives, they can be key motivators. With the correct mindset and the willingness to improve through reflection, we all have the opportunity to become better professionals and people. For these reasons, I think that it is appropriate for my first post to reflect on my career and how my mindset has evolved and the impact that my experiences have had on my view in my professional role as an educator. Life! Amazing to think about and reflect on. One of the major struggles that we have is balancing ALL of our roles in life. In an effort to balance those roles it is easy to be happy with rolling along, accepting the status quo. Sometimes, I think we are so busy balancing those rolls that we sometimes forget to work on improving our strategies, whether it is in our professional lives (in my case, as an educator), or personal ones as spouses, parents, friends, etc. My wife (also a teacher) and I have this discussion on a monthly basis. We’re torn between our three major roles: spouse, parent, and teacher. It would just be easier if the both of us were happy with what we have achieved professionally and focused on our personal lives. Or, we could be happy with our personal lives and focus on our professional ones. My point here, is that it is difficult to strike that balance. How do we grow in ALL aspects of our lives? The truth is, through trial and error, focusing on the ones that need the most attention first.
My college experience had a significant impact on my mindset, both professionally and personally. In reflecting on my successes and failures throughout my life, I have found that most of my failures can be attributed to the times when I fell into the idea of a “fixed mindset.” When I left for Kansas State with the dreams fostered from my adolescence of becoming an architect, I was not prepared for the freedom that life away from home offered me on my own account. I struggled and found myself on academic probation following my first semester and rejected from the second year landscape architecture program. I remained enrolled there for a total of two years, trying to figure out what my new life plan was going to be while mostly keeping my habits the same. Reflecting on this, probably the most significant and life changing failure of my life, I have come to realize that it was a result of my mindset. I thought I was good enough, without working hard to become better, to achieve my goals. I had rejected the values that my parents instilled in me most. I had lost what had gotten me to that point, enrolled in one of the best architecture programs in the country. My failure was a result of a fixed mindset. My mindset started to change when I was accepted into College of the Ozarks (C of O), a private college near my hometown located in Southwest Missouri that I didn’t want to attend initially. I still wasn’t sure of my direction in life, but knew that I enjoyed the history courses that I had taken throughout high school and in my first couple years of college. I also enjoyed baseball and the thought of coaching intrigued me. So what better career to choose than as a social studies teacher/coach? That was all that I knew. After my acceptance into C of O, my advisor called me one evening at around 8:00 P.M. while still in Manhattan, Kansas. We hashed out the courses and a general plan for the next semester with a history and secondary education major in mind. I moved back home that summer and started classes at a new college. Still with the same mindset. The difference and changing moment for me was the focus that was placed on education at C of O. The culture at the school is different than that of a public university. In exchange for tuition, students work part-time on campus and walk out debt-free (a story for another day). Class sizes are small, and the professors are hired as teachers, not researchers. They have a passion for teaching their students instead of focusing on outside ventures. Coming in contact with the professors in both the history and education departments was in essence life changing. It showed me how to build relationships professionally while knowing and treating students as people who need to be taught how to grow so that they can take that with them. That is the true life skill that we need to focus on in my opinion. Teaching students that their success is related to the focus, effort, and energy that they put into becoming better at whatever they do at every opportunity. Student apathy is a major issue and topic of concern in our entire education system today, just ask any teacher or professor. If we ingrain the idea that school is about growing every single day, this could change their mindsets. How do we do that? I don’t have the direct answer, but I think that it starts with us, as teachers, modeling it to our students. The entire purpose of this (what has already turned into longer than expected) post and blog in general. I want to show my peers, former students, and students how I change over time and the impact that has on those around us.
I was regarded as a successful teacher immediately and was recognized as an “Outstanding Beginning Teacher” from C of O and the state association of college educators. I thought I was doing a great job. In hindsight, I was doing a decent job, but my students weren’t learning as much in my classes as they probably could have. My teaching methods, were "so Twentieth Century." My students were there, but they weren’t engaged. Not for lack of effort on my part, but for lack of recognition that those old methods weren’t the best in regard to getting my students to learn. Also, I was in the mindset that when I get my first year done, I can keep my methods the same, continuing on with the same old pedagogy that my teachers had used along with their teachers, and those before them. I went stagnant. My first couple of years had to have been a drag to walk into my class for my students. I crammed content down their throats, but not into their minds, by forcing them to listen to me and all that I knew about history and government. In hindsight, I didn’t know that much either. If they struggled on tests, I blamed them for not studying. “Why didn’t they get it? It was in the PowerPoint!” None of it was my fault in my opinion at the time, but I questioned my strategies. About three years into my career, I was confident enough in my content knowledge to really start moving away from the whole PowerPoint lecture style that included supplemental primary source analysis and other small projects just to try to break things up. I switched to discussion based direct instruction time. In hindsight, it wasn’t much different. Because students didn’t understand the content, it turned into a glorified lecture. I think students enjoyed my class, but knew that they would be busy with activities that didn’t have any value to them personally. I struggled getting my students to make the connection between the assignments that they had and the content that I was trying to teach. I was trying to get them think more critically, but I was not giving them the tools to do it. I used primary source worksheets, incorporated as many reading strategies that I could, but students still were not making the connections. This disconnect between purpose and value of class activities created an environment where students were going through the motions, much like I was at this point in my career, focused on their grade and end result, but not learning the material. In essence, I was not achieving my personal goals: making social studies interesting and having students learn the content. I became disenchanted with the system, with education, and with my students. I went to work, but I had no interest in working to change my strategies. I felt like it was a lost cause. Why should I work to change if students weren’t willing to accept anything that I tried to do because they saw it as work and didn’t associate any value with what I was trying so hard to get them to understand? This was my struggle and a very trying time in regard to motivation and purpose. I had just earned my M.A. in history from Missouri State. I wanted out and was searching for opportunities to move to another career. I was too good at what I did to be stuck in the classroom with students who don’t care. I know that I’m not the only one that has thought this way at some point in my career as an educator (or any field for that matter). If I was going to remain in the field of education, I had to find purpose and motivation.
The implementation of 1:1 changed my philosophy as a teacher. I had heard of the Flipped Classroom Model, but had no way of incorporating it previously. I started by bringing the mobile lab to my dual-credit American History students every day that it wasn’t checked out by another class. I flipped the class and went 1:1 in that class essentially. My version of flipping is different and is a story for another post, but it allowed my students to begin understanding the value of the information that I was providing because I could make real-world connections to the material and content through my discussions. This class was my pilot for what was to come. I loved preparing the new material for them and they seemed to “get it.” These were some of the best students in school, but still, they were getting it. I think the biggest thing that it showed was that due to the fact that students saw me working hard to get better, they worked hard to accomplish our goals as a group. They understood my goal for them and it meshed with theirs. This was the turning point in my career. I understood that I had to work to make myself better and if I had that goal, it would rub off on my students. Because I bought into the 1:1 pedagogy and ideology so early, I was able to take on a new role in my building and district. I was one of the first to try to incorporate technology lessons on an almost daily basis (due to resources the year before complete rollout). My peers started asking me questions and I was able to tell them about my experiences both positive and negative in trying to incorporate this new learning environment. I had value outside of the walls of my classroom. Now I was able to help my peers if they asked or needed it. I realized that I had become over the scope of a year or two a leader in my district because I had worked to make a change and grow professionally. "I have renewed passion for my role as an educator and truly enjoy my job [...] I get happiness out of the learning process and motivation from the fact that I am at the front of great things in the new age of student-centered pedagogy [...] Being passionate about learning and growing every day has had an impact on myself and my classroom environment. I have renewed passion for my role as an educator and truly enjoy my job (with the natural more trying days). By working to change to make things better every day for myself, my students, and my peers I have found new motivation and purpose in regard to my professional life. I have focused recently more on reflection and improving myself and have turned a corner. I enjoy coming to work and currently spend more time working to create a successful learning environment than I ever have, and I’m happy to do it. I find that the harder I work to grow, my students see that. I get happiness out of the learning process and motivation from the fact that I am at the front of great things in the new age of student-centered pedagogy and the fact that I have experiences to pass on to others. Being passionate about learning and growing every day has had an impact on myself and my classroom environment.
This blog will document this process through reflection on both past successes and failures as well as current ones, with a particular focus on "new" methods such as the implementation of project based learning and the flipped classroom. I hope that anybody who reads this blog will be able to grow as a result of the experiences that I share. |
AuthorBrian Anton currently serves the Purdy R-II (Missouri) School District as the 7-12 Principal after working in the PK-12 Assistant Principal and Athletic Director roles for two years. In the 12 years prior to moving into administration, he served as an award-winning high school social studies teacher. Archives
September 2018
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