Power of PBL outside of school

 As I sit here on a Saturday morning I am starting to think about the upcoming school year and I am getting excited. Yes excited. I  know there will be some new wrinkles to deal with such as mask vs no mask, social distancing, etc. but I can see a little bit of normal coming back. That is not what is getting me excited. What is exciting me is a chance to re-engage kids with creating something from scratch, doing something using the skills they have as well as empowering them to learn new ones as well as honing my PBL skills.

I tested this out this summer after reading the book "What School Could Be" by Ted Dintersmith. I gave my two daughters a project to complete for me. After seeing them earlier in the year work on taking canvas shoes and painting designs on them I asked that they create something for me. One daughter I asked how much she would charge me to do a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor All Starts and the other I just asked to do it. The results were as I expected but really helped me see the power of doing PBL in the classroom. 

How I approached this project is similar to how I could in my classroom and/or how I would approach an artist to do a work for me. I asked if they were interested and what they needed to get started. I worked out a draft design of what I wanted and gave it to both "artists". I then gave them the parameters (specs for you in an engineering class) of my project. They asked a few questions and then got going on the project. I did not give a timeline for the project and stressed I wanted it be something that was fun and enjoyable. I also told them that if they needed something (tool, skill, etc) to let me know so I could help.

The one who I told I would pay her for is dragging her feet and I can only think she is seeing it as a chore more than a project. However she is also starting her sophomore year in high school and other stresses of being 15 years old coming out of a pandemic. This is a good opportunity to try out some intrinsic motivation strategies as well as see how I can work with her on this project. Some may count this as a failure or an example of why PBL is not a good idea in the classroom. I see it vastly differently; I see it as an example of how grades can demotivate students.  

The other one I didn't say I would pay her just that I wanted her to do a design on a pair of Van's Checkered Skate shoes. The main difference with her was I didn't tell her I would pay her for her services. What was interesting was as soon as I got the shoes in her hands she wanted to jump on creating them. She went through several mock-ups of designs as well as testing out paint colors for me. Once we agreed on the design and color she got to work. Watching her use painter's tape to block out the individual squares she was painting and marking end points etc. was fascinating to watch. All in all it took her less than a week to complete the project and the smile on her face when I first walked out the door with them on was all evidence I needed to know this was a success. And yes I did pay her for her services. For those interested here are photos of the completed shoes:

Yes these are University of Washington themed shoes. Go Dawgs!

What I have learned through this simple application of PBL at home are:

1. It is a great way to reinforce intrinsic motivation
2. You don't need to have every part of the project mapped out ahead
3. It is ok if you are not an expert on what kids are doing
4. Failure is not always a bad thing
5. Kids love to create things
6. Due dates to mean on time delivery

I can't wait to try this out in a larger scale in my classroom this year and apply the lessons learned. My goal is to give each of the 3 classes I teach a theme. One will be designing a physical game with a theme and has both a physical and graphic component. The kids will decide most of the components that make it up as well as the rules etc. Another will be based off of the FIRST FTC them of Freight Frenzy. Student's will need to identify a problem with distributing goods and/or access services and then come up with, test, and present a solution to their problem. My last class will be a little more scripted that true PBL as I need to teach them both how to build and program a robot using Java. They will have the ability to design their own robot and write their own code to complete the tasks for the class but there will be more teaching of concepts since most kids taking the class have only minor background knowledge.

I will check back on this blog and podcast as to how it is going in the classroom. I also welcome you thoughts and suggestions.

As always "Go Forth & Do Great Things!"

Link to podcast version

Leveraging Creativity

In my last post I talked about the importance of project based learning as a better way to:

1. Prepare kids for working outside of education
2. Assess kids understanding of standards and skills
3. Retaining knowledge and skills over time

Now I want to talk about how I am planning on putting this into practice in my classroom next school year. After listening to the latest Son's of Technology podcast I found my inspiration for next school year. In this podcast they presenters talked about kids needing to create and the easy of which the create in relation to gaming they also talked about how video games are a double edged sword when it comes to education and kids well being. I am going to focus more on the part of kids needing to create.

In this day an age it is easy for kids to jump on a game and share what they are doing with friends and strangers. You have platforms like discord, youtube, and various console sharing apps that allow kids to share their gaming experience. I will say I was/am a bit skeptical of this as a way of interacting with others as well as putting kids online too much. However as a parent I can manage the screen time but as for the social interaction portion my son is helping to open my eyes to the possibilities of this platforms.  As we all know social emotional learning is vital to a kids development. I think sometimes we think that video games serve as a negative influence but I am reading about and seeing where they have a positive influence, to a point. But I digress the topic I want to talk about is how I am going to leverage kids need to create and gaming in my classroom as it relates to project based learning.

For those of you who don't know I teach 2 to 3 different classes at a local middle school. I teach: Robotics and Programming (Based off of the FIRST Tech Challenge & using the REV robotics platform), Introduction to Engineering (Curriculum changes from year to year), and sometimes the PLTW course Flight & Space. Robotics and Flight & Space are your standard curriculum in a box type courses with me doing a few little tweaks here and there. My Intro to Engineering class is the one I have a lot of flexibility with. The primary focus is on teaching kids the Engineering/Design process so they are prepared for robotics or Flight & Space. I have had a set curriculum based such as code.org's CS Discoveries, to a choose your own project type course (similar to my old shop classes in middle school). to various others. However this year I am think I am going to try a variation on project type course that will allow me to focus more a a common goal and will let me both teach the engineering process as well as how to work cooperatively. The later is probably more important as we move from a manufacturing economy to a innovative economy. 

My plan is to have kids work on designing, creating, & marketing a game. However it will not necessarily be a video game. My goal is to have them make a board game that can have video components. In my classroom kids have access to a variety of tools ranging from 3d printers to vinyl cutters, programming language, 2d design apps, etc. In the past I have had kids work on these tools individually on projects of their choice which was good but there was little cooperative work other than just showing classmates how to do things they may not have known how to do I want to take it to the next level. Working together with others in class as well as with others outside of their class (in other periods.). I have tried this before and it didn't go so well but with new inspiration and kids better prepared with background knowledge of social tools I think this could go well. My ultimate goal is to have a game that kids could take home and play with friends and family. We will see how this goes as the year progresses.

I welcome your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, etc.

Go Forth & Do Great Things!

Podcast version

Teaching the creativity out of our students

 It has been over a year since my last blog post/podcast. My plan was to post more as way of helping other teachers through pandemic teaching as well as helping myself destress from the same. Unfortunately the demands of teaching online to start and then move to hybrid in person teaching as well as trying to maintain a balance between online and in-person took up a good portion of my time. That being said I am happy to report it is now summer where I am and I am looking forward to hopefully getting back on a somewhat regular schedule. 

I started reading a book entitled "What School Could Be" by Ted Dintersmith. It was a parting gift by our principal to staff along with a Rocky Road Candy bar. It was his way of saying thanks for all the hard work we have done over the Rocky Road of Pandemic Teaching and giving us something to look forward to for next year. I know that I jokingly said as he gave us the gift "Is it another book?" referring to the book we all got from our school district earlier. For some getting a book to read over the summer my seem like a backhanded compliment for a job well done in teaching. Isn't that what teachers do through out the year is read? We read emails, we read essays, we read tests, we read novels, and on and on. I know I look to summer as wanting to get away from reading or to focus on a good Steven King novel. (By the way I just finished Mr. Mercedes and I recommend it if you are looking for a thriller detective novel. Ok back to my post). Now don't get me wrong like most teachers I do use my summer to do trainings and continue to sharpen/hone my teaching skills but one must have balance. After finishing the aforementioned novel I decided to pick up the Dintersmith book. I had some conversation with one other staff member familiar with his work and he spoke highly of the Author. I will admit I was a bit skeptical but once I started I had a hard time putting it down until a passage that prompted me to write/record this post. 

The passage the got me to put the book down and get me back on my blog/podcast is where Dintersmith is in the second chapter where he is talking about a high school in Minot North Dakota. In the passage the teacher talks about applying the concept of Genius hour in his class. The teacher talks about what happened when he told his students about getting a class period to focus on their (student's) interests. "...[A]fter informing them they [would have] one hour a week to work on whatever they're interested in, half the students did a Google search for 'What should I be interested in?'..." This hit me hard as a teacher and I hope it hits you hard as well. For me it hits home because it describes what I see in my Engineering, robotics, and after school club almost daily, kids are loosing their ability to be and think creatively. Often times when I do a presentation I am asked "Is this going to be on the test?" or with a project/assignment kids will ask "What do I need to do to get an A?" Kids love my first response "I don't give tests". Often times as soon as they hear that they stop taking notes but then soon learn that they need to go back and get the info as I don't repeat my presentations (except in video form that they can watch on their own). My response to the second one is more complicated. In my projects/assignments I try to structure them like a contract for an engineering project. I give kids the big picture of why we are doing the project, I then given them the procedure that they can follow, I then given them the specs or must haves for the project, then I lay out the points each spec is worth. With all my projects I focus on specific skills or concepts (standards if you will) students need to have an understanding of in order to give them feedback. Often times I get the question "What do you want us to do?" or "Is this good enough?" or "Does this look good?". They hate it when I refer them back to the project description or just give them feedback on the skills I see them working on. Most of the kids work past their frustration but some don't. Some just want me to tell them what to do to get the grade. Some do give up and say "I didn't teach them anything." The later are the ones that I try to support but ultimately break my teaching heart and hopefully it breaks yours.

I am buoyed by this book so far in that the focus, so far, is on moving education reform in a way to sparks creativity. As kids we are naturally creative but in school we teach it out of them. How do we do this? By teaching to the test. All too often I hear teachers talk about how they have to prep kids for the state test. They can't do anything fun because of the state tests. They have no time for projects till after the state tests are done. When I tell them that the fun projects they do (like or math departments "Life Project" or our social studies "Culture & Washington State History Fairs" will help prep them for the test better than anything; I am told that kids have to learn the skills first or that the test doesn't assess application. These things go against tons of education research that says when kids are given the opportunity to apply knowledge and skill in real world applications they understand and retain those concepts better. Add on having them teach knowledge &/or skills to others you have hit the learning motherload. 

To wrap up this post I give those who read/listen a charge. I ask that you do one or more of the following over the summer to help engage your students next year:

1. Read the book "What School Could Be" by Ted Dintersmith

2. Redesign an assessment you give to be a real life project that assesses the same skills/knowledge

3. Have a conversation with colleagues about how you can create interdisciplinary projects that encourage/empower kids to be creative

4. Look at attending professional learning on project based learning 

5. Comment on this blog or podcast about what you are already doing to encourage your kids to be creative.

I can't wait to hear about how your work on the above task go. As always "Go Forth & Do Great Things!"

Podcast link: