For us, the \u201cP\u201d in PBL is about the Problem.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We realize that all of the PBLs (Project, Problem, Place, etc) have the same idea at their core- Experiential Learning.\u00a0 They\u2019re rooted in the idea that we learn best when we make meaning of something we actually do (as opposed to reading, watching, or hearing). Experiential learning asks teachers to move into the role of facilitators, doing the big work before the students ever arrive on the scene.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n By connecting curriculum to an experience, these teachers move the effort of learning onto the shoulders of the students- where it belongs.\u00a0 No matter the catalyst for the work the basic process remains the same:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teachers design<\/strong> the experience, they coach<\/strong> students as they engage in the work to be done (while asking good questions and remembering to watch rather than do), and they provide feedback <\/strong>so students can reflect<\/strong> on what they know and connect<\/strong> that to what they\u2019re ready to learn next.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Students engage<\/strong> in solving the problem, exhibit<\/strong> their learning), debrief<\/strong> the experience, and they reflect<\/strong> on what they know and connect<\/strong> new understanding to past and upcoming experiences, creating a deeper understanding of the content.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together, through meaningful work and intentional choices, teachers and students build and maintain a safe but challenging collaborative learning community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s it. It\u2019s both elegantly simple and vastly complicated- and it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So why do Critical Skills teachers focus on the problem rather than the project? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the last nearly four decades of working with schools and teachers, it\u2019s become clear that projects are ubiquitous. Doing projects- be it raising monarch butterfly caterpillars, making books (about mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, etc), or creating presentations about local history, states, countries, holidays, or ecosystems- is something that most teachers and students already know how to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There’s a difference between “doing projects” and “doing PBL” but the line between the two can be hard to define and it\u2019s easy to slide back into familiar strategies when things get complicated (or should we say \u201cmore complicated?\u201d) in the classroom. We focus on the problem to solve (and trust that the project piece will emerge naturally). We maintain clarity in the planning, the coaching, the engagement, the feedback, the debriefing, and the reflection, using questions like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Young people are natural activists. They\u2019re excited to be helping, figuring out solutions, and making sense of problems. They\u2019re claiming their agency, their right to participate in society, and their place in the world.\u00a0 They\u2019re learning what it means to be part of something bigger than themselves. Meaningful, authentic experiences help them make sense of academic content while they practice the skills and dispositions that will serve them in school and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There’s a difference between “doing projects” and “doing PBL” but the line between the two can be hard to define and it\u2019s easy to slide back into familiar strategies when things get complicated (or should we say \u201cmore complicated?\u201d) in the classroom. We focus on the problem to solve (and trust that the project piece will emerge naturally). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[10,7,22,18,19,8],"class_list":{"0":"post-82","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"tag-challenges","8":"tag-critical-skills-classroom","9":"tag-little-letters-from-laura","10":"tag-pbl","11":"tag-problem-based-learning","12":"tag-teachers","13":"entry","14":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"lthomas","author_link":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/author\/lthomas\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/center.antioch.edu\/csc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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