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Project-Based Learning and Common Core Standards

The first question about Common Core State Standards, What will they look like?, has been answered. The answer is: Very different. The internationally benchmarked standards will emphasize creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, presentation and demonstration, problem solving, research and inquiry, and career readiness.

The second, more challenging question is, How will we teach these new standards? For several years, the winds of change have been howling in one direction, pointing educators toward greater focus on depth rather than coverage, thinking rather than memorizing or listing, and demonstrating and performing rather than "hand it in and grade it." With 46 states endorsing the Common Core State Standards and half of those planning for full implementation in the next three years, we've moved into hurricane status. Quite soon, we'll land on a distant, unknown shore. Teachers will have to teach differently.

States and professional development organizations recognize that the kind of transformative professional preparation necessary to meet the challenge of teaching the new standards is not yet in place. But for those teachers and schools who want to jump-start the process, I suggest a solution is in place: use project-based learning (PBL).

First, I refer to high-quality PBL, as outlined in a recent post. Successful implementation of the new standards will require innovative best practices that persuade and prepare students to engage in thoughtful problem solving, as well as encourage better performance through more sophisticated, broad-based assessments. PBL, done well, accomplishes those goals. But old-style "projects" won't come close.

The Six Moving Parts

There is an overriding reason that the Common Core State Standards will challenge our professional capability as educators: Teaching inquiry and skillful problem solving is not a simple change of strategy to, let's say, favoring one reading method over another. Instead, success relies on shifting a number of teaching practices simultaneously. When aligned, these practices act synergistically to activate a student's desire to learn, support growth over time, invite deeper engagement, and stimulate the reflective and critical faculties-often in a team-based, collective environment-that lead to superior solutions and analysis.

I call these shifts the six "moving parts" of PBL. They help meet the goals of the Common Core State Standards in the following ways:

1. Moving from instruction to inquiry. More than ever, curriculum will now start with questions rather than the delivery of information. Subject matter is important, but teachers will now need to know how to apply knowledge through designing a problem-solving process. PBL teachers begin by posing a significant challenge to students and capturing the challenge in a manageable problem statement or driving question. The question frames the project; the problem sets the solution process into motion. Choosing and crafting a suitable problem requires experience, curiosity, and passion, as well as thorough knowledge of the discipline.

2. Balancing knowledge and skills. The Common Core State Standards rebalance the equation between content and skills. In every subject, the emphasis is now on a blend of knowing/doing and learning/demonstrating, in which students apply what they know and demonstrate mastery of 21st century skills, such as presentation and collaboration. This shift changes expectations for student mastery, rearranges assessments and grading systems, and relies on coaching students (more on that in a minute) for better performance. These represent the core skill set for PBL teachers and are backed by a well-developed set of PBL tools.

3. Going deep. Deep thinking sounds good in theory but takes time, making it problematic in the context of a 48-minute period or a 180-day school year. Deep thinking also conflicts with current testing requirements, which do not reward insight and analysis. PBL approaches this challenge by assessing fewer standards (the goal of the Common Core), using a variety of proven thinking tools, and designing a controlled process that helps students focus their thinking on the driving question.

4. Teaching teamwork. The Common Core State Standards identify collaboration and teamwork as a 21st century skill to be taught. This is laudable, but something bigger is under way. As the outside world shows us, we're moving into a collaborative culture of continuous learning within networked communities. The Common Core State Standards implicitly recognize this fact, but PBL teachers give it life in the classroom by using team contracts, peer collaboration rubrics, and work ethic rubrics to turn group work into effective teams. This guidance is a necessity for a curriculum that emphasizes problem solving and inquiry, now generally done in the real world in project teams.

5. Establishing a culture of inquiry. This moving part determines the fate of a project in a PBL classroom-and it will be central to the success of the Common Core State Standards. The challenge can be stated simply: When you're no longer standing in front of the room, giving instruction, it's hard to be in charge. And, when you're implementing problem solving and inquiry, you're usually not standing in front of the room. The only way to remain in charge (and sane) is to teach students how to take charge of themselves, to respect the inquiry process, and to become self-directed learners. This requires time, patience, a dose of psychology, and a careful blend of assessments and tools that promote the development of self-awareness, respect, self-control, and other attributes of a functioning community. PBL has led the way in developing and using these tools.

6. Blending coaching with teaching. Finally, high-quality PBL demands coaching skills as well as teaching skills. In PBL, a teacher often works shoulder to shoulder with students, giving them feedback, questioning them, and urging them on to the next level of achievement. It is a collaborative, communal form of teaching and learning that requires good listening, appropriate praise, and focused criticism. The same will be true of the Common Core State Standards.

Thom Markham is a psychologist and author of the Project Based Learning Design and Coaching Guide: Expert Tools for Inquiry and Innovation for K-12 Educators, and the forthcoming book, Redefining Smart: The Return of the Heart. Download tools for project-based learning on his website, www.thommarkham.com, or contact him by e-mail at thom@thommarkham.com.

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Project-Based Learning and Common Core Standards - Whole Child Education

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The first question about Common Core State Standards, What will they look like?, has been answered. The answer is: Very different. The internationally benchmarked standards will emphasize creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, presentation and demonstration, problem solving, research and inquiry, and career readiness. The second, more challenging question is, How will we teach these new standards?

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Tyler Graff is the incoming principal at the Claire Lilienthal alternative school in San Francisco Unified.

Previously, he was principal of Stevenson Elementary, a public school in Mountain View, where he kicked off a project-based learning initiative in 2012.

In project-based learning, students work on a complex problem or topic that often incorporates working as a team and involves a student presentation of work. At Graff's school, the program started as a pilot and expanded each year.

Graff earned his bachelor's degree and multiple subjects teaching credential from California State University, Chico. He earned his master's degree in school leadership at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

In late June, EdSource asked Graff about what he learned working with teachers and students using this approach.
Why do you use project-based learning at your public elementary school?
Not only do student attitudes about learning improve as they engage in project-based learning, students retain the information they're taught on a deeper level. When done well, it helps students with the soft skills of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking that many colleges and employers are looking for. Students are able to comprehend, apply, and retain the content knowledge taught while developing the 21st Century Skills that the Common Core Standards ask of teachers and students.
Give an example of a project that worked well at your school. What made it succeed? How did you know?
Our second- and third-grade combination class took a deep look into local school board elections. During the project, students interviewed the candidates, researched the topics the board would be voting on, wrote letters, created pamphlets, and registered voters. It was clear that the project was successful from talking with the students. They were able to articulate their views on the issues and which candidates they would vote for and why. Students learned a lot about interviewing and writing in addition to social studies components linked to our local community. The writing and knowledge that was produced through the course of this project certainly met the curriculum standards, and our students became meaningfully engaged in their community.

California institute takes lead in promoting project-based learning
How does project-based learning fit in with the priorities of Common Core?
Project-based learning and the Common Core are a natural fit. At our school, this was one of the core ways we started to address the new standards. What comes to mind first for me are close reading, application of knowledge, and critical thinking. In project-based learning, students need to research, read, take notes, and synthesize information, exactly what the Common Core asks students to do. In both cases, students need to think critically about and apply knowledge from their learning. This happens in both language arts and mathematics.
What do schools and districts need to know before they start a project-based learning initiative and what's a good entry point for projects and training?
Done well, project-based learning requires an extensive amount of professional development, time, and reflection. This is not an initiative that you can purchase to turn a school around; it's really a shift in the way content is presented. That takes time. In my experience, teachers tend to thrive with professional learning experiences that give the big picture first, then drill down in the details of how each element of the project works. For instance, a group of teachers interested in implementing project-based learning might do a multi-day training looking at the entire scope and sequence of a project by experiencing one themselves. From there, they'd spend time learning about how to create a culture of critique in the classroom, how to successfully facilitate group work, student presentations, and more. Using a cycle of learning, implementing, and refining with each of these elements will lead to high-quality project-based learning.
What advice do you have for schools just starting out?
As we all know, the number one indicator of student success at the school site is the quality of the teacher. With that said, it's important that you find the funding and time to allow teachers to learn, experiment, struggle, and refine their practice.

I would caution any administrator not to move too quickly through this process. Deeper learning takes time! This is true for students in the classroom and adult learners. At our elementary school, we decided to do a school-wide roll out (14 classrooms) of one project per year for the first three years. It wasn't until our third year that we started doing Exhibition Nights. Depending on the staff culture, it might be smart to have a grade level or group of teachers pilot project-based learning for a year or two before moving to a whole scale approach. Ultimately, each school and district is different. Taking the needs of your staff into account before creating a strategic plan will ensure project-based learning initiatives will take root and thrive.
If you have any questions about how to implement project-based learning in your school or district, please reach out to me at tyler.graff@gmail.com.

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'Project-based learning and Common Core are a natural fit'

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Tyler Graff is the incoming principal at the Claire Lilienthal alternative school in San Francisco Unified. Previously, he was principal of Stevenson Elementary, a public school in Mountain View, where he kicked off a project-based learning initiative in 2012.

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I talk with many teachers who would like to include project-based learning in their classrooms, but just don't know how they can fit it in with everything else they are expected to do. I am definitely sympathetic to this-the number and array of demands on school time in the U.S. is unprecedented. At the same time, I hate for students and teachers to miss out on the many motivational and educational benefits of project-based learning. So here are some suggestions for making time for project-based learning:

1) Consider whether a project could address the same standards as an existing unit. Perhaps the next chapter in the social studies text, the next unit of study in English Language Arts, or the next set of science kits could be replaced by or included as part of a project. For example, a project in which students research an endangered animal and write letters to persuade businesses and other organizations to protect them could address Common Core State Standards Writing Standards 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 as well as some standards for Reading Informational Text-this is much more than is typically addressed in a traditional Writers' Workshop over that same period of time.

2) Take a little bit of time from multiple disciplines. I recently saw a project led by second-grade teacher Eugene Thompson in which students were designing and making water bottle holders to hang on the sides of their flip-top desks so their water bottles wouldn't roll around, spill, or fall. This project incorporated math (measurement), science (engineering), social studies (they visited a factory and studied how things are made), art (they decorated the water bottle holders), literacy (they wrote how-to texts for other students on how to make them), and various skills related to planning, collaboration, and so on. This teacher could justify taking a little time from each of these disciplines (e.g., 10 minutes from math, 20 minutes from science) that, when put together, provide enough time for the project. One of the benefits of project-based learning is that it often involves multiple disciplines. We can take advantage of that feature when looking for time for PBL.

3) Eliminate classroom activities with little evidence of effectiveness. Consider the yesterday was . . . today is . . . tomorrow will be calendar activity I see in so many classrooms. Ask yourselves, if it's February, and children are still unclear on what yesterday was, today is, and tomorrow will be, is this an effective activity? And if they are clear, do we still need to do this? Indeed, a great way to make room for project-based learning is to take a hard look at the way each minute in the day is used. In a recent book, Beth Brinkerhoff and Alysia Roehrig suggest looking for "time wasters" that lurk in your classroom. We need to keep a special eye out for practices that have long been used in schools, but actually don't work very well, at least as far as we can tell from research. For example, giving students a list of vocabulary words and asking them to look them up in the dictionary and/or write a sentence is less effective than any other approach to vocabulary instruction to which it has been compared. Teaching vocabulary in the context of a rich and compelling project, such as one in which students develop brochures about their state to distribute at the state tourism office, in the process learning terms such as climate, landforms, population, crops, landmark, and migration, is likely to be much more effective.

4) Make an argument to administrators. Sometimes you are required to use materials or engage in practices that you believe are less powerful than project-based learning is likely to be. In these situations, consider making an argument to your administrator to forgo the required work for a period of time in favor of a project. You will likely need to demonstrate that the project addresses much of the same content and that you will continue to align with standards and incorporate explicit instruction. You may need to share some research on project based learning as well. If you manage to convince your administrator to allow you to try a project, be sure to invite him or her into your classroom to see the project in action, and share student work samples that demonstrate learning. Before you know it, your administrator may be asking you to do more PBL!

It's hard work to find time for PBL, but I think you'll find it's worth it. My best to you as you experience the power of projects!

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How Do We Make Time for Project-Based Learning?

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I talk with many teachers who would like to include project-based learning in their classrooms, but just don't know how they can fit it in with everything else they are expected to do. I am definitely sympathetic to this-the number and array of demands on school time in the U.S.

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The true focus of PBL is encouraging students to engage in inquiry, explore real-world contexts, and share their learning with others. In the examples below, every teacher achieves these goals while still meeting curriculum requirements and without sacrificing an abundance of class time. While PBL may seem daunting, these teachers prove that it is more attainable and manageable than initially perceived.

Coming Out of Hibernation

With spring approaching, Meghan Zigmond's first grade class began to explore the concept of hibernation. She wanted her students to engage in the inquiry process, make a personal connection to the content, and then showcase their learning. To kick off this event, they read Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner and then started asking questions like, "How do animals sleep so long?"

To support their learning, and to get them to conduct some independent research, Meghan combined a series of books at an appropriate reading level with a ThingLink of multimedia resources.

Students wrote and drew to capture their thinking and then ultimately shared their learning by creating short videos that Meghan could post to her blog. While the reading and note taking occurred over several days, the focus in Meghan's class was on the process of asking questions and then constructing understanding -- not on a massive project. In fact, most of their final videos were under 20 seconds.

Inquiry in the Middle School Math Class

"Why do we have to know this?" is a common question in math classes. Unfortunately, students often don't have an opportunity to see math "in the wild." Instead, they repeatedly work through textbook problems and then progress to the next disparate set of skills.

In Kyle Pearce's classroom, however, students engage in 4-Part Math:

1. Minds On: Warm-up activity to review previous knowledge

2. Inquiry: Discovery challenge for the day rooted in real-world context

3. Connections: Share solutions and ideas

4. Consolidate: Apply context to "textbook"-type problems

Each class period progresses through this four-part process with a heavy focus on inquiry. Rather than force students to work through a problem absent from a real-world situation, Kyle engages them in discovery challenges that require them to apply prior knowledge and construct new understanding so that "they will ultimately 'bump into' the learning goal along the way."

Each day builds on the discoveries of the previous one, allowing Kyle's students to consistently tackle increasingly complex problems.

As Heather Wolpert-Gawron writes, "PBL doesn't ask you to replace your content. It asks that you create a vehicle in which to communicate your content." In Kyle's classes, students not only gain the requisite mathematical knowledge, but also valuable experience in applying their understanding to the world around them.

Teaching the World

For Jodie Deinhammer, it all started with a simple question: "How can we help improve our world?" Her anatomy students recognized that children have an innate desire to learn, but not always the opportunity. With that in mind, they began creating iTunes U courses and iBooks to teach other kids. This year, her students are collaborating with classes in New Zealand, Kentucky, and Minnesota to tackle this challenge.

Jodie uses PBL as a framework to guide the overall planning of her course. On the first day of school, she has no actual lesson plans -- only goals, objectives, and hopes. She uses her students' interests and questions to guide and modify the topics that she needs to address in accordance with the TEKs. They engage in inquiry, discussion, collaboration, and sharing. Throughout the year, students create components of these larger endeavors in manageable pieces and share them through a class portfolio as well as their iTunes U courses -- all while meeting the prescribed Texas state standards.

"Fitting In" PBL

Chris Lehmann, founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy, has often said, "If you assign a project and get back 30 of the exact same thing, that's not a project, that's a recipe." With 20+ cookie-cutter rocket ships staring her in the face, Christine Boyer realized that she needed a new approach to her Rocket Project. Rather than have every student use the same template to create the same rocket with the same materials, she challenged her students to build a better rocket.

Over eight weeks, her students researched Isaac Newton and rocket design, iterated and tested, documented and reflected. They learned physics, data analysis, nonfiction narrative writing, design thinking, and collaboration. As Christine says at the start of the documentary of her project, "We assign kids things because we want them to get through the curriculum, but what we really want is for them to become innovative thinkers."

LIFTOFF TO LEARNING from Ralph King, Hawkview Pictures on Vimeo.

As each of these teachers have illustrated, at the heart of PBL lies the power to engage students in meaningful inquiry and immerse them in real-world context. When it becomes a lens through which to view curriculum, it can be a powerful strategy to help students make meaningful connections to their learning -- and it fits in with the curriculum.

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The true focus of PBL is encouraging students to engage in inquiry, explore real-world contexts, and share their learning with others. In the examples below, every teacher achieves these goals while still meeting curriculum requirements and without sacrificing an abundance of class time.