Drawing on Student Experts

A classroom visit from a guest speaker is a time-honored way to kick off a project. Ideally, the guest will spark curiosity about the subject in which he or she has expertise. Sometimes, guests are so passionate about their topic that students are similarly infected, in a good way, and ready to dive into an inquiry project.
But how often do we invite students to fill the role of guest expert?
A program called eXpressions, designed and funded by the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, taps student expertise with powerful results. The goal of this ambitious effort is to expand the pipeline of students preparing for careers across the health services spectrum, from nursing to research to medicine. A cornerstone of the project is a student research internship during the summer. But that's just the start. What makes eXpressions stand out from other STEM initiatives is the addition of arts and creative writing to the equation. Once summer scholars complete their research, they present their findings to art students--who then take up the challenge of interpreting science through the arts.
I go into more detail in this Edutopia post, but the two images above offer a hint of the creativity that this project is unleashing. At right is summer scholar Charles Hayes's project about patients' experiences with blood transfusions. At left is artist Kate Humphrey's interpretation of that research in an intricately woven piece of wearable art. As she explains in her artist statement, "I almost wanted my dress to seem pained and exhausted from giving and receiving blood so often, like it had been pricked by a cold medical syringe one too many times and was wary from the whole experience."
I'm willing to bet that both students came away with a deep understanding of the related science content, as well as a new appreciation for each other's ways of understanding the world.

Choose Your Own (PBL) Adventure

Jane recently described the travel metaphors we like to use in professional development settings where we’re introducing teachers to project-based learning. We advise travelers who are new to PBL that they may encounter some turbulence and occasional detours ahead, but also unanticipated wonders.

This week I happened to read two dispatches from thoughtful teachers who are on quite different journeys with project-based learning. One is moving full-steam-ahead, teaching core content through challenging projects. She seems to have good support from colleagues and coaches. The other, restricted by a test-prep school culture, is making side trips into PBL—but only with only some students, and only some of the time.

Shelley Wright, high school teacher in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, writes a series of posts to describe how an ambitious Holocaust museum project has unfolded. Part 1 describes her decision to “take the plunge” and part company with familiar teaching practices. (Spoiler alert: There’s no yellow brick road. Doubts emerge. But courage and patience win the day.) In Part 2, initially wary students warm up to their new role as creators; our traveler gets more comfortable in her new role as co-learner. She reports, “To be honest, this project is so interesting, I want to be part of it. I want to help make and design it, and I’ve never had that impulse while teaching before.” In Part 3, empowered students race the clock to prepare their museum exhibits for a showcase event. Shelley comes up for air long enough to offer three nuggets of wisdom that are guiding her PBL journey: improvise, learn the hard way, and don’t regret.

Steven Davis is in his tenth year teaching high school English in an urban setting in northern California. In a guest post on Larry Cuban’s blog, Steven describes the learning that is happening not during regular class time, but instead through less formal experiences before school and during lunch. That’s when he invites a group of students who are English language learners to take part in hands-on activities. These aren’t full-blown projects, but they give students time and opportunity to experience things like curiosity and persistence. As he considers what students are gaining from learning to use a soldering iron or assemble electronic kits, Steven reflects, “The project has been less about teaching than it has been about providing students with mentoring, tools, and the setting in which they can learn for themselves.” He ends by considering, “Who knows where project-based learning experiences will lead?”

Sounds like more PBL adventures await. More postcards, please!

New Guide to Assessing Projects

Just published by Edutopia, this new classroom guide focuses on strategies and tools for assessing projects. Download a free copy here and then help grow the conversation by sharing your own favorite suggestions for making assessment meaningful in PBL.
And, thanks to colleagues who shared resources and suggestions!

Our Journeys

Before taking a trip each of us considers what we want to experience. If only subconsciously, we also filter our choices based on the kinds of travelers we are. What kind are you? Do you prefer the certainty of a detailed itinerary and guided tour? Or, are you an experienced through-the-back-door wanderer? Let’s think about professional learning as a journey and see how getting oriented can affect the success of anyone’s “trip.”

I do quite a bit of professional development around project-based learning (PBL) and technology. Whether learning groups are focused on PBL, technology integration or any other change effort, most are comprised of folks with a range of abilities, from novice to expert. Over the past few years I’ve found it helpful to start workshops by asking folks what kind of traveler they are in relation to the learning journey ahead. My colleague and coauthor Suzie Boss came up with the traveler metaphor and a range of descriptors. Think about a topic of your current professional learning. What kind of traveler are you?

Armchair tourist: Curious from afar, need to know more

Tenderfoot: Setting out on that first journey, ready to try new things

Explorer: Used to stepping out, ready for new frontiers

Scout: A seasoned traveler who can show others the way

These identifiers, in contrast to “novice” or “expert” imply movement, or growth. A tenderfoot traveling even a short distance may be taking a more profound journey than a seasoned explorer or scout.

Once I ask folks to self-identify and we establish the composition of the group, I can begin to differentiate instruction for the learning ahead. Participants benefit from knowing the composition of the group, too. It’s comforting for any learner to know he is one of an acknowledged group whose needs will be addressed.

During a workshop, just as you do in your classroom every day, I form small groups, assign peer teachers, and customize activities based on individual needs or strengths of the group.

At the end of our time together we revisit the “traveler” types and I recommend differentiated steps to take beyond the workshop. I’ll leave you with an example from a recent project-based learning workshop in San Francisco.

Armchair Tourist

Keep reading and observing

– Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age, authors Jane Krauss, Suzie Boss

– PBL Handbook, Buck Institute for Education

– Edutopia Project-based Learning site: www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning

– Understanding by Design, authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

Tenderfoot

Join a well-designed project

– Cornell Labs Citizen Science www.birds.cornell.edu/citsci

– Pennies for Peace, an international service-learning project www.penniesforpeace.org

– iEARN global network of projects www.iearn.org

– The My Hero Project – http://www.myhero.com

Explorer

Expand beyond your classroom, find partners

– Classroom 2.0 www.classroom20.com

– Edutopia PBL Group www.edutopia.org/groups/project-based-learning

– ePals www.epals.com

– Global Education Collaborative http://globaleducation.ning.com

– Global SchoolNet www.globalschoolnet.org

Scout

Build buzz and go to scale

– Buzz-builders: Twitter, blogs, Facebook

– Alert the media!

– Invite others to join your projects

– Share your wisdom through webinars, conferences, formal or ad hoc PLCs

You and your colleagues might not be studying PBL, but try the “traveler” metaphor on for size with any learning initiative of which you are part. How might you use it to look for differentiated learning opportunities?

If It's January...

...it must be time for a trip to Philly.
Jane and I have been regulars at EduCon for the past three years. What makes it worth the cross-country trip, during an especially harsh winter, are equal parts conversation and camaraderie. It all takes place under the welcoming tent of the Science Leadership Academy, a remarkable public high school that embraces inquiry and project-based learning. I blog about a few session highlights in this post for Edutopia.
One evening during this year's visit to Philly, we walked past an imposing landmark. Eastern State Penitentiary, a hulking Gothic fortress, doesn't look very hospitable, especially at night. But it revolutionized the prison system when it opened in 1829. With central heating, an exercise yard, and separate cells for individual inmates, it offered a more humane model of incarceration that emphasized reform over punishment. Visitors from around the world apparently came to Philly to see it in action, and hundreds exported the model to their communities.
I couldn't help thinking that Philadelphia now offers the world another institution that inspires imitation. This time around, it's a school instead of a prison. Can the successful model of SLA be replicated in other states, or even in other neighborhoods in Philadelphia? How can other communities learn from SLA's example but still create a school that's uniquely theirs? That's a conversation worth having--and not just once a year.

Echos of the Past

Yesterday I enjoyed a virtual tour of Rainbow Bridge National Monument, led by Ranger Doug Crispin. Through the magic of repeat photography we "walked" in the footsteps of the Cummings-Douglas discovery party and their native guides Nasja Begay and Jim Mike.

Repeat photography is a method by which an older photo is photographed in the scene it originally captured. An example explains it better than words.

1955 Flood and present day - Maitland, NWS Australia

used with limited rights - Nomad Tales/Flickr

In honor of the centennial of the RBNM, an adventurous group (including the grandson of one of that earliest party) attempted to trace the original route to Natural Bridges, a 19-mile excursion through treacherous Utah scrubland. How could they find the long-lost route the party took when they "discovered" the monument? The answer lay in the photographs the Cummings-Douglas party took to document their travels in 1909. As they ventured out, the 2009 travelers examined the old photos for clues. A gap in a rock, the alignment of a canyon with the peak of a distant mountain, all kinds of physical evidence guided their way. The centennial party documented their own travels, photographing the old photos against the landscape, capturing pictures in pictures. That's repeat photography!

Imagine the investigations kids could make into natural and human environments! Causal relationships, physical landmarks and perspective, photography, human impact, change over time... Imagine how seeking answers to questions about our dynamic world could be more meaningful with repeat photography.

Interested in seeing more, learning tips for repeat photography? My web scan for photos-in-photos and methods didn't yield much. The best examples I've seen so far are Ranger Doug's. The best advice for repeat photography comes from University of Texas instructor Craig Campbell's photography course.

I found some photos I'd like to rephotograph here in my hometown. I look forward to investigating the possibilities. Stay tuned!

Designing for Change

In this TED talk, designer and innovator Emily Pilloton shares her big ideas about using design thinking to transform a rural school and the surrounding community of Bertie County, North Carolina. Pilloton does more than talk about the power of good design. She has moved her nonprofit design shop, Studio H, from San Francisco to Bertie County and become a certified teacher so that she can work directly with high school students. During the coming year, they will begin building student-designed projects--such as bus shelters or a farmer's market site--to improve their impoverished community.
The video is worth a watch for many reasons, not least of which is Pilloton's passion for this initiative. It's also a good conversation-starter about how schools work--and how they could work better, especially in places that are short on creative capital.
If the video leaves you eager to learn more about design thinking and the role it can play in K-12 education, take a look at the K-12 Laboratory at Stanford University's Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. This Edutopia article offers more information about learning through active problem-solving.

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