Project-Based Learning: Eat Your Veggies!

Yesterday was an "early dismissal" day in our district. Translation: Professional development time for teachers! Woo! Hoo! If we keep getting better, our students will keep getting better.

A learning focus for us at WMS is Project/Inquiry-Based Learning. Why? Because we know it creates powerful, meaningful learning experiences for our students. Sure, we will eventually be required to deliver instruction via project-based learning because of looming expectations from the state. While other states have a mandated curriculum for all districts in the state to deliver, the state of Iowa has taken it one step further. Not only will our Department of Ed require the "what" of instruction; they will also require the "how." The Iowa Core brings together a curriculum of subjects infused with 21st Century Skills and puts it into action with project-based learning. The go-getters with whom I work didn't want to sit around and wait to be told what to do. In fact, a year ago when a group of teachers came forward and said, "Jill, we need to bring this (PBL) to our school," they had no idea that PBL would eventually be the talk of the Iowa Core. That's right - I just work with really good teachers who don't settle for the status quo!

So here we are...learning together and creating buy-in among our staff on this very important work. Intrinsic motivation lifts the barriers to learning and growing, unlike being made to do something by a force of power. Funny, this brings to mind my daughter who walks into our kitchen and asks, "Mommy, may I please have some spinach?" As I watch her open the refrigerator and help herself to a spinach salad, I'm grateful that she has bought into the idea that dark green veggies are good for her. It sure makes our family time at the dinner table much more enjoyable and much less argumentative!

So there you have it: Project-based learning is the spinach of all learning! Yesterday afternoon, my 7th grade colleagues and I ate spinach. As we have been preparing for a building wide PBL unit for all 7th graders, we spent the afternoon actively engaged in our own project-based learning. In a previous staff development session a couple weeks ago, we began our PBL work on the topic of chocolate, and we started by silently recording and then sharing our personal memories of chocolate. Next, we wrote down everything we knew about chocolate. After "webbing" what we know and categorizing into topics, we developed guiding questions. What more do we want to know about chocolate? The list went on and on!!! (Take note: Any theme or topic will work. We chose chocolate for our first PBL activity because everyone has background knowledge / experiences / memories of chocolate. And let me just say, if you DON'T have memories of chocolate, you have missed out on one of life's greatest gifts!)

Fast forward to yesterday: Our learning facilitators divided us into small groups according to our chocolate interests, and then we honed in on what we wanted to know about our particular topic. The members in my small group and I were intrigued by "marketing." What did we want to know about the marketing of chocolate? The essential questions we developed guided our research. No slackers allowed! In other words, nobody can leave the spinach just sitting on his/her plate! Our learning facilitators did a fabulous job of holding all of us accountable by walking around and asking questions such as, "What is YOUR role?...What are YOU contributing to your group?" When we gathered and analyzed our research, we created "representations of our learning." WOW, was this ever cool!!! Would you believe that of all of our groups, not one of them was a paper/pencil test??? No two "representations of learning" were alike!

While we crammed our chocolate activity into a 4-hour period (something that typically takes 3-4 weeks), it sure helped us to see how everything is connected. We can now visualize PBL from beginning to end because we EXPERIENCED it. We ate our veggies.

If we eat our veggies, we understand the value of them, and we want our loved ones to eat veggies, too...

What happens when we don't eat our veggies? We feel lethargic. Inattentive. Stale. Unmotivated. Tired. Blah. And...someone is using their "power" to direct us to eat our vegetables. It's all about them and THEIR agenda. What happens when we're not experiencing Project/Inquiry-Based Learning? We feel lethargic. Inattentive. Stale. Unmotivated. (Or, at best, extrinsically motivated.) Tired. Blah. And...someone is using their "power" to direct us to learn. It's all about them and their agenda. They're just trying to "cover the curriculum."

What happens when we DO eat our veggies? We are healthy. We feel good. We're engaged in life. We have energy to keep going. What happens when we are experiencing Project/Inquiry-Based Learning? We are healthy. We feel good. We're engaged in life. We have energy to keep going. We want to keep learning. And learning. And learning. The teacher is the guide who is facilitating our discovery as we "UNcover the curriculum."

At WMS, we want our students to eat their veggies.

Veggies are at the core of 21st Century Skills. I'm thinking of the 6 C's as described by Angela Maiers: Content analysis, Collaborate, Create, Communicate, Courage, Contribute. Yes!!!
- Veggies (aka Project/Inquiry-Based Learning) empower students to analyze CONTENT.
- Veggies empower students to COLLABORATE.
- Veggies empower students to CREATE.
- Veggies empower students to COMMUNICATE.
- Veggies empower students to be COURAGEOUS.
- Veggies empower students to CONTRIBUTE.

And just when you thought it couldn't get any better....our 6th grade teachers have raided the refrigerator, and they're eating veggies, too.