TRAVAILS AND TRIUMPHS ALONG OUR JOURNEY: CRAFTING INTEGRATED PBL UNITS WITH COMMON CORE STANDARDS

Presented by Collegiate American School, Middle School TeamNate Menard, Melody Traylor, Janet Bailey, Michelle & Robert Haag

for the 3rd KDSL MENA Common Core Conference Oct. 2015

Stirring Up Action

As you come in, look through the newspaper clippings.

Choose something that you think might stir students to want to take action.

Be prepared to share your thoughts…

A Middle School for Real Life

Taylor Mali inspires us.Perfect Middle Schoolhttps://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/the-perfect-middle-school

We had Goals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uxk5d3BUJM

Revolution- Save us, Save our World

We want to make learning relevant memorable

connected

We want to inspire our students to take action

We need to work with the Standards

Step 1. Be Inspired, Be Passionate

Our circumstances drive us: We heard calls for student citizenship from C3, Common

Core, National Geographic and Social Action forums. We were ready to craft curriculum from Common Core,

NGSS and AERO standards with basic texts and materials.Several teachers are involved in studies & graduate work.We are exploring new Frameworks for Social Studies: Art.CAS has a middle school of about 100 students from 60

different countries. Students know each other well. We knew we needed to change the way our students

were learning. So we jumped in…

Step 2. Research and Learn

We researched about PBL and Middle School Integration. For example, BIE tells us Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. Essential Project Design Elements include:Key Knowledge, Understanding, and Success Skills - Focus on student learning goals, including standards-based content and skills Challenging Problem or Question - The project is framed by a meaningful problem to solve or a question to answer, at the appropriate level.Sustained Inquiry - Students engage in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, finding resources, and applying information.Authenticity - Real-world context, tasks or impact – or students’ personal concerns.Student Voice & Choice - Students make some decisions about the project, including how they work and what they create.Reflection - Students and teachers reflect on learning and effectiveness..Critique & Revision - Students give, receive, and use feedback.Public Product - Students make their project work public by explaining, displaying and/or presenting it to people beyond the classroom.

Then Research and Learn Some More

Edutopia gives us these steps for implementing PBL:

Start with the Essential Question Design a Plan for the Project Create a Schedule Monitor the Students and the Progress of the Project Assess the Outcome Evaluate the Experience

Designing Essential Questions

Essential Questions are BIG ideas, relevant and able to frame a unit across disciplines.

In 30 years, this is what the student should remember.

In grade 8 we chose:

What is the tipping point for revolutions to occur?

Step 3: Design the Project

We found lots of ideas for projects BIE (Buck Institute for Education)

PBL Superhighway Roger Taylor Integrated Units IMP Integrated Math Projects National Geographic

Examples: Producing a play about the plight of child soldiers Writing to the city about an unfair ordinance Creating a way to heat water for refugees Developing a concert with Skype pals Making a trash sculpture

Middle School Unit Themes

Grade Level Choices

Integrated Curriculum Plan

We Introduced our Unit

What Integrated Expectations

What Integrated Projects look like

Begin with what is relevant to students and important for them to experience.

Using the NGSS and AERO and other standards…1. choose an essential question2. brainstorm what students might come up with for Action Projects3. Work with your group to align content and complement skills across curricular areas

Your Turn to Create

Realize that what you learned is not as much help to you as you hoped and the real learning comes from doing this work!

Help us by discussing what the pitfalls are and how we can all work better to learn from our missteps.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-role-shift-to-ccss-sara-hallermann

Step 4. Assess the Outcome and Rethink Everything you Learned

Steps 5-100 Be Passionate

This process is frustrating, difficult and time consuming. It won’t come out the way we want it in the first year.

We are passionate and committed to creating meaningful, integrated units for student learning and action.

We will get it right!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuNQgln6TL0

Steve Jobs on Passion and Success

BIE Buck Institute for Education

http://bie.org/object/document/pbl_common_core_and_nextgen_standardsASCD- http://www.ascd.org/professional-development/webinars/andrew-miller-webinar.aspx

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-role-shift-to-ccss-sara-hallermann

http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-implementation

ttps://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/part-5-14-amazing-project-sites-a-stem-pbl-common-core-series-a-goldmine-of-resources/

http://bie.org/objects/cat/videos

PBL Superhighway https://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/the-pbl-super-highway-over-45-links-to-great-project-based-learning/

http://dmfa3ba8wpnh6.cloudfront.net/00/000147887cd534a7df9b7cbe030000/file/122463-CCSS_PBL_Handout_3_8_Essentials.pdf

Resources