Problem Based Learning

Understanding what this engaging teaching method is all about, and how to guide students through a PBL project.

Whitney Kreiling –Pine Ridge Elementary kreilingw@lake.k12.fl.us

Session Plan1. Learn about/discuss Problem Based

Learning using the PowerPoint.2. I’ll share an actual project.10 minute break

3. In teams of 3 or 4, you will plan a “mock” PBL project.

10 minute break

4. Teams share their “mock” PBL.

Can you answer any of these questions with a “Yes”?

Are you looking for a way to make your students more involved and less passive?

Have you been working on ramping up collaborative structures in your classroom?

Are you already good at using collaborative structures and you’re ready to take it to the next level?

Do you worry that your students find some abstract topics boring or irrelevant to their lives?

Are you truly interested in preparing your kids for college and career?

Do you embrace the idea that standards-based instruction means you can use different methods to teach those standards?

Do you want to provide more opportunities for students to use technology in meaningful ways?

Are you ready to learn WITH your students?

Then you’re ready to try PBL!

21st Century Skills1.  Critical Thinking and Problem Solving2.  Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence3.  Agility and Adaptability4.  Initiative and Entrepreneurialism5.  Effective Oral and Written Communication6.  Accessing and Analyzing Information7.  Curiosity and Imagination 

* From "The Global Achievement Gap," by Tony Wagner, Perseus Books Group, 2010

What PBL Is and What It’s NotPBL is……Student drivenInquiry basedSustained workCross-curricularCollaborativeComplex and rigorous

Concluded with a public product

PBL is not….. Teacher directed Fact driven Done in one or two

days One subject area Individual One solution to a

problem A product presented in

class

The Role of the Teacher in PBL

bie.org

Before you beginIdentify a topic area or standard that you feel

isn’t adequately addressed using more traditional instructional materials like textbooks.

Or, identify a real world problem that affects your students, the school, and the larger community

Think about what other areas of the curriculum could be used in a project regarding that main topic area or standard.

Identify all the standards that will be addressed in the PBL.

Set up the space; build the culture!

Components of a true PBL

bie.org

Let’s get started!

1. Driving Question The MOST IMPORTANT part of any PBL!

Writing a Driving QuestionDriving Questions place students in a ROLE as it relates to the central problem in the PBL. Centralproblems may be concrete or abstract.Here are some examples:“How can we, as responsible citizens, design and operate a business that will contribute to our community?” (Economics standards)“How can we, as influential American patriots, convinceKing George of our need to be an independentnation? (Celebrate Freedom Week mandate)“How can we, as biologists in the Everglades, convince the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to acknowledge the new species we believe we have found?” (Life Science standards)

More Examples

How can we, as students of Palm Tree Elementary, make administrators, parents and stakeholders understandthe importance of recess?”

How can we, as students of Pine Ridge Elementary, make it possible for students living in the “walk zone” to walk or ride a bike safely to school? ***

Driving Question Template

How can I (we) as ______________________(role)

change (fix, solve, help, better understand, decide) the problem of ______________________

(action taken)and become ________________________________?

(real world context)

2. Entry Event!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Entry Event ExamplesField tripsGuest speakersEngineering or STEM challengesYou do something in first person characterPerformances or really cool videosFirst hand exposure to a problemThere are endless ways to “hook” students

and make them interested in the project in which they’ll be participating .

3. Students begin Inquiry/Research Inquiry in a PBL is not just looking something

up in a book or on the internet. Because the students are doing the “driving”, and because the Driving Question represents a COMPLEX problem, we have to plan for several sessions allotted to inquiry or research.

Because the inquiry or research is being done by a small group, students have to continually collaborate to decide WHO will do WHAT. Ask me about “mini-lessons”!

Facilitating PBL Inquiry/ResearchPut great thought into the groups you form before

ever beginning the PBL. Provide many different sources for groups to use when

researching. Make sure sources are suited to students’ abilities.Groups should decide the jobs of members and discuss

and assign them based on individual’s strengths and weaknesses.

Provide daily planning and reflection sheets for groups to keep track of how they’re doing with research.

4. Encourage Student Choice

Roles will naturally form within a group. Assumingeveryone is working well with those roles, you haveto be willing to let go and let the group find out answerson their own. In PBL, students are not followinga set of directions; instead they are investigating,discussing, and learning from one another. They willOWN the project!

5. Creating a ProductAfter several sessions of inquiry, research,

and note taking, students will need to discuss the type of product they feel will best reveal their conclusions to an audience.

You may provide several product options, or you might decide to leave this choice up to each group.

Writing is an essential part of PBL. You figure out how to incorporate it into your expected products.

Ask me about “mini-lessons!”

High Quality ProductsWhile products can take many forms, it is important that critique and

revision take place. Here are some examples of PBL products, but you should be open to

students coming up with different ways to present their findings and conclusions:

PowerPoints or other multi media presentations Videos Posters or presentation boards Murals, banners or timelines Skits, dialogues, or first person performances Models, dioramas, or engineering designs Charts and diagrams What else can you think of?

6. Culminating Event

AudienceAn essential component of PBL is having an

authentic audience, also called a “Public Product” Why?

Students are held to a higher standard The work the students have done becomes

“meaningful” and “real world” Feedback is usually positive It is more likely that solutions the students

propose will be taken seriously and acted upon.

AssessmentAssessment takes many forms during a PBL

project. Rubrics are important. They might be templates or rubrics which are tailored to the expectations of the project. Here are some examples of components you might assess:

Each group member’s collaborationThe group’s planning, reflection and communicationWritten componentsThe actual presentation

https://youtu.be/oYL_l1Ylkbc

Ok it’s good for students, but what about teachers?Here’s why you’ll love PBL from your

standpoint:Once you’ve planned the project, you will

notice that being a facilitator of collaborative student learning is a lot easier than directing every part of the project.

You’ll be astounded at the “light bulbs” going off around you and at the heightened student excitement.

You will be teaching multiple standards, from multiple subject areas which accomplishes many goals.

YOU will learn things you never knew!

Resources on Problem Based Learning:

bie.org Buck Institute for Education (BIE)

Now you try!

Driving Question:“How can I, as a student of ______________ Elementary School a citizen of Lake County, and a dweller on the planet Earth, help reduce the amount of waste produced by my school cafeteria?”

Your team’s PBL project should…..1. Identify standards2. Entry Event-What will it be? Who’s participating?3. Student inquiry/research-How will you facilitate it? (How you’ll group them, what materials and sources will be used, etc.?)4. Student choice-how will you encourage it and manage group dynamics?5. Creating Products-What types might your students come up with?6. Culminating Event/Public Product-What will yours be?

Group Sharing Time!

Aww, Mrs. (insert your name!),do we have to go back to using our reading book?

Can’t we do anotherPBL?

Please remember to complete the evaluation in

True North Logic (TNL).