Upper School history teacher Katie Piper answers five questions about project-based learning — a style of teaching used at Lakeside in which a meaningful, authentic project drives the learning.

 

Katie: Many of us may remember doing projects at school — they may have been posters or science fair displays. They may or may not have been true project-based learning, in which a meaningful, authentic project drives the learning, rather than being merely a fun activity at the end of a unit. The project should be designed around the main learning goals of a unit of study and be the “main course” in the classroom, not “dessert.”

 

Students are not necessarily engaged in the project every day in class, but the project should provide the “need to know” for what students must master about a topic or a skill. For instance, in order to engage in a mock Supreme Court hearing in my US History class, students needed to learn about how the first and second amendments of the Constitution have been interpreted over time by the Courts, how attorneys argue cases, and how justices question during oral argument, among other things. This allows students to understand the Constitution more deeply, and also understand why it is relevant in our lives today.

 

Katie: In my experience, most students enjoy PBL, however sometimes there is mild resistance from students who have been very successful in more traditional classrooms — who take good notes and can gain information from lectures. Those students may feel a lack of confidence about tasks that require unstructured problem-solving and perhaps some improvisation or creativity. They may feel they have school “figured out” and don’t enjoy having the rules switched up on them. But I think PBL challenges this type of student in a way that is needed and appropriate, and usually with support and a lot of transparency around expectations, they come around.

 

What is wonderful is to see the excitement many students have when given a meaningful and engaging project. They can become totally immersed in the task at hand — carefully planning out their party strategy to succeed in their legislative agenda in a mock Congress, for instance. They are working hard because they are completely invested in the goal, not just for the grade.

 

In addition to the mock Supreme Court hearing described above, in both World History classes students have had fall projects curating museum exhibits for different historical purposes. In Modern World History, students have engaged in a Model UN simulation. And many electives are organized around meaningful projects — for instance in Entrepreneurship, students form start-ups and develop their business plan. As a culminating activity they pitch their business idea to an outside expert.

 

I’m new to Lakeside, so I haven’t had the opportunity to engage parents and guardians yet, but in the past, I’ve had parent attorneys serve as my Chief Justice in my mock Supreme Court hearings, raising the level of questioning during oral argument and also offering feedback to students on their presentation. I’ve also seen parents or other family members interviewed for oral history projects, drawing on their own life experiences with conflict or immigration or other topics. In this way, students can see their own family’s history and life story in the curriculum, as well as those of their classmates if the project has a public product.

 

PBL is a natural place to practice unstructured problem-solving. Beyond that, there are ample opportunities in well-designed group tasks to practice cognitive flexibility, collaboration and leadership, and communication and listening. How can I craft my argument to convince this particular panel of judges to see student first amendment speech my way? How can we collaborate as committee members to pass our party’s legislative agenda? Which images will best reflect this time and place for my museum display? It also provides authentic contexts to practice some of the “softer skills” that are part of the competencies and mindsets. If a panel of justices doesn’t rule their way, students must practice resilience. They can reflect upon their own growth and learning when they practice the same skill through multiple projects.

 

The mindsets can be themes of well-designed projects in various disciplines — for instance creating an awareness campaign about health sleep habits (health) for Wellness class, convening the Human Rights commission in a Model UN simulation (global) or engaging as delegates in a global climate summit (sustainability as well as global).