BACK TO PROJECT BASED LEARNING BLOGS
By: Ryan Steuer, CEO
Magnify Learning
Dallas, TX
Whenever I go to a school, to train, speak, or just to chat about Project-Based Learning, somebody always asks, “What’s the research behind PBL? Is it research based? Can you prove to me that it works? It’s such an important question to ask, and to have answered. In the next two leadership blogs we’ll be exploring research on project based learning that was released in 2021 by the Lucas Education Research Team, from the George Lucas Educational Foundation.
Who does PBL impact?
Where should we do PBL? Should we start with the honors kids that are really good at school? Should we start in a special ed classroom? New research shows that when schools provide high quality PBL significant learning occurs for traditionally underserved student populations. This research shows that when underserved students specifically who engage in high quality PBL, significant learning occurs. Additionally, PBL improves student outcomes across racial and socio economic backgrounds, and reading and language proficiency proficiency levels. It works for all learners, including adults; we use the PBL process for our training, and internally within our organization, because it’s a great problem solving process.
Basics First?
The studies dispel the misguided belief that disadvantaged students aren’t ready for student-led forms of instruction like PBL, and must first master basic content through more traditional methods like direct instruction.
Well meaning and passionate educators, trying really hard in difficult situations, sometimes say, ”my kids don’t know the basics. So how can we get into project based learning?” The study shows that this is a misguided belief.
You need that engagement first to get mastery of those basics. It’s not basics first; it’s project based learning to build the basics. At Magnify Learning, we’re always going to preach that we’re starting at standards and building your PBL unit needs to be standards based.
It’s not just “learn this to learn it, and then you can get to cool stuff.” That’s a traditional project approach, not a PBL approach. We want to build that engagement right out of the gate. The research reveals that the PBL approach is effective for teaching basics and engages students more quickly.
Social-Emotional Learning
When underserved students lack access to rigorous project based learning and other high quality forms of student centered instruction, they miss out on opportunities to collaborate, deeply engage with and reflect on academic content, and practice social and emotional learning (SEL). When we’re not doing project based learning, our learners are missing out. And then we think, “they really need some SEL work so that they can empathize or so that they can have that grit that we want them to have, they can have that growth mindset.” But when they’re getting so hammered on the basics, a lot of times that they’re missing out on the very thing that we want them to have the most.
SEL is obviously a big topic in education right now. It’s fairly well understood from the research that PBL encourages the development of certain social and emotional learning skills, such as the ability to work with others, problem solve, make good decisions and communicate effectively. I liked the wording: it’s fairly well understood. But if you don’t know PBL, then that’s not well understood, right? I want to bring in those folks that aren’t here yet.
Authenticity
Authentic experiences pop out as a key theme from the research. At Magnify Learning, we’re super geeky about the authenticity of the work. We don’t really advocate for “scenario projects.” We want your learners to be solving real world problems, because that’s where the true engagement comes from.
From the Lucas study, “One of the principles of rigorous PBL that drives equitable learning experiences is the emphasis on authentic learning contexts,” meaning that learning experiences should be authentic to students’ identities, interests and communities. In high quality PBL classrooms, the perspectives and lives of students are integral to the activities taking place. It needs to relate to them, and they need to have some place to start. That’s how learning works, right? You start with a concept that you understand or learn or that you can relate to, and then you attach these ideas that you don’t know yet to your previous learning.
By integrating academic content with authentic student interest PBL, deepens student motivation, mission and engagement. Any curriculum used should be flexible enough for teachers to pull in additional resources to help students connect to the work at hand. A scope and sequence should always be flexible enough that you can pull in additional resources to help your students connect it to the work, which is one of the huge benefits of project based learning.
Authentic experiences that are relevant to students enhance the rigor of your PBL instruction. It deepens engagement and supports identity and development and increases the likelihood of learning gains. So as you’re bringing in project based learning, you’re making these connections. And it deepens the rigor.
Building a School Community
A huge part of belonging to a school community is establishing meaningful relationships in which all students feel safe to contribute, collaborate, hear feedback, and take intellectual risks. We want our learners to speak up to bring their learning out and to do so, a safe environment must be in place. In project based learning, where we’re building the culture, what we find is that students feel more safe to contribute and collaborate, and learning is going to grow.
How about the transparency of the work? A high school history teacher doing PBL says “this project approach gives you a chance to engage the students who might otherwise sit and hide and keep a low profile and not do well. Projects make their performance clearer to see. And their success shows more clearly.”
The transparency of the work that happens in project based learning, both for teachers and learners, is really important. Once you connect a project to a community partner, and you publicly display the work, the learning becomes visible. We can see the work that our teachers are doing in the classroom. And once you can see it, it ups the ante for learners. There’s no more hiding in the back of the room. A lot of times we see our learners don’t want to hide, they want to display the great work they’re doing. They also know right off the bat that there’s no place to hide. We are going to present this work and that positively impacts the school and learner culture.
Building Sustainability Through Professional Development Opportunities
I’ve essentially dedicated my life to professional development, so I love that there’s a portion called “looking ahead” The Lucas researchers found that strong professional learning opportunities are critical to PBL uptake, as are conditions that empower teachers to make teaching and learning decisions that affect positive change.
It’s important to note that all the PBL programs highlighted in the study include strong professional learning opportunities for teachers. Educators benefit when they have sustained, high quality professional learning to support them in implementing project based learning and equity centered instruction.
It’s got to be in there: sustained high quality professional learning. That’s why at Magnify Learning, we do three day training programs. So well, that’s a lot. Yep. People will come and say, “Hey, Ryan, will you guys do a one day PBL for us just like give it all to us? And we’ll figure the rest out?” And the answer is, “No.” The research shows you need sustained high quality learning. Teachers need ongoing support in learning how to teach with PBL methods and principals need ongoing support and learning how to develop and empower teachers to lead high quality PBL classrooms.
When teachers are empowered with a safe professional development environment to learn and practice PBL learning, the transformation starts to happen.
Where do I get started with PBL?
What we often suggest is that you just educate yourself and project based learning. If you’re listening to this podcast, that’s a great start. Get a book on PBL. If you want somebody else to jump in with you, you might recommend or share the PBL simplified podcast video series on YouTube.
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Visiting a PBL school is one of the best ways to really get started. Go see it in action so you can ask the questions of learners of the facilitators of the administrators that are “in the trenches.” Whatever your role is, go ask the good questions. Make sure you talk to the learners because we all know that as educators, we can speak “education speak.” But when you talk to learners, they’ll give you the real deal.
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We’ve got a guide, of course. Go to whatispbl.com? It’ll get you started, wherever you’re at, and whether you’re the superintendent, principal, coach or teacher.
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Keep following these blogs, and you can also add the PBL Simplified podcast to your list of podcasts.
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Share this blog post with somebody who’s not into PBL yet. Or invite them to look at the research with you. Principals and teachers: share this with somebody that wants to explore the research around Project-Based Learning.
Remember that your best work is 10 years out. That’s a long way to look. You’ve got to take care of yourself and don’t be afraid to try things. Remain open to continuous improvement. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and there is much to know. Magnify Learning can get you there.
Let’s engage your learners, tackle boredom, and transform your classrooms.
I’m Ryan Steuer – author and thought leader who specializes in Project Based Learning training, coaching, community, and content to help educational leaders fulfill their vision of deeper learning in their schools. I’ve worked with leaders in school districts of all sizes, from 400 students to 100,000 students. These visionary leaders care about their students, but they are often stressed, overworked, and overwhelmed with the work ahead of them. That’s where I come in! I help leaders achieve their PBL vision, lead their staff, AND stop working weekends.
When I’m not guiding school leaders through Project Based Learning mindset shifts, I am outdoors with my wife and 5 kids – canoeing, hiking, biking, and traveling the US in our RV.
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