Project Based Pitfalls

Of all the educational innovations being discussed lately, Project-based Learning (PBL) might just be the one that makes the most sense in Social Studies classrooms. Many of us, in fact, have come to PBL almost by accident. I remember one teacher being very embarrassed when I praised his PBL approach. "I'm not doing this because I'm some brilliant teacher," he said, "I'm just lazy." And indeed, a PBL classroom is a space that is much more comfortable and relaxing for you, just as it is much more engaging and even empowering for your students. But there is, in fact, a great deal of work that goes into a successful PBL lesson but, like many things, you more you do it, the easier it becomes! As you consider building (or expanding) your PBL toolbox, keep in mind these three pitfalls to avoid:

1. Trying too much too soon.

First, there's a temptation to either bite off more than you can chew. If you set your sights too high, perhaps by deciding over the summer that you will create a fully PBL course by August, you can quickly become overwhelmed and give up in frustration. To avoid this, first, choose a manageable goal: where is one unit you can "test the waters" of PBL with reasonably good chances of success? How could you possibly build from there? How long will it really take? Spend some time googling, contact me, or consider joining the Project Based Learning Community on Google+ to get ideas and support as you make your plans.

2. Don't assign "castle projects."

On the other hand, sometimes we're tempted not to do enough. This is the trap of creating projects that aren't really Project Based Learning. To be PBL, a project has to require students to think deeply about problems grounded in the content and standards, so that their conclusions are the learning that is needed. Otherwise, you might just be creating what I jokingly refer to as "castle projects:" big, beautiful creations that really demonstrate Dad's wood-working or Mom's styrofoam crafting, but don't really do anything to help students understand the lessons in the ways called for by the standards (and which might also raise some serious questions around equity for all students!). To avoid this trap, ask yourself some questions:

1. Are students answering a significant, meaningful question through the project development process?
2. Is the learning of the project aligned to the standards I'm intending to teach?
3. Have I already taught everything I want them to know for this project? 

Your answers to the first two should be "yes," or you may be making a "castle project." Your answer to the last question, however, should be "no." If you've already taught what the project is demonstrating, you don't have project based learning, you have project based testing. 

3. Don't foreclose student voice, choice, or thought.

The final trap was recently brought to my attention while reading an article from Edutopia titled "A World of Project Ideas (You Can Steal)." The article talked about the starting point for any good PBL lesson: the driving question. The very first example was this:

Who were the most influential leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in terms of impact upon today's society?
Notice the phrase, "most influential." This embeds critical thinking into the project because it prompts students to develop criteria and then make a defensible argument for why they selected a particular leader. Imagine the wide range of products students might produce to tell the story of a particular leader. That's a good sign that students will have voice and choice in the project, deepening their engagement.

The question is a perfect Social Studies driving (or guiding) question. It's the explanation that caught my eye: critical thinking is embedded in the question, it says, because the phrase "most influential" prompts students to develop criteria.

Stop and think about that for a moment.

Prompts students to develop criteria.

How many of us would give students the criteria? No? Maybe not in your rubric, but what happens when a student asks "what do you mean by most influential?" We're teachers. Our instinct, when a student asks a question, is to answer it. And just like that, we've turned project based learning into a castle project. The point of this activity is not to pick the right Civil Rights leader. The point is to think deeply about what Civil Rights leaders did and said, and what forms of impact they have had, and how lasting that impact has been. And none of that will happen if you answer the first question students ask: "What do you mean?"

Because, in the end, castle projects are all about students showing you what you want to see. But Project Based Learning is about students telling you what they want to say. And there's no room to hear their voices if you're doing all the talking.