Projects That Matter

Project-based learning isn’t easy. To be fair, neither is traditional pen-and-paper based learning. However, this three-tiered framework hopes to provide an on-ramp of sorts that makes getting from wherever you are to wherever you hope to be feel a lot more possible.

1. Adopt a More Purpose-Driven Posture

With all apologies to Bill Shakespeare, the why is the thing wherein we’ll catch the conscience of the classroom.

Making for the sake of physical engagement, tactile thinking, and spatial reasoning has its place. Making in the name of changing up the pace and rhythm of a week has some merit, as well. You’ll hear no argument from me there.

At the same time, too many of us stop there and call it a project. Worse yet, too many of us devote weeks of learner contact time to back-table heaps of faded construction paper, gnarled masking tape and broken dreams.

Good listeners of stalwart inspirationalist, Simon Sinek, know the value of starting with why. It shifts our entire being as educators from a place of compliance to one of creation.

If the only reason we assign projects is to provide learners an opt-out from pen-and-paper assessments, then the products really matter no more than the tests and reports they supplant. They are just something else to do and something else to grade.

Why will learners create alternative book covers? Because we want to display them in the library to entice new readers and show that, yes, sometimes you can judge a book’s radness by its cover.

Why will learners build scale models of unicellular organisms? Because those scale models of bacteria will be part of informational exhibits on infectious disease in the waiting areas of our local hospital.

Why will learners compose instrumental scores that convey fear, anger, pride, sorrow, and conviction? Because those songs will be played over the Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan War newsreel footage shown prior to the military veteran guest speakers discussing their service with the school community.

2. Inventory Your Opportunities

What might happen when we shift our energy away from all of the obstacles and challenges facing us in our learning spaces and instead take mindful notice of the possibilities existing in our closets, cabinets, and communities?

When might you make time for project design and development? Ten minutes before the end of each block or twenty minutes after lunch break? Every other day following the morning meeting or as soon as everyone is seated and attendance is taken? As soon as learners finish their tasks for the day or as part of their evening routine alongside independent reading time?

Rather than allowing a project’s rigorous requirements to serve as a source of schedule-based sturm and drang for learner and educator alike, let the amount of time you can dedicate to the experience dictate the scope of the project.

Meaningful projects do not have to be taxing-endeavors; they do, however, need to be worth the time they take.

What stuff is available to you and your learners? Have you have recyclables or re-purposables at the ready? Might a twenty-dollar trip to the dollar store yield a million-dollar idea? What about that dusty tote bin in the supply closet marked “Homecoming 2013?” What is in that thing and would anyone notice if it was put to better use?

In the space of a day, most schools generate enough food container waste to fuel a wide variety of art projects.

Who might be a resource for your learners? Who might Zoom in with your class or might be available to stop by and share their talents in the service of something bigger?

With artisans and tradespeople in every community, and nearly every community reachable by video call, there’s an extraordinary wealth of knowledge and skill waiting to be harnessed.

And of course, who might benefit from your project? Who might be a partner and who might be in need of a collaborator? Who might be looking for advocates and who might be wanting to have their voices heard?

Where might these projects live? Looking beyond the walls of our learning spaces, we can find public spaces and private enterprises willing to exhibit learner projects and showcase understanding.

Take note of the lobbies and common areas wanting for people, families, and friends to see the work and while they are there, pick up a few things, browse a few titles, or consider opening a new account.

And while websites are fine and social media posts are keen as well, documentaries and first-hand accounts of learner products and processes may live and breathe a long, long while on streaming services and publishing platforms, gaining traction and audience over time.

3. Make a Meaningful Mad-Lib

Sometimes the place to start designing a project-based learning experience is the very sort of fill-in-the-blank template you hope to replace.

HOW MIGHT WE BRING (condition/emotion) TO (user/audience) USING (creative constraints)?

How might we bring joy to another learner in the classroom using only ten popsicle sticks, four paper clips, and a piece of masking tape?

How might we bring food security to families in nutritional crisis using poetry?

How might we bring hope to immigrant families in our community using animation and game coding?

How might we bring confidence to anxious learners who will be sitting in the seats we occupy right now using our knowledge of geometric angles and color theory?

This final tier begins the lean toward design thinking and empathy-fueled human-centered problem solving.

However, one must be careful not to conflate project-based learning with design thinking. The latter is a mindset anchored in empathy, observation and possibility, the former a pedagogical tactic.

They work well in harmony and have tremendous implications for transforming the look of learning in any context.

Gentle readers, use these words as you see fit. This framework is here to guide a dip into project-based learning or full-blown cannonball into an uncharted pedagogy.

I hope that you noticed the presence of inquiries 5 W’s and humble H. Yes, the classics have tremendous value, as does our time with learners.

How might we spend less of it grading pipe cleaner organelles bound for the incinerator and more time creating lasting experiences for understanding?

To learn more about projects that matter, check out this Edpuzzle Live Event, where Edpuzzle hosts Kate and Nici chat with Dan Ryder and Michael Hernandez about how to design and facilitate meaningful student projects.