Mo Physics Mo Problems

A common reason I hear for why teachers don’t incorporate passion projects into their classroom usually has to do with not having the time. Yes, teachers have standards to cover. But, passion projects can easily be aligned with course standards. These projects can be a vehicle for allowing learners to see how performance standards apply to their lives outside of that specific course. So, there is power when the projects can actually be used by learners to explore a path that not every student takes. The projects will help make these standards more relevant. This is the 4th year my students have been asked to complete a term project. Andelee Espinosa (my co-teacher of 10 years!) and I developed a physics-based passion project after attending PBL World in 2015. We asked students to analyze the physics of a sport they had a passionate for. They were required to apply at least 3 specific physics concepts to their sport. Eventually, they created a product to share out. But, the product

All projects are not designed equally.  The goal of a project in project based learning is learning not simply engagement.  Yes, engagement is important, but it is not the sole focus of design. I think every teacher has had a day where s/he just wants to make it to the final bell.   So, we design an activity that we know will engage the students even if we know it is not addressing our course objectives.   But, in designing long-term projects, we can't just choose one that the students like or one that always goes smoothly.   The message to teachers who are thinking about going the way of PBL or are currently practicing PBL is simple, "We cannot be feeding our students chocolate cake for projects!"  In the end, our projects should be engaging to all students, but that is not where we start. We want student choice and voice, but we want them to have choice among options that are educationally sound and relevant.  We want creativity and collaboration, but it needs to b

Managing student work is difficult in any classroom. In a project based classroom, it can get quite out of control.  Each group is doing something different.  Within each group, there are individual pieces of the project as well as group components.  It's up to the teacher to manage all of these different pieces.  If not managed correctly, it could be a beauricratical nightmare. I think this clip from Terry Gilliam's masterpiece Brazil says it all. (Film Geek Note: the director's cut is the masterpiece not the "Love Conquers All" cut) The one tool that can prevent the paper trail becoming the focus of the classroom Is a powerful learning management system or LMS.  In Elmbrook schools we have found that in Canvas an LMS deigned and managed by Instructure. Why Is Canvas such a great LMS for facilitating a PBL classroom?  There are many reason. To do lists are great for students and teachers.  Any assignment you create with a due date wil

As we were beginning class today, I felt like Indiana Jones in this classic scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as he attempts to retrieve the Holy Grail to save his father's life. Every time we try something new in class, we are taking a leap of faith.  We must trust in and ultimately rely on our students to support us.  This term I have more faith in my students than I have in my lesson plans.  Having an open dialogue with my students about what we do in class and why we do it has gone a long way. In fact, just today a student brought up my last blog post about the piano teacher and I was able to expand about why I thought that teacher was so great.  I was shocked to hear that one of my students had read my blog. So today, I explained to my students the philosophy behind introducing a project based model into our classroom and what it will look like for them.  I framed it in terms of our current momentum unit. Below is the introductory document for the uni