In this post I begin to describe “The California Choice Project,” a Problem-Based Learning unit my students completed in the fall as part of our social studies curriculum. Below you will find the problem statement I introduced to the kids on the first day of the unit. In this statement my goals were to 1) create an interesting context that would engage my students, 2) establish a clear final project that would drive everyone’s efforts throughout the unit and allow for meaningful student choice, and 3) include essential content about our topic, the four regions of California. “You are the founder and president of a new technology startup company in North Dakota. Ten people work for your company, and many of them have young children. To grow your business, you have decided to move your company to California and take your employees and their families with you. You need to…

I was initially drawn to the Problem-Based Learning approach because of its child-centered philosophy and its emphasis on student initiative, choice, collaboration, and other critical “21st Century Skills” that I mentioned in last week’s post. As a teacher who focuses on educating the whole child, I was excited to discover that PBL offers an ideal way for my students to learn not only academic content but also strong work habits and valuable interpersonal skills. One of the most appealing features of Problem-Based Learning is that children become the primary driving forces in their learning. In this role students make meaningful decisions about how they will learn, organize their work, and present that work to a larger audience. As teachers, our focus shifts to one of coaching, facilitating, and guiding. A typical PBL unit begins with either a question, challenge, or problem statement. Often, this introduction presents an interesting context or…

After a few years of reading about and tinkering with Problem-Based Learning, I fully implemented this instructional approach in my classroom this fall, and PBL has been an absolute game changer. As educators teaching in the Common Core era, we hear quite a bit about the need to help children develop “21st Century Skills" focusing on such areas as communication, collaboration, technology, and problem solving, and I have found that nothing comes close to PBL in this regard. Plus, the level of enthusiasm and engagement students display while working on their projects is simply incredible. During a PBL session, the hardest part of my job sometimes is getting everyone to stop at the end of the period. On many occasions, the kids were so invested in what they were doing that I actually began to worry a little about my safety as I headed to the front of the room…

One of the most difficult challenges teachers face involves motivating students who haven't yet committed themselves fully to academic pursuits, who may never before have had positive experiences in school, and who may not yet demonstrate the drive and work ethic required to be successful. Throughout my career I have incorporated "Quote of the Day" discussions into our morning routine and used storytelling to help motivate children, and these efforts have had a powerful impact on how students perform in the classroom. With some children, though, we need to take additional action. This year, for the first time, I started creating personalized, inspirational visuals for some of my students. When I made the first one for a child who was having an extremely difficult start to the year, I knew that his favorite football player was Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch. Normally tough to tackle, Lynch frequently takes his…