Project-based learning: yeah, I get it, but who’s got the time?

Projects are like poetry. Few of us would argue that we don’t see the value of poems in the classroom. We agree with Elena Aguilar who wrote in Edutopia, “We need poetry. We really do. Poetry promotes literacy, builds community, and fosters emotional resilience.” Even so, it’s a struggle to find the time between teaching multiple classes, monitoring attendance, planning, co-planning, team meetings, faculty meetings, calling parents, students conferencing, giving feedback on assignments, developing assessments, grading, entering grades, proctoring state tests, and   (fill in the blank)   to read more poetry, let alone bring it into the classroom.

Maybe though, there is time for one short poem today:

Bridges by Ernest Walsh

With words,
And quiet movements of the hands,
With laughter,
And silence . . . with secrets . . .
I built bridges
Over which we passed
Exchanging loneliness.

With words,
And quiet movements of the hands,
With laughter,
And silence . . . with secrets . . .
Were bridges destroyed.

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Bridges. Bridging teaching and learning. Bridging teaching and THE TEST. Bridging relationships – students, parents, colleagues, and our own families. So many bridges come to mind after reading that short poem. How can we build these bridges? What does a bridge between teaching and THE TEST need to be strong and flexible enough to withstand shifting winds?

We explored some of these questions early last year, during our project-based learning conference, the Big Learning Challenge (BLC). There were no easy answers or packaged approaches available. We dug in together, like we ask our students to do. We created, grounding ourselves in these realities:
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• There will always be pressure and tension, how will we design with these factors in mind?
• There will always be constraints and complications, how will we remain steady?
• There will always be people ready to help and support us, how will we lean on them?

We experienced first-hand the value we know PBL adds to our students’ 21st century skill practice:
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• Critical Thinking: interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, evaluating

• Creative Thinking: imagining, questioning, simulating, appreciating ambiguity
• Communicative Thinking: observing, reflecting, collaborating, presenting in multiple modalities
• Global Thinking: real world problem-solving, demonstrating an awareness of issues affecting others, engaging in multiple perspectives

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"One of the major advantages of project work is that it makes school more like real life. It's an in-depth investigation of a real-world topic worthy of children's attention and effort."
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-- Sylvia Chard, education researcher
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As teachers, we need projects that will support our own problem-solving. How will you make time for projects if you know they will deepen your students’ understanding? How can you manage time when considering a project-based approach to your next unit? What might be a small project you could start with as your prototype for PBL? What is your simplest next step in making room for projects, and what would you possibly gain by trying?

Who’s got the time? We do, and to find support in a creative, PBL-focused space, join us at the Big Learning Challenge on January 28th. We welcome you to an experience of exploration and discovery, with plenty of support from our experienced and passionate facilitators as we build projects together and plan for how you can take those projects from planning to practice.