It all starts with two simple ingredients: a natural flow of curiosity carried by a self-directed learning.
During the 2017 Easter break, I was in Paris and I love walking without any goal in a district called “Le marais”. There are always unexpected things and places to see in this area. Driven by my curiosity, I explored a part of the neighbourhood where I don’t go too often. I first saw an interesting door, then, next to it there was an entrance with a sign saying that there was actually a park and eco-friendly gardens right behind the building. As I went through I discovered that all the area between the building had been turn into a fascinating collaborative eco-friendly project.
Of course, in my situation, I didn’t have to follow any curriculum and I had no time pressure, but curiosity and inquiry can be extremely powerful forces to make people explore, create, think and learn.
If you are already familiar with Kath Murdoch’s work and the inquiry-based pedagogical approach, you have already used many different types of inquiry-based learning opportunities in your classroom, including perhaps project-based, problem-based and challenge-based learning. My school is one of them, but I must admit that although I have been designing student-led projects for years, I had never really thought about the difference between these three types of “-based learning”. In order to clarify this point, I had a look at two articles which I found helpful.
The first one, by John Larmer, explains that according to the Buck Institute for Education (BIE), project-based learning can be seen as a broad category which contains numerous variations: Design-based, Case-based, etc. Although they all slighlty differ, they usually all share a combination of three characteristics:
•Designing and/or creating a tangible product, performance or event •Solving a real-world problem (may be simulated or fully authentic) •Investigating a topic or issue to develop an answer to an open-ended question
The BIE defines “standards-focused PBL as a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks.”
According to the BIE, “challenge- and design-based — are basically modern versions of the same concept. “ If the first umbrella can be the project-based learning, we could also add another broader umbrella on top of it as they also fall under the general category of inquiry-based learning. Indeed, many x-based learning types overlap. There are many similarities and benefits to implement these approaches for they promote collaboration, enhance intrinsic motivation, develop problem-solving skills, deepen understanding of concepts, use technology in a purposeful way…to name just a few.
The process of learning is indeed a collective act, but also must actively involve learners who are now at the centre of their own learning. With the emergence of new technological tools, Education had to adapt and redesign how we learn in the 21st century.
“ In a sense, the need for education to adapt to a changing world is the primary reason that PBL is increasingly popular. “
As PBL is an attempt to adapt learning to our changing world, it will therefore keep evolving and the emergence of x-based learning approaches could be an evidence of this evolution.
Challenge-based learning, which is promoted by Apple, tackles real-World issues and is seen as an approach “of our time” As the New Media Consortium Report stipulates:
“ the world has never had a greater urgency in ensuring that our children are equipped to tackle the serious challenges that lay before them “
The authors argue that PBL and problem-based learning fail “ partly because they are bolted on to the curriculum in addition to everything else that must be done”. The best aspects of these approaches should be used, but the curriculum should welcome these projects seamlessly and the focus should be on real world issues. 21st century tools are central is CBL as they could provide access to updated data, resources, networks and information and allow students to work collaboratively, critically and creatively on these global challenges while imagining local solutions and make a difference. The force of challenge-based learning is therefore to develop critical thinking and to stimulate student’s will to take actions to change the World. Comparing to problem-based projects, CBL have a flexible and custmomizable framework.
For all the three “based learning” considered here, although students “direct the course of their learning”, the role of teachers is essential as guides and facilitators. All the literature shows that students find the experience worthwhile, probably because it is relevant and meaningful. However, Suzie Boss and the BIE (edutopia) reminds that if not well-prepared, projects can generate chaos and frustration:“Tensions can build if teams don’t understand what it means to collaborate or share responsibility for project success”. While PBL have become increasingly popular, its spreading could lead to mainly two kind of problems:
“First, we will see a lot of assignments and activities that are labeled as “projects” but which are not rigorous PBL, and student learning will suffer. Or, we will see projects backfire on underprepared teachers and result in wasted time, frustration, and failure to understand the possibilities of PBL.”
To avoid any trouble, many teachers share their projects online, as well as recommendations and ideas. Once again, being part of an online community and having a PLN can be a good way to learn from each other and share good practices. It is probably also a school culturethat needs to place curiosity and inquity at the heart of the learning process.
“Create a ‘culture of curiosity’ – a classroom where wondering and questioning are encouraged and celebrated “, Kath Murdoch
When I was a Upper School Social Sciences teacher, I was a strong believer of project-based learning. I realise now that the projects my students led were very often in fact challenge-based learning activities since the focus was on global issues and involved both collaboration and technology. If I had to review these activites now, I would probably have a closer look at my PLN to find ways to improve them.
Here are two examples of PBL that I did in 2015 with my grade 8 students on globalisation and migration.
In the first one, Students had to work in groups of four on different migrants’ journey. Each member of the group was an expert of one field and had to meet regularly with other experts to share their findings.
In this second example, students had to be investigative journalists and create a Youtube video about a product lifecycle. They had to choose a product, to bring it in class and then to research and critically analyse its lifecycle. The project went well and most students were very engaged even if finding information was sometimes challenging depending on the item they had chosen. I reflect on it at the end of last year and I thought that it would be great to have students interview stakeholders involved in the different phases (raw materials, manufacturing, etc.) or NGOs through skype/Face time.
In conclusion, Technology can amplify learning, multiply the possibilities to make your thinking visible and facilitate the empowerment of students. Give it a try!
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