Towards Project Based Learning - The Long and Winding Road

When is a Georaphy teacher not a Geography teacher

I was going to start talking about what we're doing to in preparation for our new curriculum in September, but I had an interesting experience this week which I'd like to explore. 

I was invited into a school earlier this week to talk to the staff about PBL and the proposed curriculum changes we are going to make at my school.   I only had 30 mins including questions so it was difficult to really get the rationale across.   People often want to skip the philosophy and rationale and go straight to the systems and structure.   Anyway, at the end I was given a real dressing down by a Geography teacher who accused me of dumbing down Geography and the rest of the curriculum.   He went on to tell me that he had a Geography degree, his teachers qualification was to teach Geography and that he had taught Geography for X years. 

This raises a number of points:

• This is a different world to the one we knew and loved 20 years ago, in fact 5 Years ago for that matter.   Alvin Toffler wrote about Future Shock back in the sixties (I think), warning that our minds would wake up one day and suddenly realise that they're not coping with the rapid changes the world is going through.  In the last 5 - 7 years the world has changed beyond recognition and yet on a day to day basis most of us (including myself) don't notice it (do we subconsciously choose to ignore it or are our past interpretations of the worlds too ingrained in our psyche?   Have you read "The World is Flat" by T L Friedman?   Or have you watched "Shift Happens" (You'll find it on You Tube).   After reading or watching these you'll be in no doubt that we have to radically change schools.   It's often quoted that unlike every other organisation or institution, schools have remained largely unchanged in the last 50 - 100 years.   As educators we are ignoring our duty to prepare young people to flourish in society.   Teaching discrete subjects and focusing on the acquisition of subject knowledge is more or less irrelevant and pointless in an information driven, plugged in society.   And much as I applaud the moves QCA (British Government qualifications body responsible for the National Curriculum) is trying to make in reducing the National Curriculum and introducing requirements to develop certain skills in young people, it is no where near enough.   
• The Geography teacher is a victim of our inability to move forward as a profession.   I tried to explain to the teacher that our professionalism should come from our understanding and application of pedagogical theory, not in how much of an expert he is in the field of Geography.   If I wanted to employ experts, I'd employ a nuclear physicist rather than a Science teacher.   Why aren't the teacher training organisations and the General Teaching Council drumming this into all of us and all the trainee teachers??   That change in emphasis (subtle as it is) would have massive and beneficial effects on the teaching profession.   Unfortunately almost every newly qualified teacher I interview wants to talk about their subject expertise and their ability to teach at higher levels rather.    Obviously Primary teachers don't have the same problem or at least not as much.   My daughter who is in Year 6 has had English Maths and Science rammed down her throat at her school for the past twelve months in preparation for her SATs in a couple of months.   She has separate Maths, English and Science teachers.   (Stop me from going down this path - I'll have a rant about that in another post).    Teachers should have a subject area of expertise; it is important that we are able to pass on the richness in our world as accurately as research tells us.   There are times when we can and should become an extra "learning tool" for our students, but in todays world where information is the main currency, it is vital that we become facilitators of learning primarily.   (I don't think I've said that strongly enough!)
• Finally, I certainly don't think I can be accused of dumbing down the curriculum.   Realigning it maybe, but certainly not making it any less rich.   The curriculum we intend to introduce will still have high expectations and will certainly produce high attainers.   And as for Geography - well find me a project that doesn't require some geographical understanding.   

The school I visited are making real moves to change their curriculum.   The majority want the change, I wish them all the best in driving forward.   It's certainly out of the comfort zone and a lot don't like that, but it will be worth it in the end - I'm sure of it.   

When is a good lesson not a good lesson?

Today I was observing lesson which made me think about the Graduation Stages I've spoken about.   The session was good and on the whole there was good learning taking place.   However there was one student in the class who was not coping (not with the level of difficulty, but in terms of concentration and motivation), along with a couple of other students who weren't really switched on.  The teacher spent a disproportionate amount of time with these students, leaving so many others in the class to sit around and wait, or learn at the slower pace of these students.   This included students who were less able than the demotivated students.   

OFSTED's answer would be to improve the quality of learning and teaching (the emphasis being on teaching), however the teacher in my opinion had produced an excellent lesson, with excellent resources, accessible to all.   The lesson was good, but it wouldn't have been good in OFSTEDs eyes, because the students weren't learning at an appropriate pace, and not all were engaged.   

How can a teacher be expected to produce an all singing and dancing lesson to address the needs of all students in every lesson within the current school structure?   How many of us can honestly say that they are able to differentiate for every student in every session?   And for the few who do manage this, how many are sure they are getting the level of differentiation right?   Are we providing too much scaffolding, to the extent that we inhibit growth and development? 

I think we've looked at differentiation in the wrong way.   If this had been a PBL session I had observed, the teacher would have focused firstly on the expectations of the students rather than the needs.   In other words, if we focus on what we expect students to realistically aim for and attain and start at the highest levels, we then prepare resources and pointers towards resources (including scaffolding for the motivated low achievers), which allow these students to fly independently.   This creates space and time to focus on the demotivated.   

The teacher today had spent lots of time creating differentiated resources, but they were given to demotivated students, as well as low attaining students (it's important to draw attention to the distinction).   The time spent on creating these resources could have been spent on freeing up the teacher to legitimately spend more effective time with these students rather than feeling guilty that the rest of the class were being held up.   

PBL when it is launched in September will go a long way to supporting teachers in avoiding scenarios such as this, but it is essential that the Graduation Stages I have mentioned before are incorporated into the PBL structure, in order to allow real personalisation to take place and provide a system which allow students of the leash.

Next Blog I'll talk about the  model for PBL I intend to introduce at KS3 from September.    

A new school, a new context

I'm now the Principal of a new Academy in a brand new building.   It opened in September with 850 students.   It's in quite a deprived inner city area in Bristol (England) with a largely white population (although approx. 30% of our students are from different ethnic minority groups - mainly Somalian).   The predecessor school which was on the site (the old building is now demolished) was one of the lowest performing schools in Bristol with one of the highest exclusion rates.   

My challenge as the head of this new Academy is to raise standards.  I have targets (agreed by the DCSF) I must achieve within the next year or so.   Unfortunately, the targets I have are based on GCSE (or equivalent) results.   If I can reach national standards for the amount students who gain 5 A - C grades with English and Maths, everyone will be happy (especially my wife because my job will be secure) and the pressure will be off me for a bit.   

I think I'll manage this (I hope I'm not tempting fate).   I'll do it by being systematic with every student; by streamlining programmes of study; by making sure students are on appropriate courses; by taking students off courses they are not going to gain decent grade in and giving them more time in subjects such as Maths or English.    I'll monitor and track them to the extent that I'll be able to tell you what they all had for breakfast two weeks earlier and how it affected their learning that day (maybe not).   At the end of the day they will do fairly well and those who get their 5 A - C grades will troop along after they get their exam results and ask if they can start an A Level Programme.    When they show me their certificate with 5 C grades, I'll tell them that they'll struggle and that I don't want to accept them, but I'll feel obliged to because they have reached the national benchmark which says they've achieved a Level 2 (5 GCSEs etc) and can now progress onto Level 3 courses (A levels etc).   Unfortunately they won't manage at Level 3 (What's the drop out rate nationally  - 50%?) because they've been pushed, cajoled and spoon fed all the way through their last few years of compulsory education. 

And so a journey continues for these young people who think they are doing well because the certificates say so.   They begin their A level courses (We always let them on in the end) and the same thing happens again when they apply to go to university.   And so it goes on until they leave with their Degree, go to get a job and don't understand why the employer throws the book at them after their first day or if they are lucky they're enrolled onto an intensive training course by the company.

This sounds so cynical, but unfortunately it's happening up and down the country especially in inner city state schools, which are working with students who perhaps don't have the  social advantages, skills or competencies, which give them the start they need in life.   

Why aren't my targets based around:

• the development of good habits of learning?
• The development of the wherewithal to become flexible, independent learners?
• The extent to which my students will flourish in the 21st Century?

So for me it's not enough for young people to wave around certificates; I want the certificates to be a by-product on an education which really does develop the sustainable learner.    

Update and job vacancies

A year since my last post and a very busy year to say the least.   I am now a Principal of New Academy in Bristol (Bristol Brunel Academy).   Most of the year has been spent, setting up systems and preparing for our opening in September.   

I'll cut straight to the point of this post.  I am looking to complete our Senior Leadership Team (at present 2 Vice Principals), by apointing one Vice Principal and 2 Assistant Principals.   The VP role is around curriculum (mainly PBL) and E-learning.   The AP roles mainly centre on the development of Project Based Learning.   For more information on what I am aiming to do in the Academy in relation to PBL, open this file: http://armandod.typepad.com/PBLatBBA.doc   

If you are interested or would like more details please contact me at adifinizio@bba.bristol.sch.uk or at armandod@blueyonder.co.uk  The closing date is towards the end of Jan (haven't got it here at the moment).    Here's hoping some of you have a feed to this site!!

Is the National Curriculum too busy?

As we begin to look at deconstructing the National Curriculum in order to expand the course, some teachers ask me where we would find the room to focus on all the habits of learning, I want the students to develop.  "Our curriculum is already packed as it is".   My answer to this tends to be along the lines of this:

1.  The National Curriculum was designed at a time when teachers did have the monopoly on information.  Students didn't have access to the wealth of information they do now.   The tables have turned now and students have access to all the information they want.   If this is the case, why the don't we allow student who are able to do so, the opportunity to discover new information themselves.   If they are given pointers some assistance when required, this free's up the teacher to work more closely with students who for varying reasons are not yet able to access information themselves.   

2.  If we identify all the difficult concepts in the syllabus and deliver these (seminars on the course) discretely, then we create a lot more time for students to access the curriculum themselves, and by doing so develop good habits of learning along the way.   

All sounds easy really, but try deconstructing the National Curriculum and then reconstructing it in a way that allows this to happen - it's a massive job; especially when we do it in a cross-curricular way.   

From teacher led to student driven

A term and a half into the course now and the projects are still too teacher led for a number of reasons:   

• We have had to manage the change, by directing both the teachers and the students through the structure of the project.   The projects up to now have to some extent directed the teaches every step of the way. 
• We have tended to run the seminars for a half year group all at the same time.   This has meant that the students all go to seminars from their class all at the same time and then all go back to class together.   Easier to manage, but not in the spirit of the course.  It does not allow the opportunity for independence.
• Although we have encouraged teachers to focus on the process, it is my belief (through daily observation) that the majority of teachers are still focusing on the outcome.   The way we have structured the projects means that there is a race to complete milestones and products by each deadline.   
• This leads onto another point - students don't really have independence in planning as so much is mapped out for them
• Perhaps the biggest reason teachers tend to lead is that it is what they are used to doing elsewhere in other subjects.   

This all sounds a bit negative, but in actual fact, the course is really beginning to have an impact on learning.   Surveys show that the students really enjoy the programme and are really beginning to take their learning seriously.   The impact across the school at this stage is harder to measure at this stage, but some staff do report that some of the habits they are developing in the course are transferring.    

So what are we doing to encourage teachers to take on a greater facilitation role, allowing the students more Independence?   

• The next project will give each teacher an individual timetable where they will either:  hold a group session (to consolidate, host a discussion, encourage the sharing of good practice); take a seminar, cover someone else so that they can take a seminar; supervise students carrying our research, reflection or group work (often large groups); hold a tutorial for an individual or team.   
• Seminars will be at different times allowing students the opportunity to choose when they want to go
• We will video seminars and make them available on line in order to allow students to look at these again or attend the seminar in their own time
• Involve a group of students in the planning of this project in order to create more resources. This will happen from now on in each project.   

Finally, we haven't really got the graduation stages working well yet.   Hopefully the new projects will give the teachers more opportunity to allow studetns capable of working at higher stages, the opportunity to fly.      

The First Steps Part 2

The other day the students were given a treasure hunt to complete around the Academy. The purpose was two-fold. Firstly it gave the Year 7 students a chance to discover places in the school they perhaps did not know existed. Secondly it was a chance for students to practice some of the collaborative skills they had been developing and develop their sense of responsibility by moving round the school in an orderly manner.

The task was completed quite well. We deliberately kept students away from most of the other learning sessions going on in the school, however some teachers complained that Year 7's running around caused a disruption because they were out of lessons.

The Principal at first wanted us to cancel the activity, with the second Year half, but then realised that this was part of the learning process. Students were given the opportunity to reflect on their actions at the end and group facilitators who had been observing discussed with individuals their behaviour.

Myself and all the staff facilitating the programme think it was worthwhile. At this stage, I don't know if all the staff in the Academy would agree!

Seminars

Just come back from walking around the groups.   The students are all in seminars at the moment and are all really engaged in learning.   So far every seminar we've run has been really successful.  Why are the seminars successful?

• perhaps it's because the students have had an element of choice;
• perhaps they feel a sense of responsibility towards the others in their team;
• perhaps it's because they are meeting teachers they don't normally meet;
• perhaps it's because they recognise that the intense learning that goes on in these short sessions are worthwhile and serve a purpose.   

My guess it's a combination of all of these.   

When I walk into the area of the school where the programme is taking place, at any time, the students always active and engaged in learning.   Some teachers have complained about the noise level, but I think this is getting better as the students become more aware of how their actions affect others.   

The First Steps Part 1

We've been up and running for three weeks now and I'm well behind in what I had hoped to be a fairly regular blog this term.  Why?  Because I'm chasing my tail trying to patch holes in all the little things we didn't anticipate.   

Week 1 - The induction project is on survival skills; equating survival climbing mount everest with good survival techniques in terms of the learning journey.   We got of to an excellent start with a setting the scene assembly equipped with an Everest mountaineer who.   I did a little bit on how excited we all were and how this was to be a voyage of discovery for us all.   Natasha, who has taken on the role as programme leader, provided more detail for the students.   We could see from the start that listening skills were going to be high on the agenda. 

Our biggest problem straight away on the programme is a lack of computers.   Initially we anticipated a higher demand for ICT facilities, in order to introduce good practice and necessary ICT skills.  Although we have about 60 computers available to us per 100 students, it is going to be a continual problem.  Especially as we are using computers to e-mail, access the Internet, blog, access the virtual learning environment (VLE), submit work, and make presentations.  No doubt I've left a few out.   There are some good schemes for schools offering cheap lap-tops for students to purchase, however in an inner city area such as ours, how do the students travel to and from school with the safely?

A Quick Summary

A long summer and a hectic start back has prevented any recent updates so I thought I'd quickly summarise where we're up to.

We've developed a new programme, at present in Year 7, but which will eventually grow to take over most of the Key Stage 3 curriculum.   It involves project based learning, where learning has a different focus to the normal curriculum.   It is different in the following ways:

• Students are assessed on the extent to which they are developing habits of learning
• We have used Guy Claxton's dispositions of learning as the basis for this assessment. 
• Where as "Learning to Learn" courses tend to teach specific aspects of learning, this programme provides continued opportunities for the development of good habits of learning.   They become the main feature of the curriculum
• We don't necessarily teach the skills required to develop these learning habits, rather, through our curriculum, we provide opportunities to develop the habits and make explicit, or draw out the common features in these habits
• As an example, consider what a teacher does if a student is stuck on a difficult mathematical activity - they help the student.   However if a teacher see's a student out of a class without permission, the student is reprimanded.   We don't give the development of a sense of responsibility; time keeping or planning skills, the same parity as we do the development of an aspect of the National Curriculum - In this case Maths.    This new programme does this.
• Our teachers are called learning facilitators.   In the projects we encourage teachers to facilitate learning through regular one to one and team meetings with students.   
• We recognise the richness of knowledge in the National Curriculum and facilitate the exploration, discovery and use of this knowledge, with our students.   The subject knowledge provides a repository from which we can draw on to add depth to projects.
• We have mapped the National Curriculum and are identifying the aspects of the National Curriculum which involve difficult or abstract concepts which do need direct instruction or teaching
• These aspects are included in projects as seminars.   Seminars are sessions where students are taught particular aspects of the National Curriculum which require discrete teaching.  Some seminars are mandatory; some require a team member to attend, who will report back; others will provide opportunities for extension.
• In an average session a student may be doing a number of things:  planning next steps with team; attending a seminar; carrying out research; working on presentations (these can take a number of forms); reporting back to teams; personal or team reflection; meeting with Learning Facilitator.
• We recognise that students are at different stages of development in terms of personal responsibility, autonomy and independence.   For this reason we have introduced graduation stages.  Each stage allows students greater freedom in planning and directing their own learning.
• Students must show evidence that they are ready to graduate
• This evidence is logged and is the basis of our assessment.  Evidence can be in the form of reflective blogs, witness statements, completed projects, etc.
• The intention is to provide much greater degrees of personalisation in terms of student learning.   

Not much more to say at this point.   The programme began in Sept 2006.   Read below or above for more details