TRAVAILS AND TRIUMPHS ALONG OUR JOURNEY: CRAFTING INTEGRATED PBL UNITS WITH COMMON CORE STANDARDS Presented by Collegiate American School, Middle School Team Nate Menard, Melody Traylor, Janet Bailey, Michelle & Robert Haag for the 3 rd KDSL MENA Common Core Conference Oct. 2015

Stirring Up Action  As you come in, look through the newspaper clippings.  Choose something that you think might stir students to want to take action.  Be prepared to share your thoughts…

A Middle School for Real Life Taylor Mali inspires us. Perfect Middle School

We had Goals Revolution- Save us, Save our World  We want to make learning relevant memorable connected  We want to inspire our students to take action

We need to work with the Standards

Step 1. Be Inspired, Be Passionate Our circumstances drive us:  We heard calls for student citizenship from C3, Common Core, National Geographic and Social Action forums.  We were ready to craft curriculum from Common Core, NGSS and AERO standards with basic texts and materials.  Several teachers are involved in studies & graduate work.  We are exploring new Frameworks for Social Studies: Art.  CAS has a middle school of about 100 students from 60 different countries. Students know each other well.  We knew we needed to change the way our students were learning. So we jumped in…

Step 2. Research and Learn We researched about PBL and Middle School Integration. For example, BIE tells us Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. Essential Project Design Elements include: Key Knowledge, Understanding, and Success Skills - Focus on student learning goals, including standards-based content and skills Challenging Problem or Question - The project is framed by a meaningful problem to solve or a question to answer, at the appropriate level. Sustained Inquiry - Students engage in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, finding resources, and applying information. Authenticity - Real-world context, tasks or impact – or students’ personal concerns. Student Voice & Choice - Students make some decisions about the project, including how they work and what they create. Reflection - Students and teachers reflect on learning and effectiveness.. Critique & Revision - Students give, receive, and use feedback. Public Product - Students make their project work public by explaining, displaying and/or presenting it to people beyond the classroom.

Then Research and Learn Some More Edutopia gives us these steps for implementing PBL:  Start with the Essential Question  Design a Plan for the Project  Create a Schedule  Monitor the Students and the Progress of the Project  Assess the Outcome  Evaluate the Experience

Designing Essential Questions Essential Questions are BIG ideas, relevant and able to frame a unit across disciplines. In 30 years, this is what the student should remember. In grade 8 we chose: What is the tipping point for revolutions to occur?

Step 3: Design the Project We found lots of ideas for projects  BIE (Buck Institute for Education) PBL Superhighway  Roger Taylor Integrated Units  IMP Integrated Math Projects  National Geographic Examples:  Producing a play about the plight of child soldiers  Writing to the city about an unfair ordinance  Creating a way to heat water for refugees  Developing a concert with Skype pals  Making a trash sculpture

Middle School Unit Themes

Grade Level Choices

Integrated Curriculum Plan

We Introduced our Unit

What Integrated Expectations

What Integrated Projects look like

Begin with what is relevant to students and important for them to experience. Using the NGSS and AERO and other standards… 1. choose an essential question 2. brainstorm what students might come up with for Action Projects 3. Work with your group to align content and complement skills across curricular areas Your Turn to Create

Realize that what you learned is not as much help to you as you hoped and the real learning comes from doing this work! Help us by discussing what the pitfalls are and how we can all work better to learn from our missteps. Step 4. Assess the Outcome and Rethink Everything you Learned

Steps Be Passionate This process is frustrating, difficult and time consuming. It won’t come out the way we want it in the first year. We are passionate and committed to creating meaningful, integrated units for student learning and action. We will get it right! Steve Jobs on Passion and Success

BIE Buck Institute for Education ttps://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/part-5-14-amazing-project-sites-a-stem-pbl- common-core-series-a-goldmine-of-resources/ PBL Superhighway over-45-links-to-great-project-based-learning/ CCSS_PBL_Handout_3_8_Essentials.pdf Resources