3B Assignment PBL

Project-Based Learning and Problem-Based Learning is an amazing way to create energy in your classroom and light a fire in your students.  I tried a new assignment this fall when I came back to school to find the revised school calendar included Columbus Day as a holiday.   Our district hasn’t recognized this day as a student free day in over 15 years and I was shocked that we would return to honoring such a controversial day off.  So, luckily for me, the problem fell right into my lap.

My English III team and I teach Native American literature first quarter and I thought this topic fit perfectly with our quarter goals.  We presented the problem of celebrating Columbus Day to the students.  We accessed their background knowledge and initiated a discussion about Columbus and why we have the day off in the first place.  That led to a really involved discussion comparing Columbus with other figures we get the day off to celebrate.  We showed them an interview with a political activist who was discussing how many Native Americans in the United States feel about celebrating Christopher Columbus.  We asked the students to decide how they felt about the issue, and asked them to create a product designed to convince others in our community to agree with them.  The students took the assignment further than we could have imagined.

We grouped the class homogeneously with other students who were arguing on the same side.  We provided some research materials articles on both sides to all of the students, but they were responsible to research in their small groups and share what they found out with each other.   We also regrouped the class to have two students on either side of the issue so they could inform one another about the counter arguments that exist.  Including the other side’s opinion in their product was one of the requirements of the assignment.   Many of the students wrote an argument letter to our new Superintendent of schools sharing their position on Columbus Day.  Some students wrote to the Board Members.  Other students wrote to local legislators asking for legal change.  One student created a public service announcement he shared with the class arguing that Columbus Day should be renamed to “Indigenous Peoples Day.”  Originally, we asked the students to write an argument letter to the Superintendent, but they asked for more options and we agreed.  The assignment ended up being both Project-Based and Problem-Based.

This assignment allowed for students to create a project that appealed to them as opposed to simply writing the letter to the superintendent.   The project options allowed for differentiation of the assignment.   I appreciated the power point lectures that were turned in, as well as the presentations designed for the Board to hear.  One student asked the principal if he could give his presentation to other students in a variety of other elective classes.   I was surprised how proud the students were of their work and how willing they were to share what they created.  We sent out a few letters to the Superintendent, to the Board, and one student was recognized by a local newspaper for the op-ed piece she submitted.   One student wanted to create a presentation for elementary school children because she felt her teachers didn’t “teach her the history correctly.”    My team and I never thought the lesson would yield so many different outcomes or the passion that some of our students expressed.   

Not only did the project options allow for differentiation, the varied grouping options supported differentiation as well.  The groups were large enough that there was feeling of safety for some of my struggling students and the groups of four that debated were deliberately chosen to match varied levels of students.  When we were finished with the research phase of the assignment, every student had something persuasive to say about Columbus Day.   

The research process appealed to different types of learners as well due to the varied nature of the research itself.  Students opted to read articles, watch interviews, watch documentaries or listen to audio recordings of radio shows.  The students had a research handout to help them take notes and cite their resources properly in order to insure accountability.  There were various checks during the research phase of the assignment.   By the time the students were put into their groups of four to debate, they were using argument generators to keep track of points the other side was making.  The support handouts helped make sure students were on task during their research and during their group work. 

My plan is to work on adding more PBL assignments  in a more deliberate way for the future.