Sustaining Project-Based Learning: Gaining clarity with a vision
I've spoken with many school leaders who have expressed challenges with implementing any new initiative in their school building. It could be a math or reading initiative or a project-based learning initiative. Regardless of the type of initiative, the outcome is the same.
Regarding project-based learning, I've heard stories from school leaders who said they offered training at the beginning of the school year and even purchased resources. However, the initiative still didn't go as planned, and when they visited classrooms, they did not see consistent implementation across the building.
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I often ask these school leaders, “Have you spoken to teachers?” And typically, they say, “Yes.” They report that teachers feel confused about project-based learning and unsure when to implement it. What are the expectations? How often? What does it look like in their classroom? What should students be doing? What should they be doing?
Sometimes, teachers share that they don't understand how project-based learning fits with other responsibilities and the roles, initiatives, or curricula they are expected to implement. And because of all this, teachers may be thinking, Should I even invest my time, energy, and effort to become an effective project-based educator? For all they know, this may be a one-and-done initiative. It may be something their school leader is speaking about now, but next week will be a different focus.
Having a clear vision is a necessity
When I hear these types of statements, vision-setting comes to mind, leading me to ask the school leader these questions: Do you have a vision for project-based learning, and if so, what is it? Have you shared that vision with teachers?
A school leader must have a clear vision for their project-based learning initiative to succeed. If the school leader does not define project-based learning and what they want it to look like in their school, or they have not considered how it may fit into other initiatives, it will be difficult to gain traction.
We've all made this mistake before. We brainstorm an idea in our head, but we haven't actually ironed out those ideas or considered if our new idea works with other existing initiatives. If there's a lack of vision or clarity about how we will implement project-based learning, and we didn't consider all of the variables necessary to execute the idea, then there’s a strong chance it won’t go well.
Another question I ask school leaders to consider is how project-based learning aligns with your school's mission, vision, and core values. When we think about project-based learning, how does it play into the culture of your school in terms of how you describe it to parents, community members, and teachers?
It is difficult to get people invested with inchoate ideas. If your vision is unclear, getting buy-in from teachers, motivating teachers, and building momentum will be more difficult.
It is vitally important to have a vision for your project-based learning initiative. A clearly articulated vision provides a roadmap for success. It defines the initiative's purpose and goal and outlines how the school aims to achieve it. This type of clarity ensures that everyone involved–whether students, teachers, community members, or parents–fully understands the goals, expectations, and purpose of why you're embarking on the PBL journey.
A well-defined vision also establishes a cohesive and focused approach to implementation. With it, everyone understands the purpose of project-based learning, how and when it will happen, and what it should look, sound, and feel like in classrooms. Your vision becomes an outline and a reference point for decision-making.
Being intentional with instructional decisions is essential
Every time you make an instructional decision, consider whether it aligns with your project-based learning initiative. In theory, your vision should help you make decisions about the curriculum:
How do you select instructional methods?
How do you imagine students should engage in learning?
How should teachers engage with students?
When choosing a curriculum, you must assess whether it supports project-based learning. For example, if you choose a completely scripted curriculum regarding what you want students to respond to and how you want them to engage, it may not be conducive to a project-based learning environment. You also want to consider what type of project-based learning culture you want to cultivate.
If you tell teachers that you want students to engage in experiential learning, share ideas, and be creative, but their curriculum or resources don't align with a project-based approach, friction will exist. Reflect on the field trips students attend, guest speakers, your elective classes, and what you're offering students. Do they help develop creative, collaborative students who are great communicators and innovators? Are the classes they are taking aligned with building a project-based culture?
Ensuring that all of these aspects of your campus culture align increases your chances of success because it increases your ability to sustain a PBL initiative. It increases your teacher's self-efficacy. It helps students understand that everything they learn is integrated, interdisciplinary, and connected. Project-based learning shouldn’t feel like a silo for teachers or students.
Building a project-based culture takes intention. When you're faced with decisions on which projects to undertake or what new initiatives to start, how you want to assess student learning, what type of professional development you want to provide, or what opportunities or field trips you want students to attend, a clear vision helps you prioritize your actions. It serves as a reference point to determine if you are on track to achieving your goals.
Having a clear vision of what project-based learning should look like in your school can motivate and inspire everyone. It increases engagement and involves everyone in the learning process. Collective action happens when all stakeholders know and understand the vision and how to support it.
Asking for feedback is important
Now that we know why having a clear vision is essential, let's discuss how you can create a vision or goal for your project-based learning initiative. First, you want to assess the current environment in your school.
What are your priorities?
Are you using a particular discipline approach?
Are you using a specific literacy approach or a math approach?
What about social and emotional learning?
Map out everything that's happening right now.
After you write down the current instructional approaches that you are utilizing, start thinking about student outcomes.
What outcomes do you notice from those initiatives?
Are you satisfied with those outcomes?
Are there any initiatives you're abandoning or changing?
What's new that's coming on the horizon?
These are all things you’ll want to consider. When you start to draft your project-based learning initiative, it will become easier to witness where it fits into the other elements of your school.
At that point, you should seek collaboration. The first phase is for your administrative team to draft a strategic plan before you bring in teachers. When you get to the phase of including teachers’ voices, start with a select group of influential teachers.
Your school may already have a teacher leadership team, committee, or cadre. Bring them together and provide an overview of the initial draft of the strategic plan for the project-based learning initiative so that you can start collecting feedback.
You could do this in a variety of ways. Gather small focus groups. Provide an overview of the strategic plan, and then the focus group provides feedback or builds upon initial ideas. Send out surveys to the entire staff to solicit opinions on your preliminary thoughts. Create a one-pager or a quick synopsis of the plan, share it with parents, and ask for their input. Or conduct individual interviews with teachers so that they can provide honest, in-depth, detailed feedback on how they feel about embarking on a project-based learning journey.
No matter how you collect feedback, you want to involve teachers during an early phase of the process to build investment and excitement for what's to come. Getting diverse perspectives is helpful because sometimes we can get caught up in our ideas and excitement and forget the small details that will impact the success of implementation. Sometimes, our high-level view prevents us from thinking about the practicality of our decisions.
Anytime you want to start a new initiative or embark on a new journey, especially when you need the cooperation of other people to help you execute it, you want to have clear, measurable goals. We have all heard of SMART goals; you can use that concept as a framework where you draft a goal for your initiative that's specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. Regardless of the planning strategy you decide, you should be able to answer these questions:
What is the purpose of your project-based learning initiative?
What is it that you are hoping to accomplish?
What type of outcomes are you expecting, and how will you know if you reach those outcomes?
When do you want to achieve these outcomes?
Building an impactful and sustainable project-based culture may take a few years, depending on your unique circumstances. Therefore, you can break down your goals into phases, describing the desired outcomes for years one, two, and three. You can predict if what you are proposing is realistic, attainable, and relevant to the broader vision for your school and if the timeframe is manageable.
You will likely adjust this timeline based on success or challenges along the way, but the point is to have a roadmap to get you started. Your ultimate goal is to build a project-based learning culture, but how you do it may shift as you dive into the process. As you embark on the journey, you will receive feedback from teachers, students, and parents, whether solicited or unsolicited. Consider being flexible in how you pursue your plan but firm on your vision.
By incorporating these elements, you, as an instructional leader, can develop a vision aligned with your school's goals and set the stage for the successful implementation of project-based learning.
Take Action:
Reflect on the following questions and jot down your responses:
Why should your school adopt project-based learning experiences as an instructional method?
What specific learning outcomes do you want to achieve through project-based learning?
How will you involve parents, community members, and other stakeholders in the project-based learning initiative?
How will you support teachers in developing and implementing project-based learning experiences?
How will you measure the success of your project-based learning initiative?