PBL in a Time of Covid .

Models for Student Project

Planning and Documentation
During Distance Learning
Completely Unfair Text Bomb:
Kihei Charter strives to create innovative learning opportunities. Sometimes that involves project and problem based learning in our classrooms. Often that involves Group work. How do
we adapt and evolve our methods and models in a time a pandemic?

Some questions that come up:

Setting Questions: How do we do PBL in a Hybrid / F2F / Distance Learning environment? How would ‘hybrid PBL’ be different than ‘all-virtual PBL’? How do we keep education relevant
and engaging for kids? How do we design educational experiences beyond text and talk, whether F2F or Online?

Guiding Student Choice:

-Setting project guidelines - prescriptive / goal oriented but also flexible and student centered for strategy / method / process ? Student Process/Template for Project Proposals?
Resources for researching project techniques?

Safety Questions:
-How do we address safety? How do we encourage safety? How do we teach safety? Can we help students think about establishing a work space and doing clean up in as safety
measures? How do we ever have confidence the students will be safe working on projects at home? (Can we get students to download common sense app???)
-More seriously: If a kid is working on a project for us at home, what is our liability if a they cut a fingertip off with scissors? What is our liability if a kid gets ambitious at home and cuts a
finger off with a table saw while doing a project for us? What is our liability if a kid melts their apartment carpet by leaving a hot glue gun plugged in? What if a kid leaves out some of their
materials and little brother swallows a piece of the project?
-In a time of Social Distancing, how do we encourage kids to use materials that are available easily without going out of the house too much?

Individualization Questions:
-How do we individualize while still trying to keep an assignment in the same ballpark? What is the role of student centered choice?
-How do we build in flexibility for the disparity in support, skills, abilities, resources, materials?
-How does one project engage and address the needs for growth in both the least able and the most able?

Group Work:
-How do we do cooperative skill development / group work during social distancing? How do we move group work beyond sharing a doc? How can we practice cooperation while also

Assessment:
-Best practices and strategies to assess projects via distance learning?
-Variety of methods to assess formative / summatively?
-How do we assess 21c skills via PBLDL?
-How do we grade the product fairly based on criteria BUT also grade fairly based on widely ranging student access to adult support, materials, resources?
-How do we ensure the student did their own work rather than an over-eager parent taking over the project?
-Teachers interested in cooperatively establishing a template for PBL documentation, reflection, presentation? Branden’s draft to show:
Develop content area problem specification / project
criteria:
Elements:

-Real world relevance

-Student input

-Leave open flexibility for students in different

circumstances and of different abilities to individualize
Sample
problem
specification /
project criteria
“Design
Challenge”
 Develop general project criteria with student input.
Students then review several existing project
implementations and conference with teacher to
propose and cooperatively select an Interesting,
Doable, and SAFE Project
TLDR -- Students Choose a Project that is: Pay Attention:
Interesting.
Choose a project that is Safe.
Doable. Make a habit of Safety.
Ask for help if ever in doubt.
Safe. This is no time in the world to take extra risks.
ALWAYS…. SAFETY FIRST.
Interesting. Something you are curious and self
motivated to know more about.
Doable. “Right Size, Appropriate Complexity.”
Considering available materials, tools, expertise
and timeframe, probability of success?

SAFE. This is not a time to take risks. Contact me if

in doubt about any process. You must have
Teacher and Parent Approval / Adult
Supervision of all steps of Your Project.
Go to:
Instructables.com

As discussed in class, find a SAFE, Doable

and Interesting Project that is:

Good Fit + Right Size

Use your Google account to Sign in, if like.

Begin Student Template:

Fill out the following slides with your pictures and

text:

Project Proposal on next Page -- Page 6

Project Documentation -- Page 7 - ….

Interesting + Doable & SAFE: Project Proposal
Brief Project Description:
How does this project meet the design
specifications?
I think this Project is BOTH Interesting and Doable
given my circumstances because of my access to
materials, tools, supervision and skills:

What elements of this project might be

dangerous?

What safety precautions am I prepared to take?

Has my parent or adult supervisors agreed to let Which adult in my home will supervise any difficult or
me undertake this project? steps in my project?

Which adult in my home will supervise any difficult

or steps in my project?

Email this page of presentation to Teacher for Approval of Project:

Planning List of Tools and Materials Needed
Tools Needed -- Note whether you had this tool Materials Needed -- Note whether you had this
available already or if it is something you need material available already or if it is something
to get: you need to get:

● … ● …
● … ● …
● … ● …
● ... ● ...
Planning for Safety
Personal Safety -- In my project i will observe Safety of Others -- I will protect the safety of
safety guidelines: others in my acts and communication:

● Always Have Supervision and adult project ● Do not leave things laying around, for
approval many reasons it is very important to put
● Eye Protection always … things away to prevent untrained hands
● Gloves when cutting or gluing… getting to safety items.
● Fresh Air when painting. ● Clean and Orderly workspace is safer for
● Close toed shoes. all - no trip, no slip, no horseplay.
● Staying focused - a momentary distraction ● Warning Others when I will be working
can lead to a mistake. near them; and telling them what I am
● . doing.
● . ● .
● . ● .
●
Beginning My Process - Pictures / Description
Picture of my work area. Two sentence
description of why this is an appropriate and
safe work area.
Picture of collected tools and materials. Two
sentence description of how you collected the
materials and creative choices in what materials
you are using.
My Early Progress - Pictures / Description
First steps -- Process description -- What did First step Pictures
you do in this step? What tools, materials and
techniques did you use?
 Movement - Detailed Project Description
1. Describe the primary Movements of your 3. What is the intended purpose of the
Project: movement - what is the necessary movement to
accomplish the task?

2. What Parts are involved in the movement? 4. What controls and limits to amount of
And what Forces cause the parts to move? movement? How do the parts stay connected
while still being able to move?
 Energy - Detailed Project Description
1. Describe any sources of energy used by your 3. What is the intended purpose of the
project - kinetic (motion caused by physical movement - what is the necessary movement to
force accomplish the task?

), :

2. What Parts are involved in the movement? 4. What controls and limits to amount of
And what Forces cause the parts to move? movement? How do the parts stay connected
while still being able to move?
Making Progress - Pictures / Description
Second major step -- Process description -- Second step Pictures
What did you do in this step? What tools,
materials and techniques did you use?
Halfway Done - Pictures / Description
Halfway Done -- Process description -- What did Halfway done Pictures
you do in this step? What tools, materials and
techniques did you use?
Almost Done - Pictures / Description
Almost done -- Process description -- What did Almost done Pictures
you do in this step? What tools, materials and
techniques did you use?
Done - Pictures / Description
Done!!! Process description -- What was the last Done Pictures
step, what tools, materials and techniques did
you use?
Top 3 Tools Used
1. Tools used in this project. Explanation of tool, how it is used, and what it does.
2. Tools used in this project. Explanation of tool, how it is used, and what it does.
3. Tools used in this project. Explanation of tool, how it is used, and what it does.
Top 3 Materials Used
1. Materials used in this project. Description of material, how it is used, and what properties make it a
good material for this project (for example: price, strength, availability, flexibility stiffness, etc).
2. Materials used in this project. Description of material, how it is used, and what properties make it a
good material for this project (for example: price, strength, availability, flexibility stiffness, etc).
3. Materials used in this project. Description of material, how it is used, and what properties make it a
good material for this project (for example: price, strength, availability, flexibility stiffness, etc).
5 Terms of Specialized Vocabulary
1. Special Terminology and Vocabulary used in this project. Explanation of vocabulary and how it is
used.
2. Special Terminology and Vocabulary used in this project. Explanation of vocabulary and how it is
used.
3. Special Terminology and Vocabulary used in this project. Explanation of vocabulary and how it is
used.
4. Special Terminology and Vocabulary used in this project. Explanation of vocabulary and how it is
used.
5. Special Terminology and Vocabulary used in this project. Explanation of vocabulary and how it is
used.