For educators. For aspiring PBLers (like me).
In the beginning, there was nothing,
At some point much later man made the first school.
Then, at another point (now), it was (is) clear that the school must be remade.
To be continued....
The students at my school suffer me. I relentlessly harass them. I say,
"Stand up and talk with someone you know less about [insert relevant topic here]."
"Stop asking me every question. Talk to your peers. Collaboration is more important than content."
"Focus on your learning, not your grades."
"Be creative."
And creativity seems to be the most difficult skill to develop in my high school students. I realized that rarely do we require students to truly create something in school. When I mention Project-Based Learning (PBL) to colleagues, I hear of projects they, the teachers, designed. This is not PBL.
"Creativity is as important as literacy."
-Sir Ken Robinson
Let's consider our students as aspiring chefs.
Most teachers I know create or borrow a recipe (project), may model skills (organizing materials, preparing ingredients), will definitely lecture (concerning the history of the recipe, the steps to complete, key chefs involved), and exhibit examples of the finished meal. A successful student will follow all steps of the recipe and produce something that looks like most other students' products. Then, teachers grade the project based on the similarity to the picture on the recipe card... usually involving some sort of Google Slides presentation.
Non-PBL example
Recipe: Pasta e Fagioli.
Country of origin: Italy.
Ingredients: [you get the idea]
Preparation: [chopping, cook times, etc.]
Serve in bowls with grated parmesan (or Romano) cheese. Garnish with a sprig of parsley.
The PBL approach (as far as I understand it in my little experience) necessitates a response to a real audience. The project commences with students reading an Entry Document that should contain all of the information of the project.
PBL example (Entry Doc)
(Letter from Pepe Luca, owner of the Alle Testiere restaurant in Venice, Italy)
translated by Bono Luca, son of Pepe Luca
My Dear American high schoolers,
My restaurant is in danger of closing. The people don't come anymore. They like American food more.
I need you lovely young people to create a menu for my restaurant with 8 food items: 2 appetizers; 4 entrees; and two desserts. Each of your 4-5 person groups must use at least one authentic Italian ingredient in each menu item, but include an American flair: either a uniquely American ingredient or American appearance to the meal. But you must create these dishes! They must be original and not copies of an existing recipe.
Finished products will include a recipe card for each menu item, a picture of each finished menu item, a presentation of the food in a community setting (not the classroom), a short video of the meal presentation (3-5 minutes), as well as 5 critical reviews from those who ate the meal (follow the attached critical review form), and needs an example of the menu design.
Anyway, best I could do within a few minutes (and still found myself spending too much time on the details). But the differences are clear: the first example, not matter how delicious the final product may be, is strict and inflexible ; the second, allows room for new approaches where students create something completely original. Which one truly gets you hungry to (unwittingly) develop skills?
The Edge
According to several articles (and multiple tweets), by the year 2026 Artificial Intelligence will be able to write the equivalent of a traditional high school essay. Of course I want to believe this, even if it's not exactly true, because of my particular pedagogy that puts the individual at the center or their learning. Let's wake up, fellow educators: We've got to get our students to develop critical skills that distinguish humans from the entities (and issues) that humans have created.
Our young people need to learn to create. Allow them to be the gods they are for their learning; for their world. And, YES, they will fail, as we also do, but, as Ken Robinson believes, "“If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.”
Speaking of original, maybe the true original sin lies in regretting the time when humans chose to create their own world.
A better Origin Story(?):
God created man (and all genders) in his own image: to be Gods that create.
Then, man (and all genders) created wondrous things,
including humankind's own issues,
but then created the solutions to those issues.
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