New Tech at J.L. Mann--an Innovative Instruction Model

I recently had the privilege of visiting another school implementing PBL in the classrooms; however, this visit provided a different look at PBL as the school has implemented the New Tech Innovative School Model, ultimately creating a school-within-a-school at J.L. Mann in Greenville, South Carolina. I am impressed at the level of agency, student voice, participation, and productivity at the school. I witnessed students (freshman, even!!!) creating group contracts using respectful discussion and collaboration. I saw evidence of other amazing projects previously completed, such as a renaissance fair put on by the students for the students. I learned about and observed co-teaching with other subject areas to bring more cohesiveness to the subject areas, primarily English in conjunction with history (blurbs from other subject areas later). I sat amazed at the self-awareness of freshmen students delivering their advisory presentations to Dr. Cindy Alsip, the director of New Tech Mann. And I remain amazed and encouraged by the passion these teachers have for PBL and the success of their students.

New Tech at Mann began in 2014 in an effort to provide students with “project-based learning, student-led culture, and one-on-one technology.” Students earn core credit classes, often in cross-disciplinary courses, which means science and math courses and history and English classes are paired. In order to take the courses, students must apply to the program, but according to Dr. Alsip, students have not been turned away yet. Students are assessed on their progress in five areas--knowledge and thinking, written communication/presentation, oral communication/presentation, collaboration, and agency. At some point in the second semester, students present their progress in those five areas to Dr. Alsip in an advisory presentation, preparing them to advocate for themselves as they apply to college and for jobs. The focus of this program is to reach those middle-of-the-road students who often fall through the cracks because they aren’t high fliers or struggling. Students access daily agendas via ECHO, which appears to be a New Tech learning management system, and now benefit from a facility built with PBL in mind--classrooms with numerous dry-erase surfaces, including windows, walls, and boards attached to desks; extra-large rooms for the cross-disciplinary courses; and common areas to encourage brainstorming and workshopping.

The most impressive aspect of today’s visit were the advisory presentations given by three freshmen students. Each student had prepared a PowerPoint exploring their journey this year, explaining where they had started and how far they had grown during their experiences with New Tech. My students rarely articulate to me what they have learned from week to week, but these students have been given instructions on how to and encouraged to reflect on their own learning in a way that they see that growth and their individual needs when it comes to continuing that growth. One freshman continually emphasized his ease of communication because of his extrovertedness has sometimes limited his success in group settings because he monopolizes the conversation, but he is working toward listening more than communicating. Another freshman demonstrated agency by exploring other means to learn what she needed (through a club called Toastmasters) to become a better speaker, and has transferred that knowledge to her classroom learning. A third freshman showed increasing confidence in public speaking, evident by Dr. Alsip’s response to his presentation to her. New Tech and PBL are working for these students, preparing them to be self-advocates for college and career.

A couple of the classrooms I visited today were engaged in some form of group contract dialogue--establishing group norms in the English II class and writing the full contract in the English III class. The English II class was more vocal in the process, and I was amazed at the mature dialogue I overheard as I walked around the classroom, including one young man who noted a norm should read “‘listen’ to all ideas” instead of “‘accept’ all ideas” and students recognizing the important of group selection (one student commented he would have been the only student in a group had he been with his friends who were going on a JROTC field trip the next day). After discussing the norms and recording them on their contracts, the teacher led them to share their best norms with the class, and others needed to add what they liked. The very last group had an important norm all groups needed to add: when finished, students should check with the other group members to determine what else needed to be completed. I loved that the students were able to share out their great ideas and the teacher emphasized an extremely important responsibility of students during group work. He wrapped up the sharing with a statement I’m sure he’s reiterated constantly--Row the boat (#RtB)...if the student isn’t rowing, throw them overboard. Group contracts also include warnings and punishments; when students don’t behave according to the group’s established norms, students can receive two warnings before being kicked out of the group, which requires them to start the project over and complete the grade entirely on their own. I am very impressed with the New Tech model for group contracts as it encourages the students to become explicitly aware of their roles and responsibilities in the group and have a portion of control of the outcome when someone isn’t performing as expected.

I could easily go on and on about some of the exciting projects the students are completing and the amazing facilities of J.L. Mann, but I don’t want to detract from the excitement of the process and outcomes of the PBL innovative school model. These students are demonstrating growth in both maturity and knowledge as they complete the projects at J.L. Mann. One thing is clear, though, the abundant success of these students and projects comes from the consistency they experience by participating in New Tech at Mann.

January 31, 2018--Emerald High School visit

January 31, 2018

Our PBL endorsement cohort had the opportunity to visit Emerald High School in Greenwood, SC, to observe a few PBL units in action. I’ll be honest--this wasn’t something I was overly excited about initially because it was taking me away from my students at the tail end of their first unit because the recent snow days threw a hitch in our schedule. However, I cannot say enough how beneficial this field trip was for me; I only wish it had come sooner. Observing PBL classrooms will build your own confidence and give you some great ideas on what to do with your students. I want more opportunities to do this.

Emerald High School has been implementing PBL in their classrooms on some level for at least three years, and their level of expertise showed from the classroom teachers up through the district office administration. Each person we spoke to, including the students,spoke highly of the PBL process and explained clearly the advantages of the PBL units that had been completed before. Our cohort was split into four smaller groups, and we visited four separate subject areas--chemistry, English, history, and computer science.

My group first observed an English classroom researching mass hysteria as a response to reading/viewing Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Students were grouped diversely based on their results from the True Colors Personality Test and researching examples of mass hysteria throughout history. Students were actively involved in group discussions and recording research based on the reading of various online documents. Their final product, which will be posted outside the classroom, will be a newsletter for a timeline and include interactive components such as QR codes, short URLs to visit, and surveys for other students to complete. This unit was created by a student teacher! Major props to Rebecca Snelgrove! I really love how this unit utilizes student personalities to create well-rounded groups. As I walked around the room, I noticed each group consisted of diverse personality types, and the project lent itself to this diversity with suggestions on the assignment sheet explaining how each person’s abilities could be utilized. (I will explore the True Colors test in a later blog post after I begin using it in my classroom. I began using Thrively, which focuses on personal interests, in my CP classroom earlier this semester; I’ll include a reflection on that in that blog post, too.) I also really liked the project board, which included the essential question, the project question, the day’s objectives, and the specific PBL skills focused on in this PBL. These students were well-informed, and that led to a productive day. I observed the students for about 20 minutes, and the teacher’s primary role was as a facilitator, assisting when and where needed.

We observed a chemistry class next. I immediately noticed how engaged the students were. They were participating in a silent debate on group role responsibilities using 2’ x 2’ white boards and dry erase markers (love the sustainability of this!), and every student participated! Was everyone silent? No, but they were definitely not off task. After the silent debate (5 minutes), the teacher led the students in a whole class discussion about the roles. Students were contributing and listening and building on each other’s ideas. They were able to explain the project and its purpose (making slime kits as an artisan product that could be sold). In the 20 minutes I observed this class, the teacher’s primary role was to facilitate discussion and elicit answers and ideas from the students instead of giving them the information.

Our third observation took use to a history class. The students were in the beginning phase of a new PBL unit on the Renaissance Man, and they were exploring and discussing group roles based on a computer document each student had pulled up. I really liked the explicit guidance on role responsibilities and believe that will play a positive role in the success of the project. This teacher had completed a unit similar to this with his honors students on numerous occasions; he was now trying it out with his CP students

We concluded our observations in an AP Computer Science class. Each student worked on an independent project of his or her own choosing, and their ideas were mind-blowing! One student wrote code to evaluate the frequency a character was used in a text, another student wrote code for an inflation calculator, another student wrote code to determine slope intercept. I was beyond impressed. These students were considering real world issues that had been rolling around in their brains and writing a code to address those issues. While the students were working on projects independently, they were still helping those near them solve issues they were encountering, which brought in the collaboration and peer feedback components of PBL. Very exciting.

After our observations, we returned to the library for a question/answer session with the administration and teachers. As mentioned before, the entire school is working to implement at least one PBL unit a semester in each classroom. Because of this push, students are engaging in PBL on a regular basis, learning the components of PBL, and reaping the benefits of collaborating with peers and presenting to real-world stakeholders. Each PBL focuses on soft skills, other PBL standards, and subject area standards, so the students are strengthening in areas beyond the classroom.

Here are a few additional take-aways from that discussion:

• It’s okay to start small. PBLs do not have to be lengthy units every single time. That’s exhausting, and intimidating, both for you and for your students.
• This is a process--it takes time to figure out how everything is going to work. Your first PBL won’t be perfect. Don’t let that stop you from trying again.
• It’s okay to make mistakes. This is a good mantra to have no matter the task. We learn from our mistakes. Take the time to reflect and consider what can be changed in the future. (Honestly, that’s why I started this blog.)
• The frontloading can be time-consuming. Once again, you’ll be exhausted; however, after you’ve frontloaded, you’re there as a facilitator helping them become exhausted, but it will be a good exhausted.
• Look for ways to involve the stakeholders, even if just during the presentation. Emerald High School has brought in engineers, school board members and members of the district office, and other members of the community who have a direct connection to what is being presented. Students see the impact their research has on the community and the community gets inspiration from the youth.
• Involve members of the district office and school board. Encourage them to witness the accomplishments of your students instead of just viewing them as a test score.
• Encourage the students to present, but it’s not the end of the world if they don’t. The more opportunities they have, the more likely they will improve. (Unfortunately, as I teach at a school with only 9th graders, I don’t necessarily see this growth.)
• Look for the individual wins with the students. Has the student’s attendance improved? WIN! Has the student’s ability to present publicly improved? WIN! Has the student actually submitted work? WIN! That final grade isn’t always the goal.
• Create projects that have long-term impacts. Cynthia Wells’ students researched Free Trade coffee and modern slavery after reading Olaudah Equiano’s narrative and excerpts from Frederick Douglass’s works, created flyers to educate their classmates about modern day slavery, and then distributed those flyers during Friday coffee house sessions; these sessions have continued long beyond the weeks of preparation in the classroom. Another class researched energy efficiency in public areas of the high school and district and presented their findings to the district office and school board; the number and type of light bulbs used has since been changed to increase efficiency and lower costs.
• Create projects that bring students together. Collaboration, teamwork, peer feedback, soft skills. The advantages of bringing students together are endless.
• Network. Talk to other teachers who do PBL in their classroom, and they don’t have to be teaching the same subject as you. Bounce ideas off them. Brainstorm together. Work together. Find ways to communicate in your busy days, even if it’s just on a GoogleDoc that can keep track of all of the ideas easier than an email. 
• Don’t be afraid to allow others to visit your classroom. Allow teachers who are nervous about PBL visit your classroom. Will your children always be on their best behavior when someone else is in the classroom? No. That’s life. Those teachers aren’t going to judge you. What they will see is the engagement and excitement of your students, and if it didn’t work out that way, engage in dialogue with your visitor to see what went wrong. Maybe an outside eye can help you adapt your lesson for the future. (If I’m being honest, this is one bit of advice that is hard for me, but I’m going to work harder to do. I want more teachers to visit to see what PBL is about.)

Our visit to Emerald High School invigorated me. I’m ready to jump in even deeper and explore the endless possibilities with my students. I know that I have a long way to go on my PBL journey, and I’m glad that you’ve chosen to join me. I look forward to your feedback and suggestions. Until next time, keep considering yourself daft...so many times that’s when the best ideas evolve.