Ross Cooper

5 Ways to Avoid Project Based Learning Fluff #HackingPBL

This post is #3 in a series of 10 posts that serve as extensions of the 10 chapters in Hacking Project Based Learning, which I coauthored with Erin Murphy. This post is an extension of Chapter 3, which focuses on deciding on which content your project should focus. #HackingPBL

For all of the posts in the series, tap/click here.

When I taught fourth grade, I was initially met with skepticism from other teachers when I started to regularly engage my students in project based learning (PBL) and STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics). I think much of this apprehension existed because some of my practices did in fact perpetuate the myth that PBL was fluff and that the “real” teaching and learning takes place through more direct instruction. However, as I continuously reflected upon and refined my craft, many of these doubters went from, “That wouldn’t work with my students!” to “How can that work with my students?”

Looking back, I still think some of my original PBL practices were forgivable, simply because I had to begin somewhere (Don’t we all?). But, there are definitely some bits of advice I wish I had been given prior to getting started.

That being said, here are five ways to avoid project based learning fluff.

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Should we grade 21st century skills? #HackingPBL

By Ross Cooper 7 Comments

This post is #2 in a series of 10 posts that serve as extensions of the 10 chapters in Hacking Project Based Learning, which I coauthored with Erin Murphy. This post is an extension of Chapter 2, which focuses on explicitly teaching collaboration skills. #HackingPBL

For all of the posts in the series, tap/click here.

Last week I participated in the EdLeader21 conference in Denver, Colorado (highly recommended). Two of my highlights were Jay McTighe’s (@jaymctighe) two sessions – one on curriculum design and the other on project based learning – and a closing session on design thinking by two members of Stanford’s d.school.

Throughout the conference (and also during much of this year’s in-district professional development), the primary theme that served as the basis for all of the work was the 4Cs: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. In fact, the EdLeader 21 website sells 4Cs rubrics (free for members), and Jay McTighe’s latest book (which I purchased after watching him present, but have yet to fully read) also contains rubrics for these skills.

Should these skills be graded?

First, let’s keep in mind there is a difference between assessment and grading. Whereas the goal of assessment is to improve student learning, grading (or a grade) is generally used to evaluate current level of performance. And, I don’t think anyone would necessarily argue against assessing these skills, at least within the context of learning experiences.

So, back to the question at hand…

When I initially sat down to write this piece, my answer was a definitive “No!” However, upon further thinking, any well-designed project based learning experience (and many activities/assignments) will naturally require students to engage in all 4Cs, with the possible exception of collaboration if students are to work alone: critical thinking when students investigate higher-order questions, communication when students explain processes and decisions, collaboration as students rely on each other’s strengths, and creativity through opportunities for student choice…Therefore, if/when grading takes place, students’ abilities to navigate the 4Cs contribute to their grades in one way or another.

So, I’m thinking the better question is whether or not these skills should be graded in isolation.

EVERYONE Is Writing a Book, or EVERYONE Has a Voice?

By Ross Cooper 1 Comment

Over the past few years the rate at which educational books are being written (mostly by connected educators), has increased rapidly. Thanks to such independent publishers as Mark Barnes and the Hack Learning Series, Dave Burgess Consulting, and EdTechTeam Press, the process of getting a book to market is now that much easier. Many of these books I have read, and here are two from each publisher I can easily recommend (and I’m still making my way through some of the others):

Hacking Leadership by Tony Sinanis and Joe Sanfelippo
Hacking Assessment by Starr Sackstein
The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros
LAUNCH by A.J. Juliani and John Spencer
The Space by Bob Dillon and Rebecca Louise Hare
Innovate with iPad by Karen Lirenman and Kristen Wideen

Despite the quality of this work, it seems like this influx of books has precipitated some eye rolling and sarcastic comments to the effect of, “Everyone is writing a book!” And to be honest, at a point, I too was skeptical.

Nevertheless, after some reflection and time (and some personal growth, maybe)…I have come to believe this growth in popularity of independent publishing is a change for the better as it is indicative of what we should want for our students; everyone can have a voice, everyone has an opportunity to make their work public, and everyone has an opportunity to make a difference. (In fact, I think it might be a bit hypocritical to say, “Students should be publishing!” followed by something like, “I can’t stand all these education books!”)

Reimagining Learning Spaces with Design Thinking #HackingPBL

By Ross Cooper 12 Comments

This post is #1 in a series of 10 posts that serve as extensions of the 10 chapters in Hacking Project Based Learning, which I coauthored with Erin Murphy. This post is an extension of Chapter 1, which focuses on establishing a culture of inquiry and creativity. #HackingPBL

For all of the posts in the series, tap/click here.

Before I left the classroom a few years ago, there were a few items on my bucket list I never got to accomplish (and I would have accomplished them had I taught for just one more year)…One of these missed opportunities was a complete redesign of my classroom.

You see, the final year I taught fourth grade, my students and I started our work in science by learning about the scientific method through the creation of original egg packagings with a process called design thinking. In short (ok, very short), students didn’t just engineer creative products, but they did so with empathy for the consumer in mind. And, they then assessed the effectiveness of their homemade creations based on what they determined to be the indispensable features of an exemplary product (while visualizing themselves in the shoes of the consumer).

My students enjoyed our design thinking work so much, following the egg unit and throughout the year I consistently told them something to the effect of, “Once state testing is done in April, I’ll give you a budget of a few hundred dollars and you can use your experiences with design thinking to revamp our classroom.” Nevertheless, for one reason or another, the overhaul never happened.

Here’s My Reading Comprehension Journey…

By Ross Cooper 4 Comments

This will be the fourth and final part of what has turned into an unintentional series of posts on reading comprehension and close reading. Here is what we have covered so far:

Part 1: 3 Reasons to Rethink Your Basal Reader
Part 2: 2 Huge Reasons to Emphasize Consistent Reading Comprehension Strategies
Part 3: Storycasting with Reading Comprehension Strategies (a method for practicing the implementation of strategies)

In this post I would like to take a look back on my reading comprehension journey, and the different stages I “experienced” during my time as a classroom teacher.

Storycasting with Reading Comprehension Strategies

By Ross Cooper 1 Comment

This post previews the EdCollab Gathering session – Storycasting in the Classroom – I’ll be offering with Erin Murphy and Natalie Franzi on September 24!

In the last post we examined how my district is exploring the use of consistent reading strategies throughout elementary and middle school (grades K-8): monitoring comprehension, activating and connecting to background knowledge, questioning, visualizing, inferring, determining importance in text, and summarizing and synthesizing information…And, we took a look at how we could leverage the Notice & Note signposts (both fiction and non-fiction) to have students get more out of these strategies in grades 4-8.

Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels, in Comprehension and Collaboration, succinctly explain the significance of reading comprehension strategies, “Explicitly teaching comprehension strategies remains one of the key principles of reading achievement, and the flexible use of comprehension strategies allows readers to hurdle the background knowledge gap when reading challenging text.”

2 Huge Reasons to Emphasize Consistent Reading Comprehension Strategies

By Ross Cooper 5 Comments

Currently in my district at the elementary level, we are in the process of strategically moving away from our basal reading program. We’ve already “cut out” its writing component, as this year we’re hitting the ground running with Writing Workshop and the Units of Study. Also, we’ve begun the process of designing our own reading comprehension instruction with the assistance of Reading with Meaning, Strategies That Work, and Notice & Note (both fiction and non-fiction).

A component of these reading comprehension modifications involves exploring the use of consistent strategies throughout elementary and middle school (grades K-8): monitoring comprehension, activating and connecting to background knowledge, questioning, visualizing, inferring, determining importance in text, and summarizing and synthesizing information. These strategies, which are from Strategies That Work (and many other resources), are “the first recommendation in the IES Practice Guide from the What Works Clearinghouse on improving reading comprehension.”

In addition, we’re looking at leveraging the Notice & Note signposts (both fiction and non-fiction) to have students dive deeper into the strategies (and texts) in grades 4-8. And, if you’re not familiar with the signposts (and you should be), just follow the previous two links to see how they apply to both fiction and non-fiction.

Now, while the idea of consistent strategies may sound neat, organized, and impressive, I believe it’s important to be able to specifically articulate why this is the path we’re considering.

With these thoughts in mind, here are two huge reasons to emphasize consistent reading comprehension strategies (and signposts) across your grade levels.

Digital Portfolios and Blogs: Use Authentic Technology, Not Technology Made for School

By Ross Cooper 46 Comments

Student publishing is a topic Erin Murphy and I explore in-depth in Hack 10 of our upcoming book, Hacking Project Based Learning! (Update – The book is now available here!)

Currently in my district we’ve had some preliminary talks regarding if/how digital portfolios could be implemented on a wide-scale. Of course, while the focus shouldn’t necessarily be on the technology, one of the first questions asked by everyone (both in and out of district) always involves what type of platform we have in mind.

While these portfolio talks are only in their infancy, and we currently have no certain idea what will actually happen (in regards to what technology is chosen and with the portfolios in general)…I do strongly feel that, if possible, we should always be looking to use an authentic tool (e.g., self-hosted WordPress or WordPress.com) as opposed to one that has been made for school (e.g., Kidblog or Seesaw).

Here are three reasons why:

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Pokémon Go, One Quick Thought…

By Ross Cooper 10 Comments

The other day, when I was talking to one of my educator friends, I voiced something to the effect of, “If I were still in the classroom, I’d find a way to fit Pokémon Go into my teaching!” In my opinion, this app is the perfect example of when it’s appropriate to begin planning instruction with the technology in mind and not what we want students to understand or be able to do (because the app is so cool, we just have to use it).

Nonetheless, when utilizing the app (or any other technology), we should probably rethink our actions if in no way, shape, or form are we then able to connect/integrate the technology with what students are supposed to learn…or, if technology use results in the same understandings being reached, but in a much less efficient or more roundabout way. In other words, we shouldn’t try to cram a square peg into a round hole.

Now, let’s take a closer look at why (or, why not) Pokémon Go has a place in our classrooms.