Commonalities
All three examples reminded me of my time teaching at Tapestry Charter School in Buffalo, NY. Tapestry is an Expeditionary Learning (EL) School. EL schools follow similar (some may argue identical) design principles as the project-based learning model (PBL). El's ten design principles are stated on their website as follows:
1. The Primacy of Self-Discovery
2. The Having of Wonderful Ideas
3. The Responsibility for Learning
4. Empathy and Caring
5. Success and Failure
6. Collaboration and Competition
7. Diversity and Inclusion
8. The Natural World
9. Solitude and Reflection
10. Service and Compassion
I found that the three examples of PBL, "More Fun Than a Barrel of . . . Worms?!", "Geometry Students Angle into Architecture Through Project Learning", and "March of the Monarchs: Students Follow the Butterflies' Migration" shared many of the Gold Standard design principles that are mirrored in EL's design principles.
Let's begin with the components that all three examples shared. Each example honed in on a goal or question (EQ/DQ) that all students could tackle. Each EQ was challenging without being intimidating, which is a cornerstone in the Buck Institute for Education's Gold Standards for PBL. Additionally, each of the three examples incorporated some measure of field work: the worms example had students in each class going on a field trip to gather information; the architecture example showed students touring a city to look at prime examples of architecture and going to the firm of the architects who judged their projects; and the monarch example had students working in a monarch garden right outside of their classroom and interacting with scientists across the globe via the Internet. All three of these demonstrated the authenticity of the project— another key component of the BIE's Gold Standards. Furthermore, all three examples were cross-curricular. This meets the "Key Knowledge and Understanding" portion of the BIE Gold Standards. Students are working through standards from various domains of content. Finally, All three examples involved a "public product"— an essential part of the Gold Standards. The worms project culminated in students presenting their learning in oral, digital, and social ways; the architecture project had students presenting their final products to a team of notable architects; and the monarch project encouraged students to post their research and observations on an online database as well as communicate products with other students in Mexico.
One thing that was missing from both the architecture example and the monarch example was student choice/voice in the EQ/DQ. In the worms example (and the sub-examples within that: the Cystic Fibrosis Project and Asthma Project) students had a measure of control over the project they were going to tackle. The architecture project and the monarch project were definitely teacher-selected. Though, students did have a voice/choice opportunities when it came to other components of the three different projects. One component missing from the worms example, but present in the other two, is the reflection component. I think this is one of the most important criteria from the BIE Gold Standards. Without it, students are not fully solidifying their learning or making plans for improving the next time around.
4. Empathy and Caring