We are wired to succeed

I recently had the incredible pleasure of volunteering at an independent school, working with students that were in the midst of Project Based Learning (PBL). It was the school’s first attempt at en masse PBL across years 7-10. From the outset it was clear the school had done their research. They had brainstormed and developed a plan that they felt confident to implement. As a long term home educator with many years of experience in PBL, I was incredibly impressed with the organisation and enthusiasm of the team! It was indeed an honour to work alongside such an incredible group of teachers and support staff.

I have long been an advocate for PBL, a system whereby students choose an area of interest and then develop a project that will satisfy a set of learning criteria. In my home educating days the topic really was completely up to the kids but on this occasion the school chose a theme and the students were free to create a project of their liking within that theme using a learning criteria and journaling framework as their guide.

In my first year of home educating I tried to implement a school structure into the home environment. And as most seasoned home educators know this is a common mistake we all make. It is usually not long before we realise it just doesn’t work nor does it fit with the reasons we chose to home educate in the first place. During that first year I became a voracious consumer of all things pedagogy. Within eighteen months I had completely landed at the place of Facilitator. You see I believe that every child has an innate desire to gain knowledge and skills and as parents and teachers we are tasked with facilitating that journey. Project Based Learning is the prefect platform for such a mindset.

Sadly in most instances, our schools in Australia are still operating under the structure that was developed to churn out factory workers during the industrial revolution. Teachers are working in a system that increasingly is less about teaching and more about reporting. But I digress, that is a conversation for another post! Going back to my experience volunteering at the school, I can honestly say that every single moment I spent with the students (even those who were not fully convinced about PBLand were therefore halfheartedly going through the motions and then those who were vigorously avoiding completing the task they set out to achieve) was both inspiring and humbling. These are some of the stand out moments.

There was the student who had a mind blowing light bulb moment when they realised all the effort they had made gathering information would be of great benefit to people that had a mental health issue or physical injury. This moment actually bought me to tears and just quietly, still makes me tear up when I think of it.

One student was totally convinced they had shot themselves in the foot for changing the project half way through. There was a realisation upon conversational reflection, that it was in fact a natural evolution of the project as more knowledge and understanding was acquired, and in that moment the purpose and benefit of PBL was realised.

A couple of students were doing a totally hands on repair project. It took them the full length of time to problem solve the issue leaving them with no time to carry out the repair. They were certain they had ‘failed’ because they had not achieved what they set out to do and as such, PBL was ‘stupid’. Again upon reflection during an assisted assessment of their project, they realised they had in fact completely achieved all of the learning criteria and had a long list of skills they had aquired. This in turn gave them a desire to have more opportunities for PBL.

There was a student that was totally convinced PBL was a waste of time. However, I got to see the look on his face and see his reaction to the positive feedback from those reading the essay he presented. He possibly wouldn’t admit it, but to those looking on there was a palpable sense of satisfaction and achievement in his demeanour.

There has not been a single week where I haven’t been in contact with parents from around the world that are struggling with ‘school work’ at home during lockdowns. I empathise! I remember what it was like trying to implement school into home. If I may …… just relax. Talk to your kids about their passions, what do they love? Basketball …. perfect! Give them space to hone their skills, watch replays, research players they like. Cars ….. Fantastic, Hair Dressing …. Perfect, Chemistry ….. Good Luck! ( move out of the kitchen and get them doing some wild and wooly cooking chemistry experimentation). Think a little on the idea that we all have an innate desire to grow in knowledge and skill, sometimes that desire is blunted by a system that doesn’t engage our passions. And never forget, all of us no matter our age or level of education will easily learn a skill or gain knowledge when the need is great and perhaps more importantly, we are wired to succeed!