EdTech 542 Week 3: Idea Development and Driving Question

Question: Is it still PBL without an authentic audience?

According to the University of Indianapolis CELL description of PBL, an authentic audience is “a person or institution that works with students on a PBL unit. The role of the authentic audience can comprise introducing the problem or challenge to the students to kick off the unit, working with students throughout the project as a consultant providing guidance, and attending the students’ public presentation to give feedback.”

For this week’s readings from the BIE website and other supplementary research, it appears the PBL model requires an authentic and public audience for the preparation and presentation of the project.  Nonetheless, I personally believe PBL can be effective and purposeful without one, although it’s certainly not ideal.  Equally, it does not require much extra effort on the part of the teacher or student, so a classroom embarking on a PBL unit should strive to include this element in the project design.

A good PBL unit should have a driving question that answers the question “why are we learning this?”  The answer should have a direct connection to the “real world,” and what better way to bring in the “real world” than by having a correspondence with someone in the project’s professional field.  This is something I’ve consciously considered as I’ve set out to build my unit on lionfish as an invasive species in Bermuda.  Local experts are going to have the information my students need to know to understand the issue from all sides.  They are going to be able to relay first-hand information about the severity of the issue because they have personally witnessed it and can tell its “story.”  There’s no hiding behind dry facts and figures, which are less inclined to incite emotion, interest, and activism.  Bermudian students should be talking to Bermudian scientists, environmental activists, and government officials to piece together of the voice of the community.  As the PLS website points out, “this kind of an audience can be brought in to see student work at key checkpoints, offering professional feedback and helping to ensure high-quality products by the end.”  They don’t just have to be the passive audience at the end of unit, clapping at the students’ final presentations.  They can and should be actively involved throughout the process.  The invasion of lionfish is a local issue, and students should be talking to their neighbors about it.

In addition, however, the article from the Principled Learning Strategies website encourages teachers to make the audience global as well.  Students should not get trapped in the narrow vision of looking through the “lens’ of local culture. This is a worldwide issue, and various countries are tackling the exact same problem right now.  Internet networking and videoconferencing are technology tools that are useful in bridging the divide of physical space.  It would be fantastic if students could chat with ecologists in Cayman, or conference with SCUBA divers in BVI.  Students could discuss their action plans and solutions and thus see how they could bring about real change on a global level.  What evolves is a greater sense of purpose and a heightened sense of urgency.  The project has a real cause and effect.  In other words, it’s meaningful.  The PLS website notes, “The more connected students feel to the needs of their authentic audience, the more they want to contribute significantly and do it well–and the more they grow up as young leaders who are contributing to constructive global change already, and will continue to do so throughout their lives…”

Therefore, best practice of PBL suggests using an authentic (invited from the professional world) audience as much as possible throughout the students’ development of their project to inform, assist, coach, evaluate, and celebrate the students’ quest for knowledge in their field.  This makes the project, and the students, more socially and culturally responsive, which is a fundamental 21^st century skill.

References
Miller, Andrew. (2011.) The Whole Child Blog. Using Project-Based Learning to Engage Parents in the School Community.  Retrieved June 29, 2013 from http://www.wholechildeducation.org/blog/using-project-based-learning-to-engage-parents-in-the-school-community

Principled Learning Strategies, Inc. (2012.) Keeping it Real in Global PBL: Authentic Public Audience. PLS. Retrieved June 29, 2013 from http://principledlearning.org/1/post/2012/10/keeping-it-real-in-global-pbl-authentic-public-audience.html.

University of IndianapolisCELL.  PBL Essentials. Retrieved June 29, 2013 from http://cell.uindy.edu/PBL/pblessentials.php