How to Institute Problem-Oriented, Project-Based Learning in Your CTE Classroom (Gold Standard PBLs)

HERE’S A PROBLEM. FIND A SOLUTION. SHOW ME YOUR OUTCOME. LEARN AND HAVE FUN.

When I started teaching, I naturally gravitated towards lesson plans which spanned multiple weeks, in which I presented a challenge – a problem that wasn’t easily solved – to my students and gave them time and resources to attempt a solution. I’ve never been a fan of the single-day lesson and I actively despise all student “learning” which can be completed on a  smart phone. 

I did this first in my English Classroom, teaching critical thinking standards by having students argue Supreme Court cases with some kids playing the part of judges, others of lawyers, others of pundits reporting on the case. 

I encouraged creativity, tried to reward student effort, not successful outcomes. I was constantly on the prowl for the next big idea – inspiration for the new challenge I would design for the following year. I had varying levels of success. Sometimes students did the project but never understood the underlying concepts it was “supposed” to be teaching them. Sometimes the problem I presented was either unsolvable or so easily resolved we had to end the weeks-long project after a few days. I got better, slowly. I learned to check and see if a similar project had been published by another teacher before I started slogging through lesson planning. I learned to design assessments that were ongoing and process-focused, rather than using ineffective multiple-choice tests or overly result-oriented. I learned to become more comfortable with the messiness, with the occasional periods of student seeming inactivity as they processed ideas, with the organic and fast-slow-fast, uncontrollable growth towards a viable student-generated solution.

I was very impressed with myself.  

I didn’t know and wasn’t smart enough to read the research journals. Heck, I didn’t even know there WERE any research journals on the topic. 

Turns out, Problem-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning have been around for a long time. There is tons of research on both and tools abound for bringing either, both, or a hybrid of the two into the classroom. 

It is not my place to wonder why more teachers aren’t following this model or why more administrators aren’t insisting on it. Both types of PBL have shown significant student improvements on assessments at every level over standard instruction. In my practical experience, once I implemented a couple of the best-practices outlined in this post in my classroom, I saw greater student engagement, greater rates of attendance, and vastly higher grades.

Since ALL CTE courses are fundamentally about living and working in the real-world, using these learning models is easier than in most others subject areas. We don’t have to hunt very hard to find authentic problems for students to attempt to solve in our discipline! What’s more, grants that bring resources into the classroom VASTLY prefer this model and will gladly write you a check if you can prove you’re doing something interesting. Since we all want better student outcomes (and we could all use more neat-o resources in the classroom!), it behooves us to learn what PBL is and how we can  incorporate it.

What is project-based learning?

“Project Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects.” Students work on a project over an extended period of time – from a week up to a semester, demonstrating their knowledge and skills by creating a public product or presentation for a real audience. The project is the vehicle for teaching the important knowledge and skills, it contains and frames curriculum and instruction.

In Project-Based Learning, the focus is on the end result: the artifact. 

(The Buck Institute for Education)

What is problem-based learning?

“A student-centered approach in which students learn about a subject by working in groups to solve an open-ended problem.” The PROBLEM is what drives the motivation and the learning.  Uses range from lab and design, to starting a discussion, to creating assessment items. 

In Problem-Based Learning, the focus is on the process: solving the real-world problem. 

(Cornell Center for Teaching Innovation)

Not all project-based learning focuses on solving a problem. Not all problem-based learning focuses on completing a project.  Project- and Problem-Based Learning are related, but not identical.

The Challenges with Project- and Problem-Based Learning (or Non-Examples)

SOMETHING TO DO, LEARNING OPTIONAL

In the beginning of my journey, I thought  Project-Based Learning was all about creating something physical, such as a mind map, or a robot that could pick weeds, or an artifact, or giving a presentation, or creating a website…. a thing. As a result, my kids had fun completing projects, but didn’t understand how the artifact they created worked or what knowledge it was based on. It was “doing for the sake of doing.” 

QUESTIONS AREN’T PROBLEMS (NEITHER ARE TASKS)

A bit later in my career, I thought I was brilliant for having students solve “problems.” 

I’d write How do you  ___________ ?  on the board, and underneath that, Students will understand (standard, standard, standard), and underneath THAT, the dreaded Student Will Be Able To ______________. 

For a few days I’d show them how to do that thing, explaining the underlying concepts, demonstrating the skills, scaffolding the process for those who struggled. Then I’d let them at it. I naively believed they were solving a problem I had cunningly provided.

Most of the time, they weren’t solving true problems, they were just performing exercises. It was the “worksheet” method of teaching, brought to life. I thought – stupidly – that if a student filled out a “worksheet,” if they could mimic my demonstrations, they had “learned” something. I was like someone teaching a teenager to drive down the interstate and expecting that afterwards they would understand gas combustion.

If I show a student how to solve a problem, if they don’t go through the messy process of creating a solution, if they don’t have to negotiate failures and frustrations on the path to the answer… they didn’t solve a problem. They just completed a class project. It was busy work and the knowledge gained was transitory and quickly gone.

A problem is NOT a task or an exercise or an activity to be completed. 

What I had to discover before I found success with this style of teaching is this: a problem that will result in learning absolutely requires the STUDENT be the one figuring out the answer. It’s a messy thing, it takes time and is demonstrably challenging to assess for grading purposes. Sometimes the students are NEVER successful and no solution is found… All of that is okay. The point of Learning Projects is the PROCESS of the STUDENT trying to find a ANSWER to a challenging problem.

(Centre for Teaching Excellence at University of Waterloo)

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“The problems that we focus to solve are ones where there is no immediately apparent procedure, idea, or routine to follow; if one has an idea how to solve ‘the problem,’ then this problem is simply an exercise. What we call a problem is a real challenge; it is a situation where we really have to struggle to define it, figure out what it means, and resolve it”. 

J. T. Wood (1997) Communication in our Lives

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A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE

After I had a bit of experience under my belt, I sort of smooshed the two teaching methodologies together.

Let’s not argue about how some Project Based Learning lessons incorporate problem solving, or how a well-designed Problem-solving lesson contains all the elements of authentic projects.  That is a conversation for university professors and certain retired teachers who helped me put this presentation together.

For my purposes, I have come to think of these two learning modalities as ONE THING – what the good folks at PBLWorks call the “Gold Standard PBL.”

PBLWorks is an arm of the Buck Institute For Education and they are doing some amazing things. I think their approach of combining Problem-Oriented METHODS with Project-Based OUTCOMES is inspired…. and heavily based on current research. Plus, they agree with me. So I like em’.

Here is how PBLWorks diagrams the workflow for a Gold Standard PBL.

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Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Each element deals with a specific requirement that is ALREADY PRESENT in almost any solid teaching plan.

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IMPORTANT POINT: Problem-solving, by its very nature, is as much a creative task as it is an analytical one. Analysis and synthesis of information is important – but the leap, the sudden intuitive flash – can’t be rushed, put on a schedule, or forced in any way. The number of times I’ve reprimanded a student for daydreaming rather than working on the task at hand, only to be told – I think I may have figured it out. What if we… I then rightly and appropriately hung my head in shame. The kid was working internally. This was EXACTLY what I wanted.

Just because it seems there isn’t much going on upstairs doesn’t mean you’re right.

Trust them. More often than not, they are working it over in their minds. Every human loves a puzzle and the brain craves order. Eventually, they will come back with a solution. It will probably surprise you.

Teachers of PBL must get comfortable with the discomfort and messiness of this style of inquiry. Or at least know it’s coming and brace themselves.

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Oddly enough, the most common question I’m asked is “what kind of project can I do?” Funny. That’s not really the best way to think of it. Instead, ask:

What kind of PROBLEM can I use in my classroom as the basis for a learning project?

Any subject area contains problems that can be adapted to this kind of PBL with a little creativity. I’ve used this methodology in three different disciplines and have had varying levels of success with all of them. However, there are common threads that characterize the successful problems I’ve presented to my students.

Here’s the bottom line: the problem I construct my Gold Standard PBL around has to….

1. be authentic and real world
2. require a deeper understanding of concepts. 
3. require students to make reasoned decisions (and to defend them). 
4. incorporate the current standard objectives
5. connect to previous courses/knowledge. 
6. have a level of complexity to ensure that the students must work together to solve it. 
7. intrinsically motivating – be challenging and rewarding to students

This list is an excellent way of weeding out the bad ideas for which I am famous. 2 and 3 are the killers of most of my “inspirations.” Problems which don’t require a deeper understanding of concepts or which don’t require students to make reasoned decisions ARE EVERYWHERE.

If a problem doesn’t meet ALL of these requirements – even if only a little bit – must be discarded.

More on that later.

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ROAD BLOCK

Early in my teaching career, I discovered the BIGGEST HURDLE to Gold Standard PBLs in the classroom: students pretty much stink at solving problems.

They give up quickly. They do google searches and believe that whatever answer Google gives them FIRST is the correct one. They don’t have the patience required to read a bunch of articles and lack the judgment to weed out poor search results.

Also, they dislike READING in general. 

They tend to try to SOLVE problems before they UNDERSTAND problems. What’s more, few of their other classes require them to actually solve a problem for which there may be multiple right answers, no “right” answer, or no answer they can access with the resources available to them. They come to the task of solving problems with empty toolboxes.

We have to provide those Problem-solving tools before we can get begin on that exciting Gold Standard PBL we’re thinking about. We have to TEACH our students how to solve problems.

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All material in the section on teaching problem solving came directly from the amazing folks at the Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo. I can’t recommend their work as a valuable resource highly enough. Visit for more information at: https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/developing-assignments/cross-discipline-skills/teaching-problem-solving-skills

HOW to teach problem solving: the Pedagogy

Here’s what I’ve learned to do BEFORE starting a Gold Standard PBL.

I use a mini-project – a weeklong series of activities scheduled for RIGHT BEFORE the big event- where I present a simple problem and demonstrate how to go about solving it.

• Model a useful problem-solving method. Problem solving can be difficult and sometimes tedious. Show students by your example how to be patient and persistent and how to follow a structured method, such as Woods’ model described below. TALK about the methods you are using AS YOU ARE DOING IT. Point out the connections.
• Teach within a specific context. I tried teaching problem solving in isolation once. Wow. was that a mistake. Teach problem-solving skills in the SAME CONTEXT the students will be using them. Use a real-life problem that is not too dissimilar to the Gold Standard PBL you want to try. Do not teach problem solving as an independent, abstract skill.
• Help students understand the problem. In order to solve a problem, everyone needs to define to things: the problem itself and the end result you want to achieve. This step is crucial to learning successful problem-solving skills. If you succeed at helping students answer the questions “what is the problem?” and “why should I try to solve it?”, finding the answer to “how?” gets a lot easier.
• Take enough time. I’m TERRIBLE at this! I always try to cram too many THINGS in to too little TIME. When planning PBL, budget enough time for: Presenting the the problem, discussions on the NATURE of the problem, time for students to DEFINE the goal, for dealing with questions; for correcting misconceptions; for making, finding, and fixing mistakes. The biggest mistake I made for YEARS is I never budgeted enough time for students to let their creative minds ruminate… to do the vital task of daydreaming of possible solutions. Some things can’t be rushed and you can’t FORCE ideas. They come when they come.

• Ask questions and make suggestions. If students are really struggling, ask questions to get their mental juices rolling. Ask “what would happen if we…” and offer an idea. Be clear: you are not asking a rhetorical question. You aren’t trying to give them “hints.” You want them to TELL you what they think would happen in the scenario you proposed. This will help them to develop analytical and deductive thinking skills.
• Link errors to misconceptions. Students will inevitably get things wrong. Nothing will murder an atmosphere of innovation and problem-solving faster than shotgun ideas being ridiculed. Relentlessly address this. There are not stupid ideas and no one can be criticised for suggesting a solution. INSTEAD, use errors as evidence of misconceptions, not carelessness or random guessing. Make an effort to isolate the misconception and correct it, then teach students to do this by themselves.

Now that I’ve shared HOW I go about teaching problem solving, let’s talk briefly about the CONTENT.

J.T. Woods is one of the premier thinkers on problem-solving and is the researcher most frequently referenced in the Education literature. Also, he’s really cool.

Here’s how he has broken down the process of problem solving. This is the CONTENT I cover before beginning a project. A pre-Gold Standard PBL lesson, if you will.

WHAT to teach: Woods’ problem-solving model

1. Define the problem
   • The system. Have students identify the system that forms the boundaries of the issue (e.g., a metal bridge subject to certain forces) by interpreting the information provided in the problem statement. Drawing a diagram is a great way to do this.
   • Identify Knowns. List everything students already know about the problem. This is the “connect to previous learning” portion of the system.
   • Unknown(s). Once you have a list of knowns, identifying the unknowns.Don’t allow students to just say “the answer to the problem.” There are always others. Ask students to explain what they are expected to find.
   • Units, symbols, and definitions. One key aspect in problem solving is teaching students how to select, interpret, and use units, symbols, and accurate terms. I am continually surprised at how often students will use terms and types of measurement they don’t understand!
   • Constraints. All problems have some stated or implied constraints. Teach students to look for the words only, must, neglect, or assume to help identify the constraints.
   • Criteria for success. Help students to consider from the beginning what a potentially logical answer would be. What characteristics will it possess?
2. Think about it 
   • “Let it simmer”. Use this stage to ponder the problem. Ideally, students will develop a mental image of the problem at hand during this stage.
   • Identify specific pieces of knowledge. Students need to determine by themselves the required background knowledge from illustrations, examples and problems covered in the course.
   • Collect information. Encourage students to collect pertinent information such as conversion factors, constants, tables, lists of definitions, resources, etc. Someone will try to find an explanatory video on You Tube. Remind them that they have no way of knowing if that person found the right answer. You have to look for yourself before jumping ahead to someone else’s solution.
3. Plan a solution
   • Consider possible strategies. Often, the type of solution will be determined by the type of problem. Some common problem-solving strategies are: make a model, create a graph, or compute a formula. In my class, our strategies are experimental – iterations followed by analysis.
   • Choose the best strategy. Help students to choose the best strategy by reminding them again what they are required to find or calculate.
4. Carry out the plan
   • Be patient. Most problems are not solved quickly or on the first attempt. In other cases, executing the solution may be the easiest step.
   • Be persistent. If a plan does not work immediately, do not let students get discouraged. Encourage them to try a different strategy and keep trying.
5. Look back
   Encourage students to reflect. Once a solution has been reached, students should ask themselves the following questions:
   • Does the answer make sense?
   • Does it fit with the criteria established in step 1?
   • Did I answer the question(s)?
   • What did I learn by doing this?
   • Could I have done the problem another way

PICKING A PROJECT

So, you understand that you will need to actively TEACH students how to solve problems. Great. And you’ve decided to try out this style of teaching and are ready to begin. Fantastic.

Now the real question: what problem-based project will you have students attempt to DO?

Here’s how I come up with ideas.

I’m on the lookout for my NEXT project the day I am awarded a grant for my CURRENT one. It’s always in the back of my mind: what will I try? When I was thinking about explaining this process to others, it occured to me that my process is really a series of questions. You might be surprised to see how many of the questions have to do with ME (and not my students).

I’ve never been all that successful at guessing what kids will want to do. I don’t know any adults who are. I think it is more important that I am enthusiastic about a PBL. If I want to do it… the feeling transfers, and as they say, the enthusiasm is contagious.

Here are my guiding questions:

What’s an end product I’m curious about? Can the kids make it?

For me, this is easy. I’m fascinated by all kinds of specialty products and am always on the hunt for brining that product into the classroom. The cool thing about specialty products is that – in the making – multiple problems have to be solved, all real-world. We’ve made hot sauce and pepperoni and tried to make cheddar.  We’ve tended an aeroponic herb garden in our classroom and made pet treats for homeless dogs. We have a coffee roaster and one of these days, the kids and I are going to start roasting our own brand of coffee.

All of these projects started out as something I wanted to learn how to make. My own curiosity. Aligning that end-result with a learning target is never hard… just put the focus of reaching the end result on the learning target. 

For example: There are no “coffee” standards per se. There are, however, multiple standards about caramelization, taste, environmentally-sustainable farming, roasting, food technology…. the list goes on. I didn’t have a problem aligning a standard. I had a problem picking which standards were most appropriate and focusing on them!

Is there a process that’s described in the textbook or in the standards that is unusual or strange? Can we try to recreate that process – potentially on a smaller scale?

There are tons of underlying processes that are touched on in the educational standards, things students are expected to be familiar with but which they would rarely be exposed. We could go on a field trip to SEE someone else do it, but that’s not a problem (that’s a field trip; those are different things). 

Can I bring one of those processes into the classroom and turn it into a project the students execute under guidance? 

For Example: There is a paragraph in my textbook about fermentation. One paragraph. A blurb on the margins about fermentation and hot sauce production, specifically how Sriracha is made. 

I made that one paragraph into problem (Bottled hot sauce can easily grow health-threatening bacteria. Make me some hot sauce that won’t kill me) then aligned  the project to “science of food” standards, “process of taste” standards, and “technology of food production” standards. The kids had a blast learning about fermentation, pH levels, salinity and capsaicin, eventually making and bottling “Mustang Fire,” a hot sauce they were proud of. 

Which I then sold to fund more cool toys for my classroom.

And the cycle continues.

Is there a competition that encourages students to solve a problem – can I piggyback on their ideas, potentially having my high-performers compete later on?

A quick internet search turned up a fascinating culinary challenge that required intense understanding of nutrition and the chemistry of food – the NASA HUNCH challenge. I didn’t change a single thing: NASA had already devised the problem and how the project would work… all I had to do was teach some problem-solving techniques then sit back and watch the kids go to town. In retrospect, I wish I had taught those problem-solving techniques in a way that was more targeted and less general. 

All students struggle to solve problems. The scaffolding is in the problem-solving technique itself, not the process they follow with their proposed solution. 

What are some cool toys I want to learn how to use?

There is all kinds of neat-o equipment – usually specialty or rarely required – that I, as a Culinary School trained Chef who worked in the industry for YEARS, have never seen, nonetheless used. I call this kind of equipment a “toy” because I want to play with it. Badly.

Remember, YOUR enthusiasm for technology transfers to the students, almost against their will. The reward of playing with a new, snazzy piece of technology almost always creates intrinsic drive towards engagement. If you are a CTE teacher, there are some toys you want. The school won’t pay for them and they might not – on the surface – be required in your classroom.

Figure out how to incorporate that neat-o toy in a PBL.  Align that PBL to a standard. Write a grant, cash the check, and make it happen.

All students love toys and the more they get to handle and use some shiny professional equipment, the more engaged they will be in the project. Learning then becomes a form of PLAY.

GETTING CASH FOR STUDENT PROJECTS

There are many sources to fund your next student PBL. The easiest to apply for and a great place to start is the annual OCPS FOUNDATION grant. You can apply online – all you need is an idea, a basic overview of what students will KNOW, what the students will be able to DO, how you will MEASURE their success, and (of course) how you will spend the money you are asking for.

Here’s how to do it.

HOW TO WRITE A WINNING GRANT APPLICATION

The single most important bit of advice is to READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. Seriously. You would be shocked at how often grants get denied for STUPID reasons.

The second is like to the first: give yourself enough time to get it done. Sometimes thoughts have to percolate for a while before they become solid plans. Additionally, you will need time to contact vendors, potentially find a business partner, get your principal’s signature, etc.

All the rest of my suggestions deal with the practicalities of how to apply.

BIG IDEA BEFORE EDIT

When coming up with your grant application, focus in on your BIG IDEA. What problem will the students be trying to solve and what will they learn in the process?

In other words…

1. Ideas first, standards later
2. Ideas second, language later
3. Ideas third, assessments later
4. Ideas first, money/budget later

The BIG IDEA should be your obsession before starting to type.

Do some research. Find out if anyone else has won an award for doing something similar. STEAL THEIR MOJO. They won’t know and probably could care less that you are recreating what they did. I’ve had great success taking ideas from universities who are using food to teach science, chemistry, biology, physics, engineering, and other STEM oriented subjects. Youtube videos abound. Watch, be inspired, then steal that idea and make it your own.

I just stole a lovely idea from a highly ranked school in New York. I’m working on the grant application right now.

I don’t fell even a tiny bit guilty.

EVALUATE THE BIG IDEA BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Remember to evaluate your idea based on the GOLD STANDARD QUESTIONS:

• is it authentic?
• does it require a deeper understanding of concepts?
• does it require students to make reasoned decisions (and to defend them)?
• does it incorporate the current standard objectives?
• does it connect to previous courses/knowledge?
• does it have a level of complexity to ensure that the students must work together to solve it? 
• is it intrinsically motivating – is it challenging and rewarding to students?

If it doesn’t match these ideals, brainstorm ways you can change your PBL; change the structure, reframe the question, or alter the execution of the plan. 

If after you’ve tried to fix it, the answer is still no to ANY of these,  call a friend and ask for help or start over from scratch. DON’T KEEP GOING. Sometimes great ideas need to percolate in your subconscious for a while before becoming viable.

GIVE ME THE MONEY

Once you’ve got that idea down, it’s time to show the value. Benefactors don’t care about standards, not really. They care that students are going to learn something worthwhile in the process of your PBL.  They want to know what kids will LEARN, what they will be able to DO, and how you will ASSESS their success. In all reality, a grant application is nothing more than a glorified lesson plan – just one with a justification for the money requested. The justification is where you get to think about how what you are envisioning could potentially lead to future student success.

So think about it. If a student who is struggling in science completes this science-oriented PBL, how might that help them across the curriculum? More exposure to math certainly helps those who struggle. A positive after school environment can prevent chronic absenteeism. The sky and your own imagination are the limit in how you can justify the money you are requesting. But make no mistake: you have to justify the check. You have to give them multiple reasons to say “yes” since they are looking for reasons to say “no.”

LANGUAGE MATTERS

Every grant has a focus – one or more key points that are important to the benefactor. The application instruction will usually make it clear what that focus is: after-school activities for at-risk girls, entrepreneurship training, science and math are ALWAYS important. You get the point.

Take whatever things the benefactor finds to be vital and edit your application to USE THE SAME WORDS. If you are still unsure, go to the benefactor’s webpage and look for clues.

Don’t be subtle. If the grant prioritizes practical science research completed during after school activities, write “students will come after school every Thursday and take pH readings of samples, record them in their science journals, and explore methods of additional research in an atmosphere of friendly inquiry.”

When you are editing the grant application, go back and reread each paragraph with an eye for THEIR PRIORITIES. Every single portion of the application should reflect THEIR PRIORITIES.

SPEAKING OF CASH – BE PRACTICAL, BE PRECISE

There are three rules you need to follow when setting the budget for you PBL. 

1. The fact that something is on sale  today does not mean it will be on sale in four months when awards are distributed. Don’t put SALE prices in your budget. If the price goes up, you’re out of luck. Estimate UP. If you win the grant, you can always return unspent money. Or you can spend it on PBL related expenses. I’d spend it if I were you.
2. Be precise with your purchase list. It needs to be obvious to anyone who reads the grant what each item will be used for. If it’s not clear, explain. Benefactors want to support educators who are very organized with the money they are being given.

This should go without saying, but…. Make sure you aren’t requesting money for something the application instructions clearly says is not allowed. 

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Link to presentation