Keeping it Real

“Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge”Working within the Design Cycle within the IBO and within the vocational elements of BTEC has meant that I have had to engage with problem based learning throughout my teaching career. However, this does not mean that I have always engaged well with this!Where I have gone wrong in the past is two fold. One I have made the scenarios unrealistic and two I have sometimes made the problem so specific that there are limited potential solutions. Neither of these encourage free thinking and to be honest they are problem based learning in name only. I did not think about how I linked it to the real world.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMCZvGesRz8So I needed to look at the way I am offering the information to the pupils. I have found working within Design within the IBO has helped me look at developing the nature of the problem. Pupils are encouraged to find their own solutions to problems and measure these against the success criteria that they have created. When pupils are given the original scenario they need to research the topic and produce a design brief, design possible solutions, create a final product and then conduct testing and evaluation.One project that we run is a “Materials Challenge” project where the pupils need to create an article using either wood, felt or paper, only a specific dimension of the material isgiven. They are then allowed to swap pieces of materials if they need more or need a different kind. The final product is a prototype of an item that would be sold for or used by a charity of their own choice. At our school we support many charities and the pupils are constantly raising money (mostly through bake sales) we hoped this challenge would also give them new ideas of different things they could sell.I have had a variety of ideas and I have always been impressed with the imaginative solutions that are exhibited. One pupil produced a wood block fitting game, another created a wooden spoon (a hard feat when we have a laser cutter and he had to sand a smooth curve), another a jigsaw, another a set of turtle jewellery, another an intricate box. These items are seen as prototypes and could potentially put into production if they were deemed suitable.Before they get to the creation stage they need to have answered a multitude of questions that they have set themselves such as, What charities could I look at? What is currently being sold? What would sell well at school? What specific techniques do I need? What could I do with different materials? They create a design brief from their findings that informs their specifications and final designs. This cycle is repeated as they find new things that they need to discover and I love to watch how they develop. At first they are asking me “What should I make?” I do not engage with this and rather discuss places where they could find information from Pinterest to Esty to last years projects. Once they have an idea of the organisation (it is essential that they find this first) and then the product you can see them fly as they journey down their paths of discovery! They work out how they will assemble the product (including the closing element of boxes), the order of production, what further research is required.For me this journey is a pleasure to facilitate and I absolutely love watching them develop and their ideas take form. Are the finished projects perfect? - not at all. Do the pupils develop throughout? - most definitely.