Immerse yourself in a new PBL book coming out Spring 2024 with Andrew Larson, the thought leader and author behind the game-changing book "Life's a Project: The Six As of Project-Based Learning." In our latest episode, Ryan Steuer reveals excerpts of the upcoming PBL book. Picture a future where PBL isn't just an option—it's the norm, with schools nationwide adopting this empowering practice by 2051.
Larson's "Life's a Project" is your compass in bringing your PBL practice to the next level. We explore how an invasive species project is more than a lesson—it's a transformation. Students step into the shoes of scientists, environmentalists, and biologists, solving real-world problems and mastering the art of inquiry. This episode promises to leave you not just informed but equipped to infuse PBL into every lesson with strategies that ensure engagement and academic mastery.
Grasp the art of assessment in PBL through our deep dive into effective rubrics and the strategies that make them work. With Larson's insights, we shed light on creating assessments that measure what truly matters—individual academic mastery and growth over time. We discuss why the final group product should only be a sliver of a student's grade and how tailored rubrics can provide clarity and fairness. As we preview Larson's upcoming book, we beckon you to join us in reshaping education through PBL and share resources that complement our journey toward a more interactive and meaningful schooling experience.
BLOGS FROM ANDREW
Assessment in PBL - Frequently Asked Questions
Project Based Learning and Standards-Based Grading
Project Based Learning Needs You
JOIN THE ONLINE PBL COMMUNITY
resources.magnifylearningin.org/join-today
SIGN UP FOR THE MAGNIFY LEARNING NEWSLETTER
www.magnifylearningin.org/newsletter-sign-up
SHARE A PBL WIN!
ORDER THE BOOK PBL SIMPLIFIED
SCHEDULE A PBL TRAINING WITH MAGNIFY LEARNING
resources.magnifylearningin.org/onsite-workshops
CHECK OUT RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST
ASK RYAN A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
www.magnifylearningin.org/ask-ryan-your-pbl-questions
FOLLOW RYAN ON TWITTER
BOOK A MAGNIFY LEARNING DESIGN DAYS WORKSHOP
www.magnifylearningin.org/design-days-sign-up
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Immerse yourself in a new PBL book coming out Spring 2024 with Andrew Larson, the thought leader and author behind the game-changing book "Life's a Project: The Six As of Project-Based Learning." In our latest episode, Ryan Steuer reveals excerpts of the upcoming PBL book. Picture a future where PBL isn't just an option—it's the norm, with schools nationwide adopting this empowering practice by 2051.
Larson's "Life's a Project" is your compass in bringing your PBL practice to the next level. We explore how an invasive species project is more than a lesson—it's a transformation. Students step into the shoes of scientists, environmentalists, and biologists, solving real-world problems and mastering the art of inquiry. This episode promises to leave you not just informed but equipped to infuse PBL into every lesson with strategies that ensure engagement and academic mastery.
Grasp the art of assessment in PBL through our deep dive into effective rubrics and the strategies that make them work. With Larson's insights, we shed light on creating assessments that measure what truly matters—individual academic mastery and growth over time. We discuss why the final group product should only be a sliver of a student's grade and how tailored rubrics can provide clarity and fairness. As we preview Larson's upcoming book, we beckon you to join us in reshaping education through PBL and share resources that complement our journey toward a more interactive and meaningful schooling experience.
BLOGS FROM ANDREW
Assessment in PBL - Frequently Asked Questions
Project Based Learning and Standards-Based Grading
Project Based Learning Needs You
JOIN THE ONLINE PBL COMMUNITY
resources.magnifylearningin.org/join-today
SIGN UP FOR THE MAGNIFY LEARNING NEWSLETTER
www.magnifylearningin.org/newsletter-sign-up
SHARE A PBL WIN!
ORDER THE BOOK PBL SIMPLIFIED
SCHEDULE A PBL TRAINING WITH MAGNIFY LEARNING
resources.magnifylearningin.org/onsite-workshops
CHECK OUT RESOURCES MENTIONED ON THE PODCAST
ASK RYAN A QUESTION FOR THE PODCAST
www.magnifylearningin.org/ask-ryan-your-pbl-questions
FOLLOW RYAN ON TWITTER
BOOK A MAGNIFY LEARNING DESIGN DAYS WORKSHOP
www.magnifylearningin.org/design-days-sign-up
Some of the links above are affiliate links which means we get a small commission on anything you purchase using that link (at no more cost to you). As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Life's a Project the Six Days of Project-Based Learning by Andrew Larson. It's a brand new manuscript. The book is not out yet. You'll be able to pre-order and order soon, before the summer. But this is a PBL book that is going to take your PBL classroom to the next level. If you've got a group of teachers that have been through PBL Simplified, they've been through a PBL Jumpstart, maybe even Advanced.
Ryan Steuer:This is the book that takes you to the next level. It looks at your assessment practices. It looks at where you're putting adult connections in there right All the six A's. But it's also going to give you stories along the way, both from Andrew's personal life and his life in the classroom Decades of experience all in this book. I've got an advanced, advanced manuscript copy and in this PBL Simplified podcast episode it's a PBL showcase. So I'm going to give you work right from Andrew's book that comes right from his classroom. So I think it's totally going to resonate. We're going to talk about problem statements in a really deep way. We're going to talk about assessments in a really deep way and there's going to be three story arcs that are going to go throughout so that we can connect everything to story. Right. We're really big on story here at Magnified Learning and Andrew's book fits our work so well.
Ryan Steuer:I mean, andrew's been in our work for over a decade as well, so he is a PBL pioneer. He's been doing this work. He founded CSA New Tech in Columbus, indiana, one of the best PBL environments I've ever been a part of, and it's been operating for such a long time at such a high level, which means that the founders got it going. But obviously there's been some turnover, right. So new teachers have been able to plug into not just the school system but also the innovation system that's there, right? So they're still innovating, they're still growing and I just think that's amazing. That's one of our goals at Magnify Learning is we want 51% of schools using PBL by 2051, so that educators and learners are both empowered and engaged. We think the world's a different place when those things happen, and when I look at CSA New Tech, I look at this little ecosystem of like what the world could be, right? People are trying to figure out what their purpose is. They're trying to figure out what their giftings are. They're working together, they're collaborating. They're producing something that you wouldn't be able to produce on your own right.
Ryan Steuer:These aren't PBL units just to do a PBL unit. These are PBL units to master standards, which is one of the things that I think Andrew does so masterfully in his book. Life's a Project is you as the teacher, as the principal. He just says over and over again you are important, you are important, we came up with this. You don't want to be the sage on the stage, you want to be the guide on the side, and teachers thought that they were supposed to eke into the corner and let learners do all this stuff. It's like well, no, not at all. You're the expert, you are the master facilitator that's in the room. So you have an enormous part to play, and Andrew does a great job of outlining what that looks like for you, because I think there's been some confusion of that in the past, and I think he just does a masterful job of it. I'm so excited to be able to publish this book. I'm so excited to get this book into your hands. You're absolutely going to love it. We're going to have a link for you to be able to get on the waiting list so you can pre-order and get a bunch of bonuses so that you can get this book as soon as it comes out.
Ryan Steuer:If you are coming to the podcast for the first time, my name is Ryan Stoyer. I'm the Chief Inspiration Officer at Magnify Learning and we've got a special gift for you. If you go to whatispblcom, that's whatispblcom. Whether you're an administrator or a teacher. We've got resources just for you, and when you download them, you get those free and there's a bunch of stuff for you to run with. If you find something that is wanting there, right, there's something that you were looking for in your group contract or a rubric and you couldn't find it, just reach out to us, right, magnify at magnifilearninginorg. Or you can reach out to me, ryan, at magnifypblcom. Either way, we know that you are a movement maker. That's why you tuned into the podcast. We know that if we support you, that the work is exponential at that point and amazing things start happening. So let's jump into Andrew's book.
Ryan Steuer:Life is a project, which the title itself is fantastic because what we find is that PBL educators that really dive into the craft and get deep. Like our lives changed, like my life is completely different. I look at the world differently. I do see projects everywhere. This idea that life's a project, I think, really gets at the heart of what we want PBL to be for you. We want to be not just an instructional practice, not something that you do like a bell ringer or you know. You get a workbook full of activities. That's not what it is. It's a mindset and a lifestyle that moves your learners from passive to empowered and, I think it's fair to say, it does it for the adults too. You start to build up inquiry, you start to look at community partners different, you start to become more empowered in your everyday surroundings. You know you find yourself picking up a new hobby and finding the right way to learn that. Right, you take a very active approach to your learning and it just changes things.
Ryan Steuer:So, first of all, obviously, I love the book, one because we're publishing it, but two because I'm bringing it to you on the podcast. And three, this idea of a lifestyle project. It's so much bigger than I think we've ever explained it to you, right? So PBL, simplified, helps you understand the processes involved, whether you're a teacher or an administrator. Right, we're going to help you understand the processes. We've got a PBL Jumpstart where you can, you know, get your feet wet. Design Days where you plan out three years.
Ryan Steuer:Life as a project is around that PBL Advanced PBL Certification level where you're like, yes, I'm in with PBL and I know that there's another level we can get to. And Andrew's been working in this for oh gosh, the better part of a decade to take his expertise. He is an expert and thought leader in PBL and also in assessment, and so assessments is one of the six A's, and I think that chapter especially is one that could completely change your teaching career and the way that you look at the classroom in a really positive way. So anyway, let's jump in.
Ryan Steuer:I've got three stories from you that come right out of Life's a Project, and the first one revolves around the invasive species project. So Andrew has this creek that is close to their school. There's invasive plants there and, as a science teacher, this is his palate. So he takes his learners out there and they start to see themselves as scientists, which is one of the great things about PBL. But not only do they see themselves as scientists, they go out and do the things that scientists do. So here, what I'm going to read you is it brings invasive species together in the idea around problem statements, to which, if you're if you're using driving questions, you should also probably be using problem statements that. I think the structure of that, the beginning part, is in PBL simplified. Andrew goes in pretty deep and shows you exactly how he does this at a high level and makes it super collaborative with his learners. So here we go.
Ryan Steuer:It can be tedious and time-consuming to write a problem statement as a class that everyone feels good about. Importantly, though, the process gives a teacher insight into how clearly students understand a project's goals from the outset. In this sense, writing a problem statement can be an effective process-based formative assessment. Let's look at the example of problem statement creation.
Ryan Steuer:A project commonly cited as a student favorite involves invasive plant management at our nearby creek. Given the difficulty of the task of managing invasive plants, this is a classically authentic project that, whether we like it or not, just keeps on giving year after year because the plants are relentless. When we launch the project, we take a walk over the creek and get a first-hand look at the scenario, discuss the history of the site and the project there was a big flood in 2008 that impacted hundreds of families in our community and try our hands using an identification tool for plants. Students will start wrapping their minds around the challenge by drafting problem statement proposals. These might vary as follows. Here are a couple of examples. We, as ninth graders or amateur biologists or ecologists or park preservationists or environmentalists, will conduct experiments around healthy biological communities. Or learners might choose attack invasive species or save Haw Creek riparian ecosystem ecosystem so that the area will be better for wildlife, so we can eliminate the invasive plants from the park, or we can learn the best ways to keep ecosystems and food webs healthy.
Ryan Steuer:And as you go through the book, life's a Project, the part that I can see that maybe you can't is that each of those, those are all options that his learners may have come up with as they're developing a problem statement together. So at this point he's launched through the entry event and, as he noted, you're kind of giving this formative assessment of what do you all think that we're about to do, what's the problem that you think you're going to solve, what role are you taking on, what are you going to do and what is the outcome? All right, the goal as a class is to have a single problem statement on which we can all agree. After years of trial and error, my approach is to first have students individually draft a problem statement based on their understanding through the project launch, also called an entry event. More on that. Later this can become a homework assignment, especially if time is running short. Even if it's not, ample processing time should be allowed. Consequently, having each student draft their own problem statement not only holds them accountable to meaningful engagement, it will result in better options for the next step.
Ryan Steuer:Next, in group, students share out their draft problem statement proposals and discuss their merits. Each group then submits one version, like a mashup, of the options from the table above. This step effectively narrows the field of candidate problem statements by 75% or more. So again, this is some of the master class that you're getting in PBL this level up piece of instead of looking at 30 different problem statements and you coming up with one. How can you do this in a collaborative environment where you go from 30 to 75% of those kind of being pretty common right? So now you're looking at a much smaller subset to bring together. Electronic submission through a survey tool such as Google Forms will produce a spreadsheet report that is quick to filter through, while students do independent work for perhaps 10 minutes. I will review the responses, eliminate redundancies and narrow the field further by quality. The result is three options for each of the three pieces of the problem statement, three different. So that's three we as and three will do create. Finally, as a large group, we will review the finalists. After discussion of each of these three components in turn, we will vote on the best, using a parliamentary procedure to select a version that is agreeable to the group.
Ryan Steuer:Dissenters are always required to offer up an alternative proposal that they can defend, according to some common sense guidelines for good problem statements, as described below. In a typical year-long biology course that I facilitate, students will be ecologists, paleontologists, botanists, entomologists, nutritionists, cell biologists, genetics and more. So, again, you're going to get this almost memoir-like book. In Life's a Project, you're going to get to hear from a master facilitator that is written in first person. This is exactly what I do, and if you want to up your PBL game, that's exactly what you want and this is exactly the person you want to hear from. You want to hear from Andrew how do you do problem statements, how do you launch, how do you assess, and you want him to tell you, and it's exactly what this book is. So here's the problem statement they end up with for the invasive species project, so that we can learn the best ways to keep ecosystems and food webs healthy. We, as ecologists, will design that. What's the reason that we're doing this? It's so we can learn. That's why we're in school, right. That's why you have standards and you're teaching your learners these things. It's so that they can learn. Now, are they also going to clean up invasive species around this creek? Yes, absolutely they are, but they're going to be learning about their biology standards while they do it. It may be a small tweak for you, but it's a really big deal that we are changing the world while we are mastering, uncovering standards with our learners. It's super important. All right, that's story. Number one is the invasive species project.
Ryan Steuer:Talked a little bit about problem statements. If some of that, if you didn't grab some of that one, you might need to grab pbl simplified. I go through the structure, uh in, uh. Well, it's meant to be simplified, so it simplifies it for you and draws it out, and then andrew has a little bit more in his book too, which is coming, that will lay some of that out. But I wanted you to hear the authenticity in that PBL unit and I wanted you to hear the structure that's involved. It's not a free-for-all. And I also want you to hear because I want you to get this book, because I think it's going to change the way that you facilitate your classroom I want you to hear the step-by-step portion that Andrew's taking you through.
Ryan Steuer:He's literally telling you, like the 10 minutes that he takes to you know, kind of refine some of the problem statement work, and then he comes back to the learners and they go through the process to come up with one problem statement that they can all agree on. It's important that you can see those small steps in between and not just have this general overview of like, okay, now go and do it. Right, it's different than that. So now I want to walk you through another story. This one is going to be around the Dystopian Masterpiece Theater Project. Also, what he would say is another all-time favorite of many, many learners over the years. Now why? It's because of authenticity. So I'm going to grab another A for you. So authenticity is one of our six A's and in this case they're going to be writing in dystopian literature, right. So they're going to look at a lot of dystopian literature, they're going to write some, but now they're going to perform it, right, and you say well, cool, I do that. You know we go to the cafeteria and people watch, but that's not exactly how Andrew's team does it. Here's how it goes. Hey, we'll get back to the episode in just a second, but I wanted you to know, just in case you haven't checked it out.
Ryan Steuer:My book, pbl Simplified, gives you the structure that you need the six steps to move project-based learning from idea to reality. You've been thinking about PBL but haven't been able to implement it. If you're a principal who wants to bring PBL, this is a great way to start and if you use the link down in the show notes, we're gonna give you a free book study. Do not PBL alone. Invite the teacher next to you. If you're a principal, take that small group of innovators and get them started in the book study so you start to have your own PBL success stories before you start your full movement. Go out and grab a copy today.
Ryan Steuer:Let's head back to the episode. He's already talked about the Soapy Masterpiece Theater Project. It's an all-time favorite, but the reason it's such a great hit is all about our community partner. Robert is the eclectic theater owner, comedian and Brit who took weeks out of his production schedule for four years in a row to give our students weekly lessons in play development and execution. He welcomed us into his classroom a theater conveniently located right across the street to have these lessons, and the results were nothing short of fabulous. Students talk about Robert as they would an old friend. His tone almost always gentle, always hilarious and always full of constructive feedback was precisely the balance that my co-facilitator and I needed to get our kids across the finish line, which was an evening performance of plays, complete with professional set design, lighting, sound effects and an audience of parents and friends. I made a lifelong friend in Robert through a project partnership.
Ryan Steuer:There's a lot of awesome things in here. Just in case you didn't catch them, these learners are doing their masterpiece theater. They're being coached by a professional theater owner. They are performing at a for real theater with for real lights and all the real production pieces that come along with that. So we're ramping up all the work that's happening here, right, and the learners get to be a part of all those things and they're figuring out is this something that I like, is this something I don't like? And they're starting to figure out, like, what kind of careers they want to have, right, what kind of life and what kind of passions they have. It's really really important things and we talk about. Again the title Life's a Project. Andrew also goes in. I found a lifelong friend in Robert in our project partnership. He's given four years in a row now and keeps coming back. This is a perennial PBL unit and it's always real for his learners, it's always authentic and it's one that resonates because it is so authentic.
Ryan Steuer:Do you need a community partner for every project? As a PBL purist would say that every project should have a community partner, and I would agree with them. It's not realistic to tell oneself that there is one more qualified to guide students in a certain realm than you. However, one must remember that community partners are not always adept at facilitating, while at the same time, there's literally nothing that I'm more qualified to facilitate in a classroom setting other than simply facilitating classroom setting.
Ryan Steuer:Don't expect a community partner to be a good teacher. It's amazing when they are, but it is a mistake commonly made that we assume that our brilliant community partners are also brilliant teachers. Some are, and when I find one, I try my best to massage that relationship and make it a partnership with staying power. I want to call on that person again. So, again, andy's going to give you these pieces that that make people great, right? So do you need community partners? Absolutely. Is every community partner going to be fantastic and you work with them four years in a row? No, probably not. But like Robert who owns the theater, like that's somebody that you want to bring in over and over again. So, yes, community partners, are they all going to be fantastic? No, sometimes you need to step in and be like, again, you're the teacher, like this is your classroom, you're facilitating, right. So you want to bring in a community partner, but you are still running the show. So there's some give and take. There's some portion where, if it's your first year with PBL, you're going to be doing a lot of learning, right. So even a decade in, like Andrew would still say he's doing a lot of learning, right. We're continually learning. That's why I kind of like this new term that maybe Andrew is a master facilitator more than an expert. An expert might gives the feel that you know he knows everything and he would push back on that. He's always learning. So we don't have PBL experts, but I do think we do have some master facilitators, and Andrew is one that you can certainly learn from.
Ryan Steuer:The third story from Life's a Project is really. I just want to showcase the assessment portion of the book, one of the six A's. But when we look at assessment and project-based learning, I think there's been I don't know if there's been misunderstandings, but there's definitely portions where I think we bring in rubrics, which I think is really positive. A lot of people haven't used them before. They're not sure how to use them, haven't really looked at your grade in a really interesting way, so I cover it with a chapter in PBL.
Ryan Steuer:Simplified, andrew looks at it as well. When you look at your grade that you're giving, let's say, a C, does that mean that your learner that got a C? Did they understand the content at 70% or did they ace the content but they didn't turn the homework and they didn't participate in the discussions and their attendance wasn't great, right. And if somebody gets, somebody else could have a C where they don't know the science content but they did some extra credit. You know they participated in all the discussions, right, and they did all the extra things you wanted to do, but they don't actually know the content right. So what's in a grade is a really good question Like what's an A, a C and an F mean, right? Does that F mean that you know the learner didn't turn in one big assignment, but they really understand the content right? So there's a lot of different ways to look at grading and Andrew does a, I really think, a masterful job.
Ryan Steuer:I'm not this is not hyperbole when I say a masterclass on assessment and throughout the book I think it's the longest chapter, but it's because that's where his passion area is, along with PBL, and that's where he's really a thought leader, I think, when it comes to PBL and assessment. So if you're watching on YouTube because you can get this podcast on YouTube as well we'll put a couple of graphics up on the screen as well. But if you're listening, I'll try to describe it as well so you can hear this. So a rubric will often have kind of and A rubric will often have kind of and I've done this for sure. He says my first rubrics were poor but also very typical sort of like this and you can see on the screen or just picture these categories of poor, decent, good and great, all right, and then to work through it student has zero useful facts for decent one to three. Facts for good four to five facts, and it was great if they had five useful facts. Right, and we just count it. It's clear. I can give you a grade and we're kind of happy. They're happy Like we have some communication.
Ryan Steuer:It gets difficult, though, right? So there's a tendency to ask students to include more information instead of digging deeper into the information. This is where Andrew is going to walk you through this process. Instead of more facts, what about getting deeper into the information, he says. I think the natural tendency for teachers to struggle with the dichotomy of more versus better. It's not their fault. American education has been pushing recall for a very long time and we're all doing our best. So, again, andrew is 100% your advocate. He thinks you're the expert that needs to be in the classroom and he wants to help you through this process of looking to help your students go deeper instead of just more right. So he's got this surface deep and transfer rubric that, again, I think, is really going to help you think through this process in your grading, and he quotes some other resources in the book in Life's a Project, so that you can get more in depth. Again, if you're on YouTube, you'll see this graphic on the screen of surface deep and transfer. And let me read some of it to you. So when you look at surface it's, I can define the term and then define more terms organisms, species, populations, communities, ecosystems because Andrew's a science teacher define the term carrying capacity, label a food web and name the trophic levels, define biodiversity. So that's the surface level understanding. And you need a surface level understanding right to be able to move other pieces of your class around, right to be able to understand some of the other standards. And that moves you into now.
Ryan Steuer:The next section is deep knowledge. So now, under I can. Now we have some verbs like explain. So we're going to explain why the carrying capacity of a population can change as other factors in the environment do. So what you can see in the rubric is surface. You've got six points deep, you've got three. But your verbs are changing right With depth of knowledge.
Ryan Steuer:And what he's going to push you to do in changing your rubrics is to not do more but to go deeper, right, because you're really looking for that mastery of knowledge. You're looking for uncovering the standards, not just covering them right, you are looking to move your learners across the rubric, just like you would in a current rubric you might have now, but you're moving them now from surface deep to now transfer. And when you look at transfer now, it says I can design and implement an experiment aimed at increasing the biodiversity of an area, predict the outcome of the experiment with a solid foundation of ecology knowledge, measure and analyze the results. Now that you're moving over to transfer knowledge, it sounds like you're a scientist, right? Scientists sure they'll define the terms, but they know those terms right. So it's, what are you going to do with those terms? That makes you a scientist and that's what we're trying to move our learners into a place of deeper, depth of knowledge, right, and into the space where they are being a scientist. And if you're just defining terms, again necessary, you are not probably a scientist because scientists already have those underneath their belt. So we're going to help our learners, through surface knowledge, move into deeper knowledge and then move into transfer.
Ryan Steuer:So the whole idea of this rubric now is, again, not more of surface level knowledge gets you all the points right. It's how do you get deeper into the content? We have a couple other ideas here from Andrew's book Life's a Project, six A's of Project-Based Learning, and really this is the A of assessment. It says rubrics should be centered on academic content, not processes. A good rubric gives students a roadmap for unpacking academic concepts in order from foundational, surface level depth of knowledge to higher, deep and transfer level thinking. In order to build one, the instructor needs to apply their expertise in the subject matter in order to expose different layers of depth of knowledge for the students so that they can unpack it for themselves, with copious amounts of guidance from the instructor. So again, copious amounts of guidance from the instructor. Andrew wants you in that classroom. He wants your expertise in there. He wants you guiding learners to do just that to help them learn.
Ryan Steuer:Also, notice that the rubric makes no mention of a final product, its formatting requirements or the color of the slide backgrounds, what they need to be, whether or not they should be glittery or should have puffer paint or poster board. Who cares what the final product should look like? Let me clarify, says Andrew. You may have specific requirements for the final product's formatting. This is appropriate and normal, but it's not content. If you would like to make such requirements, you can create a simple bulleted list for students to follow their ability to meet those requirements. And he continues on list for students to follow their ability to meet those requirements and he continues on.
Ryan Steuer:This is a great distinction in rubrics. I know that I've had rubrics where you know the presentation was, you know, poor, solid and fantastic, and it's like, how do I communicate what fantastic looks like right Versus you know my other adjectives. Or, if you want a poster board, you want it to be professional. Or your PowerPoint, you want to be professional. What does that mean? Well, it means that there's slide transitions Great, make that a checkbox. Does it have slide transitions? Yes, it does. Do you have, you know, less than two spelling errors? Make that a checkbox. Make a pure edit checkbox. So the things that you want in the presentation portion to make that look very professional, you make that a checkbox rather than your rubric. Otherwise, you have this huge rubric I call it a Godzilla rubric because it's so big, it's just, it's overwhelming. And now everything looks the same. Everything looks like it's equal.
Ryan Steuer:So the same idea where you're trying to transfer knowledge by predicting a scientific process, seems to have the same leverage as the glitter that's on a poster board. Obviously, that's not what we're looking for. So how do you differentiate? And Andrew walks you through this idea of using this very specific rubric of surface, deep and transfer versus the requirements for a solid presentation which could be a checklist. Here's another clarification.
Ryan Steuer:This is around grouping, but it addresses kind of final products and the assessment. What we're talking about he says. Let me clarify Group projects are a thing, a big thing at our school. However, the weight placed on final group products need not be the break, the bank level, final products being the transfer of the content. To a new context, your transfer knowledge is 10% of the content grade for a project, exactly no more. The routine content assessments done throughout a project is almost always the incremental demonstration of understanding and, in turn, the bulk of the point's distribution. So you're assessing content knowledge throughout. If the end product is a major assessment, such as a paper, it's still an individual assessment.
Ryan Steuer:So it will never be the case that someone else's work caused a student's grade to swing wildly up or down, which we know is one of the reasons that the majority of the world does not like group projects, right? Parents don't, teachers don't, students don't. Because you don't want to be the kid that's in a group that the group tanks are your grade tanks. So Andrew's going to again walk you through what the assessment processes look like in order for that to happen. In this example of the upcoming book Life as a Project he talks about in his school, it's a 10% grade in that final product and that means 90% of my grade is gonna be built up through the assessments that I've had throughout my biology class, for instance, right in my individual assessment, not in that big group grade. So there you have it.
Ryan Steuer:There's three stories from Life as a Project by Andrew Larson. Pre-orders will start in May. We're going to have this book out to you before the summer of 2024 with a book study with resources connected, so you can take this and fuel the fire that is your PBL movement. This is one that can really take you to the next level. So you're going to get stories, you're going to get strategies, you're going to get resources to take your PBL work to the next level.
Ryan Steuer:If you haven't ever heard from Andrew before, we're going to link three different blogs. In the description or the show notes, there's Assessment and PBL Frequently Asked Questions, project-based Learning and Standards-Based Grading. And Project-Based Learning Needs you, which these are themes that run throughout life's a project, so it's a great precursor for you if you haven't read any of Andrew's stuff PBL and assessment he is a thought leader in this area, so you're gonna wanna kind of wet your palate with that. And then also this idea that project-based learning needs you. It's not about moving to the side and just letting learners do whatever they want or just learn and hope that good things happen. There is strategy, there is thought, there are best practices that you need to be using in the classroom. You are super important to this work and at Magnified Learning we fully believe that. I think Andrew walks that out super well in his blog and, I think, boldly in his book. So I'm really excited to get that in your hands and we'll have a way for you to sign up for that. But be looking for it in the coming months and it will come out to you.
Ryan Steuer:Life's a Project the six A's of project-based learning by Andrew Larson. Thanks for tuning in today so that you can teach and learn inspired. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the PBL Simplified Podcast. I appreciate you and honor that you tune in each week. Would you please take two minutes to leave a rating and a review? When you leave a review, it lets the next person know that this is a podcast worth listening to. When they go into their player and search project-based learning and PBL Simplified popped up. When they see those reviews, they know that high-quality, visionary leaders are listening, so they tune in too and they can find their way into the PBL journey. Thank you so much for leaving a review. Thank you so much for listening. I appreciate you.