The South African school environment is very insular; teachers have their own classroom; all classrooms have walls; students spend 50 minutes in one subject and then move to another, packing away the knowledge that they acquired in the previous subject. In the real world, however, adults are seldom adjusting to an entirely new work environment with a new boss, new colleagues, different dynamics and a new project seven times a day.

In discussing the reality of our insular education system we united in sympathy for our students and began to question the traditional approach to education. In response we designed a curriculum which would challenge the fragmented nature of education by engaging our students in solving a real world problem. As three teachers from different departments, English, Social Sciences and Life Orientation, we came together and decided to pilot a project that would shake up the idea of learning, subject differentiation, and teaching.

We deliberately reimagined the notion of ‘subjects’ and posed a problem to our students which could only be solved by them applying their knowledge and skills gained through a combination of different subject areas. It was our vision was that this approach to learning would not only equip our students with the required content knowledge for all three subjects as prescribed by the curriculum but more importantly facilitate the development of invaluable skills that would benefit them long term, and not just prepare them to pass the final examinations.

WHY PBL?

In essence, project-based learning is the idea of learning through the act of being posed a real-world problem and developing its solution. The students learn as they journey through the problem and eventually cement that knowledge by presenting their solution. What we loved about this pedagogy was that we could engage our students in a relevant problem that was close to home, have them actively involved in pursuing and developing the solution, and finally present their solution through chosen vehicles that embraced 21st-century tools.

When engaging in a project of this nature, students constantly collaborate with each other, show what they are learning as they progress through the unit, and assess themselves and one another. The process is ongoing and does not simply result in the student taking a test or examination. Our belief in the incredible power of active, collaborative, social, real-world learning has only been strengthened through implementing this pedagogy.

THE PATH TO PANEM

We developed a cross-curricular project-based learning unit named Avoiding the Path to Panem - inspired by Educurious’s project by the same name. We essentially asked students to use evidence from their study of Germany’s shift from the Weimar democracy to Nazi Germany in order to infer what events, or series of events, might have led to Katniss’s world of Panem in the prescribed English set workbook, The Hunger Games; and, in turn, articulate how our society in South Africa could avoid going down the same path. Our students explored primary and secondary sources from Germany in the 1920s to the 1940s to support their analysis. The culminating task of the unit was to present a 3-5 minute multi-media presentation answering the project question:

How can you, as Grade 9 students, stop South Africa from becoming like Panem and Nazi Germany?

PROJECT LAUNCH

We launched our project by inviting students, teachers and school administrators to an official project launch. At the start of the launch, we showed students our Path to Panem launch video, which was made using iMovie, in order to grab the students' attention, pique their interest, cultivate curiosity, and introduce them to the project.

Students were then given a copy of this Project Map document using Google Classroom for delivery. 

The Project Question

We broke the project question down into smaller components and explained it in order to ensure that all students were clear on what the question required of them.

Assessments

We clarified the difference between group work and individual continuous assessments and that the examinations would take place as normal. We also informed our students that some assessments would be assessed with more than one rubric and therefore count for more than one subject.

Time Management

We explained that the only deadlines were continuous assessment deadlines at the end of each module. Students would have to manage their time and set their own worksheet and activity deadlines in order to complete each module on time.

Project presentation

Students were informed that the culminating presentation would need to answer the guiding question and were given the relevant specifications of the presentation.

ESTABLISHING DIGITAL STRUCTURES

We required digital structures to afford these key project components and found that the G Suite provided all the key elements we were seeking.

• The project manager of each group set up a Google Drive folder which was shared with the group members and teachers. Within this folder structure students could access and collaborate on learning activities, worksheets and planning documents.
• Using a Google Sheets timetable template students planned how they would use each project lesson and when they as a group or individuals would engage with flipped classroom materials.
• Using Google Docs, students collaboratively engaged with source-based activities which formed the foundation of their understanding.
• Groups stored all their learning activities on Drive and this meant that teachers could easily monitor student progress and provide feedback. Using the ‘suggest edits’ and ‘comment’ features of Google Docs, teachers were able to provide personalized and constant feedback simultaneously, to all group members, at all stages of the learning journey.
• Google Classroom not only served as a submission vehicle for individual tasks but also provided students a platform to share resources, ask questions and engage in discussions around their learning. It further served as a platform for us as teachers to respond to instances on the learning journey, providing additional resources and provoking student reflection.

CELEBRATING SUCCESSES 

LEARNING BEYOND ACADEMIC CONTENT: Our classroom environment was enriched by students sharing the insights they gained at every point of the learning process. In giving our students a voice and not dominating the classroom ‘air time’, we were astounded by the abilities and insights of these young adults. We had the privilege of assessing project presentations that covered not only demonstrated a deeply rooted understanding of the curriculum, but also a scope and standard of knowledge that extended far beyond the four walls of the classroom.

STUDENT-TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS: By allowing students to be active investigators rather than passive recipients, students gain a voice in the classroom that had a lasting effect on their maturity and self-confidence. The fear of being wrong decreased, with students allowing themselves to be vulnerable more frequently. With the teacher away from the authoritative lecturing role, students could engage with teachers as co-investigators and experts they could trust. As such, powerful bridges were built across the traditional divide between students and teachers. We did not anticipate the bond that developed between us and the Grade 9 year during this project. In the beginning, our students were unsure and somewhat skeptical of this new approach to learning but through hard work, a level of trust developed which has remained even after the project’s completion.

TEACHING FROM THE HEART, AND NOT THE TEXTBOOK: Spending less time on marking, less energy on entertaining students from the front of the class meant that we could invest more time and energy into guiding and facilitating a journey of discovery.

HAPPY, EMPOWERED STUDENTS: The one thing that trumps all of the aforementioned successes, is that our precious Grade 9 students loved this project and successfully coerced us into adopting the same approach for the rest of the academic year. Our students had fun, were less stressed and ultimately grew to love this new way of learning.