Project-Based Learners Aren’t Born, They’re Made*

Supporting Students to Become Autonomous Learners

This newsletter is now officially one year old! Whether you started reading on day #1 or day #365, thank you for every “heart,” restack, personal story, and question—thank you for being here. This community helps make my work as a champion for micro-schools, cognitive diversity, equity, and liberation possible <3

Now that we’re officially into 2024, I wanted to open up this new year by diving into something very close to my heart: designing a strengths-based curriculum and, specifically, a project-based learning environment. Project-based learning environments support students with a range of abilities and interests, enabling them to direct their own learning, connect with intrinsic motivation, and build a positive self-image.

*The challenge is that project-based learners are rarely born—they’re made. When I say “made,” I mean that the self-management skills required to become genuinely self-driven and self-aware develop over time if students are fortunate enough to be encouraged to evolve their sense of purpose.

While designing the instructional strategies at my last micro-school, Sunnyside, to empower twice-exceptional students in a project-based environment, we provided the necessary space for learners to develop a strong sense of purpose. We were mindful of the importance of modeling, accountability, and guidance to help them develop into truly self-directed learners. 

Turning students loose in a room full of resources, technology, and supplies is the surest way to overwhelm them. This can lead to aimlessness, shutting down, and disruptive behaviors. As adults and educators, it’s our job to guide children into understanding what it means to be a responsible and motivated student; it’s an artful, non-linear process.

To strike the healthiest balance between freedom, choice, and responsibility, I created umbrella themes to guide curriculum creation throughout the year. The scaffolding I’m about to outline can be removed layer by layer as a student develops into an entirely self-directed learner. 

Typically, we would hit three umbrella themes a year that would then get broken down into smaller units. We might explore space, the human body, and the Earth’s structure and processes in one year. For example, we might complete units on the inner planets, black holes, star formation, and the difference between comets, meteors, and asteroids within the space theme. 

Each unit would last two weeks. We would devote the first week to research and investigation. The second week would add depth and complexity to the concepts explored in the first week through projects and product creation. 

At the beginning of our research and investigation week, each student would receive something we called a “playlist,” along with any supplemental materials like videos, reading passages, interactive websites, games, experimental procedures, and more. The playlists were specifically designed to approach whatever unit we were exploring that week from a variety of angles, using a universal design approach. Students could work with a teacher, other students, or independently all week as they completed the playlist. It was a perfect mixture of freedom, direct instruction, and accountability for children coming into their own as self-directed learners.

As a first-week activity, Sunnyside students created this paper quilt as a community art project. It was very representative of our vibe. 😂

In our second week, we invited students to choose from a “menu” of project choices designed to inspire them to understand one aspect of what we were learning as a community further. We called this “Project Week.” (I always go with the most literal label because my brain cannot handle anything deeper when it comes to assigning names. Luckily, my students never seemed to notice.)

There was a range of project ideas to suit any taste, from the most screwball and creative to the most dry and linear. The requirements for each project were explicit and communicated in a stepwise manner. Due to the small size of our program, I was able to create project ideas that were easily in alignment with my students’ strengths and talents. Each menu had something for everyone, and students could try new things and develop new skills as they felt ready. 

The natural collaboration that occurs in a project-based classroom is one way we approached social and emotional learning at Sunnyside. Most children, but particularly twice-exceptional children, are put off by scripted and packaged social and emotional curriculums; this kind of learning must take place authentically to have a lasting impact on a child. Project-based learning is the closest approximation to how people learn, connect, and create “in real life.” (It could be said that life is the ultimate group project, for better or worse.) Below is one example of a typical Sunnyside project: 

▢ Last week you created an illustration and a 3D model of a solar and lunar eclipse. Pretend you are a young professor and use a phone or tablet to record a short, informational movie about solar and lunar eclipses for other kids your age. Be sure to include your illustration and/or your 3D model in the film as a prop! 

▢ Write a simple script or outline using Google Docs, a piece of paper, or something else. The important part is that you plan what you’re going to say before you begin filming. 

▢ Include factual information about the differences between solar and lunar eclipses.  

▢ The movie must be  3 - 5 minutes long. 

▢ Use your humor and creativity!

An important aspect of Project Week was making a plan of action for completing the week's work in a timely manner. This is one of the many ways in which social and emotional learning was baked into Sunnyside’s design. Many twice-exceptional children struggle with executive functioning and benefit from the intentional practice of creating, following through, and evaluating plans. 

Once a project was finished and presented, the students were then asked to complete a self-reflection rubric. Within this rubric, we prompted students to review the steps they had taken to complete their project and ensure they had fulfilled each requirement to the best of their ability. There were also reflection prompts on whether or not the student worked with integrity, sought help when necessary, and/or treated others kindly. The students took these reflections seriously and would assess themselves more strictly than I, as a teacher, ever would. 

My fears around self-assessment were similar to those I shared about Sunnyside’s sliding-scale pricing structure (read that post here). In both instances, I wondered if I could trust each person to do the right thing and keep up their end of the bargain. In both instances, I was heartily surprised. People want to do the right thing—they want to be accountable to a community that cares for them. I didn’t know that before I began designing and leading micro-schools, but I do now. 

Differentiation, or creating curricula that speak to varying skill and ability levels within the same group of students, is a hot topic in the world of education. I believe that the best differentiation and individualization occurs in the moment. Each student's varying experiences and ability levels require deeply differentiated activities and projects to accommodate asynchronous learning in a group setting. The asynchronous nature of twice-exceptional children results in a non-linear learning profile; what works for one child on one day may not work the next. Anytime a student came to me with a reasonable request about how to change an assignment or project, I usually said, “Yes.” After all, the goal of our learning environment was to inspire self-direction, and so a student self-directing their way to me to make a fair adjustment meant that they were growing and learning into the autonomous and responsible student I hoped they would become.

What have been your experiences with project-based learning environments—or do you have any questions about anything I’ve shared so far about Sunnyside’s curriculum? 

Next week, I’ll be talking more about design thinking—see you back here then :)

Jade