Active Learning: It's Authentic, Relevant, and Personal All Year Long

It's beginning to look a lot like the end of the school year.  The state assessments have been taken, the final benchmarks are being completed, and almost every classroom has students busily "doing project-based learning" as a reward for all the hard work they have done all year long, ending the year on a fun note.

You might be wondering why I put "doing project-based learning" in quotes.  It's because that's what I'm hearing from both my colleagues who have been directed by their site administrators to "do project-based learning" as their final activity for the end of the school year.  The justification or reason, according to the principal, is "because these kids deserve it after all the work they did to prepare for the state tests and all the benchmarks they took".  In other words, reward them those last 20-30 days for all that teaching and test prep they were presented and provided over the past 150-160.

I even heard from my own daughters that they are "doing project-based learning" in their classroom.  My middle school daughter is "doing project-based learning" in all her classes.  For example, in social studies, she's completing a PowerPoint timeline on significant events and people during the 1920s.   In math, she's using geography to design a city.  My 4th grade daughter just did a PowerPoint project on a tiger.  When I asked them why they are doing these projects, their response was the same: "The teachers said they wanted to end the year with something fun."

A few of my teacher friends have approached me over the last couple of weeks asking, "What kind of fun project-based learning can I do between now and the last day of school?"  When I ask why do they want to "do project-based learning", they share with me the reward directive, the fun excuse, or even the explanation that, "My kids are just burnt out and done after all the teaching, the testing, and everything else."

Then I'd clarify, "So you want to 'do project-based learning'  just to keep them busy between now and the end of the year?"

Some of my teacher friends will admit without any hesitation that's why they want to "do project-based learning".  They are looking for something that will keep the kids preoccupied between now and the last day of school.  Others will justify their reasoning by saying that the kids deserve to "do project-based learning" after all the arduous work they had to do prepping for the state test.

When they say the kids deserve to "do project-based learning", I tell them I agree.  However, I would then reiterate that they deserve to experience not only project-based learning but also problem-based, inquiry-based, expeditionary, and service learning all year long!

These active learning experiences should not be a reward students receive at the end of the year.  They should be provided throughout the school year either quarterly or even on a unit-by-unit basis.  Every unit or quarter should culminate with an active learning experience such as project-based, inquiry-based, problem-based, expeditionary, or service learning that engages and encourages students to transfer and use what they have learned in different academic and real world contexts.

Unfortunately, the real problem with active learning is how these strategies have been perceived and portrayed - fun,  rewarding, busy.   The more appropriate descriptors for active learning strategies such as project-based learning should be ersonal, and relevant.   That's it's true purpose - to be an authentic experience that reflects and represents how students will personally address and respond to ideas, information, texts and topics that are relevant.  They should challenge and engage students not only know and understand but also develop deeper appreciation and awareness  of the importance, value, and worth of the concepts, content, and procedures they are learning.

They are also described as something that is to be done -- such as we are doing project-based learning or doing problem-based learning.   The activities involved in these practices are not something to be done.  They are meant to be experiences that in which students learn how to transfer and use the knowledge and thinking they have acquired and developed not only accurately but also acceptably, appropriately, and authentically.   For example, students will develop deeper appreciation and awareness of the importance of learning the Pythagorean Theorem if they were presented with a role-playing scenario in which they had to use the theorem to determine where to position the fire truck ladder to save people in a burning building.  They can also develop a deeper appreciation and awareness of an author's craft or the ideas and themes expressed in a text if they were engaged to produce their own original text that emulates the author's style or addresses the central idea or themes addressed in a text.  For example, we can engage students to develop deeper appreciation and awareness of the theme of friendship by having students read Charlotte's Web by E.B. White and also write and produce their own original narrative that addresses and explores the friendship of individuals who are very different from each other.

Most importantly, active learning experiences truly engage and encourage students to remember what they are learning.  Remembering in education is not about recalling the facts, information, methods, and process being taught.  Students remember the experience in which they learned the concepts, content, and procedures.  Think about it.  What classroom experiences do you remember from your own education?  Do you remember the day you did that worksheet that taught you how to compare fractions?  Do you remember that particular spelling test in which you learned how to spell chrysanthemum?  Do you remember that homework assignment with the questions you had to answer at the end of the book?  Or, do you remember that classroom experience in which you truly developed deeper appreciation and awareness of a text or topic because your teacher had you demonstrate and communicate your learning through creative design (project-based learning), research and investigate the subject (inquiry-based learning), use what you have learned to address a problem (problem-based learning) in the world at large (expeditionary learning) or within your community (service learning)?

Active learning, however, can be daunting and overwhelming for both our students and us teachers.   That's why I suggest keep active learning simple initially.  Assign one active learning experience per semester to familiarize yourself and your students with the experience.   You could also follow these steps:

1. Start with inquiry-based learning experiences that prompt students to think deeply and express and share the depth and extent of their knowledge.  Through this experience, students will learn how to address and respond to questions not only accurately but also acceptably, appropriately, and authentically using some form of oral, written, creative, or technical expression.  Use the Cognitive Rigor Questions Framework I feature in my book Now THAT'S a Good Question!  (ASCD, 2016) to help you rephrase the performance objectives of academic standards into good questions that will set the instructional focus and serve as assessments for units and their individual lessons.

2. Provide a project-based learning experience that encourages students to address a driving essential question that asks what can you design / develop / do, how could / would you, or what do you believe / feel / think.  Don't have the students all do the same project.  Provide them the opportunity to choose how they will demonstrate and communicate the depth and extent of their learning.  You can use the Multiple Intelligence Activity Grid I created to engage and encourage students to show and tell the depth and extent of their learning using their innate talents.

3. Present a problem-based learning experience that has students use what they have learned to determine whether a problem can be solved or can it only be addressed, handled, settled, resolved - or even avoided.  Use this Problem-Based Learning Table I developed based on Jonassen's Typology of Problems (2008) to help you present different kinds of problems that resemble the ones students will experience in their professional and personal lives.

4. Expand students' awareness and appreciation of what they are learning by involving them in an expeditionary learning experience that engages them to use the academic concepts and procedures they are learning in a real world setting.  Extend the experience by having students use what they are learning to address and respond to an issue, problem, situation, or topic in their community - globally, nationally, statewide, locally, or even within the school - through a service learning  experience. 

This is what should be occurring in our classroom ALL YEAR LONG - not just as the end.   This is the educational experience our students should be receiving.  This is the learning environment in which your students should be developing and demonstrating not only their knowledge and thinking but also their skills and talent.  Don't reward our students for all their hard work all year by providing them with a fun task that will keep them busy until the last day of school.  Make active learning the engaging educational experience that will not only help our students develop deeper knowledge and thinking but also deeper appreciation and awareness of what they are learning.

Also, watch and witness how deeply your students will learn and how well they will perform on the state standardized assessments and school benchmarks if you provide students with active learning experiences that are authentic, personal, and relevant all year long.

H.O.T. / D.O.K.: Depth of Knowledge or Extent of Learning?

H.O.T. / D.O.K.: Depth of Knowledge or Extent of Learning?: What if depth of knowledge actually has nothing to do with knowledge at all? Just let that simmer for a moment and consider this - or, as...

Depth of Knowledge or Extent of Learning?

What if depth of knowledge actually has nothing to do with knowledge at all?

Just let that simmer for a moment and consider this - or, as Hans and Frans used to say, "Hear me now and listen to me later."

Webb (1997) explains how depth of knowledge "can vary on a number of dimensions, including level of cognitive complexity of information students should be expected to know, how well they should be able to transfer this knowledge to different contexts, how well they should be able to form generalizations, and how much prerequisite knowledge they must have in order to grasp ideas".   Hess (2006) describes the levels within Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge Model - which Webb himself describes as "nominative" rather than as a taxonomy that scaffolds - as "ceilings" that indicate "different ways students interact with content".   

Take a close look at what both Webb and Hess, who are highly regarded as the experts on depth of knowledge, are saying.  Webb talks about students' ability "to transfer the knowledge to different contexts".  Hess elaborates by explaining how the depth of knowledge levels indicate"different ways interact with content" - or rather, different contexts.

So perhaps depth of knowledge is truly not about developing and demonstrating thinking and knowledge - or rather, cognition and content as categorized in the Cognitive Domain of Bloom's Taxonomy that was revised by Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl (2001). Perhaps depth of knowledge is actually about context - the different scenarios, setting, and situations - or ways - knowledge can be transferred and used. 

Perhaps when developing learning environments and delivering educational experiences that foster and promote depth of knowledge based upon the levels of Webb's Depth-of-Knowledge Model, we should use these criteria to mark and measure how deeply and extensively students will be expected to demonstrate and communicate their learning:

• DOK-1: What is the knowledge? The context at this level of knowledge is topical, focusing on the specific concepts and content being taught and learned in class.    For example, in English language arts, the instructional focus is on the specific text or particular topic being read and reviewed.   Similarly, in history and social studies, the instructional focus is on specific ideas, incidents, and individuals that occurred during a particular period of time.  In math and science, the instructional focus is on concepts, procedures, and terminology.  The objective is for students to read and research to build the background knowledge and foundational understanding.  The goal is for students to process the information they have acquired and developed into the knowledge they will need to draw upon and use to attain and explain answers, conclusions, decisions, outcomes, results, and solutions. 
• D.O.K.-2: How can the knowledge be used?  The context at this level is applicable, involving students in demonstrating and communicating - or showing and telling - how they can use the knowledge they have developed.  For example, in English language arts, the instructional focus is on how authors and texts use the elements of craft, structure, and language to present ideas and information.  In history and social studies, the instructional focus is on how ideas, incidents, and individuals can be categorized, classified, and compared; In math, the instructional focus is on how mathematical concepts and procedures can be used to solve mathematical algorithmic and word problems.  Similarly in science, the instructional focus is on how scientific concepts and procedures can be used to produce a particular outcome or result.  The objective is for students to examine, experiment with, and explain how and why concepts and procedures can be used.  The goal is for students to understand and use these concepts and procedures to answer questions, address problems, accomplish tasks, and analyze texts and topics.
• D.O.K.-3: Why Can the Knowledge Be Used?  The context at this level is  multidimensional, engaging students to think critically and strategically about reasons, relationships, and results and how and why answers and outcomes are accurate, achievable, and attainable.   The context can be reflective, engaging students to think strategically transfer and use what they have learned to attain and explain causes, connections, and consequences.  In these contexts, students are presented the outcome or result of a scenario or situation and asked to transfer and use what they have learned to defend, explain, and justify why it is practical, possible, or even proper.  In English language arts, the instructional focus is on explaining the impact of a text or topic and its intended - or unintended - effect on the reader or audience based upon how its written and presented.  Similarly, in history and social studies, the instructional focus is on explaining the impact and effect of historical ideas, incidents, and individuals.  In math, the instructional focus is on using reasoning and proof to defend, explain, and justify why an answer or solution to a mathematical algorithmic or word problem is correct or incorrect.  In science, the instructional focus is on explaining why can science be used to explain a natural event or phenomena.    DOK-3 contexts can also be hypothetical, asking students transfer and use the knowledge they have acquired and developed consider, imagine, and predict, and validate - or invalidate - what if, what could happen, what would happen, or and how will.  DOK-3 contexts can also argumentative, engaging students to transfer and use the knowledge they have acquired and developed as examples and evidence to strengthen and support their claims and conclusions.  In essence, the objective is for students not to transfer and use the knowledge they have acquired and developed to describe what is the answer or demonstrate how can the answer be attained but decide and defend why is this the answer. 
• D.O.K.-4: What else can be done with the knowledge?  The context at this level is extensive, encouraging students to look beyond the teacher, the text, the topic, and even themselves to explore how else can the knowledge be used and express what can you do with the knowledge.  At this level, students are demonstrating expert thinking and communicating disciplinary literacy - the ability to read, write, and think in the academic disciplines.   These learning experiences take students across the curriculum and beyond the classroom to explore how and why can the deeper and extensive knowledge they have acquired be transferred and used to address and respond to a variety of academic and real world circumstances, issues, problems, and situations.  In English language arts, the instructional focus is on exploring how the central ideas and themes expressed in a particular may be expressed similarly or differently in another text within a the same or different genre or written by the same or different author.  In math, the instructional focus is on exploring how can the mathematical concepts, operations, procedures, and theories can be used to address and solve complex real world problems.  Similarly in science, the instructional focus is on extensively exploring and explaining natural events and phenomena through scientific inquiry and engineering design.  In history and social studies, the instructional focus is on exploring and establishing the lasting and long-term impact and relevancy of historical ideas, incidents, and individuals.   The objective is to make the concepts and content students are learning practical and personal by encouraging them to experiment with and design how else could they transfer and use what they have learned beyond what has been presented to them in class as an assignment or an assessment.  The goal is for students to develop self-knowledge and awareness of why the concepts and content is important and vital - or essential - to learn and how can they personally use what they have learned academically, professionally, and personally.

When considering what level of Webb's model a learning experience falls - be it for planning or evaluating instruction - use the following questions to guide you:

• Is the expectation for the students to show and tell what is the knowledge that defines the concept or content?  Then the learning experience would be designated as a DOK-1.
• Is the expectation for the students to show and tell how can the knowledge be used to answer a question, address a problem, accomplish a task, or analyze a text or topic?  Then the learning experience would be designated as a DOK-2.
• Is the expectation for the students to show and tell why can the knowledge be used to attain and explain answers, conclusions, decisions, outcomes, results, and solutions?  Then the learning experience would be designated as a DOK-3.
• If the expectation for the students to show and tell what else can be done with the knowledge or how can you use the knowledge in different academic and real world contexts o?  Then the learning experience would be designated as a DOK-4.

Hopefully this clears some confusion about what exactly depth of knowledge.  It's not about the content or the cognition but rather the context in which the knowledge and thinking can be transferred and used - topically, applicably, multidimensionally, or extensively.

Erik M. Francis, M.Ed., M.S., is the lead professional education specialist and owner of Maverik Education LLC, providing professional development and consultation on teaching and learning for cognitive rigor. His book Now THAT'S a Good Question! How to Promote Cognitive Rigor Through Classroom Questioning will be published by ASCD in July 2016.  For more information, please visit www.maverikeducation.com.