What If It Doesn't Work?

GRACE Christian School is committed to trying new things in our student's education.  We don't want kids to have the same thing over and over just because it is the way we have always done it.  We don't want them to do something just because it is the way we did it.  We also know that just because there is a new idea, it isn't always the right one.  We analyze before we implement.  If we believe that there is a valid reason to use something in our classrooms, we use it.  If there isn't, the fact that it is new isn't a good enough reason to do it.

Sometimes those things work; and we do them again, continuing to improve them.  Sometimes, they don't work.  What do we do then?

The answer is "It depends."  I know that isn't the most satisfying answer, but it is true.  It depends on why the project or lesson didn't work.  Teaching is all about analysis.  We analyze curriculum, test questions, and the work of students.  We should use the same kind of analysis on ourselves.  If you don't know where to start with the analysis of a failed project, start with these questions.

1.  Are The Objectives Important?
I teach science, so I get sent videos of every cool experiment that has ever been put on YouTube, from Mentos in Coke to rice on speakers.  Many of them are very interesting thngs that should be done in my classroom because they are excellent demonstrations of a the scientific principles that are in my curriculum.  Others are just fun to watch.  If it is just fun to watch, post it to social media or share it with students by e-mail.  It is good for them to see that you enjoy your material outside of class, too.  If the project or demonstration doesn't apply to an objective, don't take up your class time with it.  Your class time is a precious and limited resource; it deserves to be preserved.

2.  Were the Expectations Clear to You?
The first time I did a free choice project, I knew that students would need some expectations of how they would be graded.  Even with all the choices they had about topic and methods, I had to decided what was important to me ahead of time.  In a Challenge Based Learning Project, you aren't supposed to go in with preconceptions about the outcome.  However, there are some things you really expect.  I want at least a working model in mine, but some teachers might want a full sized, fully functioning invention.  It isn't fair to assign the project at all if I don't know at least those types of things.

3.  Were the Objectives and Expectations Clearly Communicated to Your Students?
Once you know what you want, it is important that your students are clear on what you want.  Since students aren't mind readers, they can't know your expectations unless you tell them.  They haven't spent ten years with this topic and don't necessarily know what objectives are.  I write the objective on the board every day so that they get used to what that means.  On projects, I put the educational objective on the instructions sheet.  It gives many students the same security that having the name of a city on a map would give you.

4.  Did I Include Enough Accountability BEFORE the End?
I have found this to be primary reason something doesn't work.  Assigning something and then not mentioning again until the due date just doesn't work.  Most of us experienced that in college.  Even in my adult life, I rarely have no accountability for the work being done along the way.  If an outside of class project is going to take more than one week from the time you assign it until it is due, you should set up checkpoints.  If it a small project, this could be as simple as saying, "Tell me what you have accomplished so far."  If it is a large project (20% Time projects are all year, my free choice is three months, my CBL is two months), you are going to want some specifics.  Have them lay out a timeline.  Ask them questions related to that.  Have them keep a blog in which they justify what they have done each week.  There may be a week where they couldn't work on the project much.  That's okay and even appropriate, but they should explain why.  What interfered, and how did they work around it to get back on schedule.  Wow, if that's not an important life skill, I don't know what is.

5.  Were the Right Tools Used?
When GRACE first started its one to one program, I was very strict about the platforms projects should be made in.  If I assigned a podcast, I wanted it done with Garage Band and not iMovie.  This frustrated my students, but there was a reason.  I wanted them to have a breadth of tools at their disposal.  Unless forced to do otherwise, we will all just do the thing we are most comfortable doing.  Once we got a comfortable with a variety of tools, I started giving them choices of platforms.  Now, five years into the program, I tell them to judge which tool is best for what they want to accomplish.  A keynote is great for straight information, but it doesn't work if you need to see something demonstrated.  Choosing the best tool is also one of my educational objectives.  The younger the students, the more you should narrow their choice.  By the time they are juniors and seniors, they should be able to make that judgement.

If there is improvement on the second year of a project, I go through the analytical process again.  If there isn't, this may not be the right project for my class.  It is okay to dump it and replace it with something else.