5 things I learned about PBL taking on the DuPont Challenge

Recently, I came across the DuPont Challenge buried in an email from our school's science contact. When I followed the link, I discovered a wonderful science competition for elementary students that would be a perfect PBL (problem based learning) unit. The fourth grade challenge was to identify an ecosystem in your community or state that had been negatively impacted by human activity and develop a plan to return it to its original, healthy state. Wonderful, I thought! We have to learn about ecosystems this quarter. Gather data, it said. Fantastic, I thought! This quarter, I have to teach my students about graphing data. This was just what I was looking for. One problem; the deadline was two weeks away. No worries. I figured I could stop regular instruction for a week and a half and focus solely on this project. Hind sight being twenty-twenty, here's what I learned from taking on the DuPont Challenge. 

1. Enthusiasm counts for a lot! An enthusiastic teacher leads to enthusiastic students. My excitement over the opportunity became infectious with my students. No matter the project, be enthusiastic. Your students will catch the enthusiasm you convey.

2. It's okay to tell your students they can do better. My students seemed to expect me to praise their every effort, but some of the work they gave me was, ahem, c-r-a-p. Seriously. I had a few students who would notoriously state "facts" that were out and out made up! I continuously challenged their statements and made them show me the research to support their statements. The result? High quality, FACTUAL information. 

3. Let go! Part of successful PBL is learning to be the guide on the side, rather than the sage on the stage. Most teachers I know are in fact control freaks, so the DuPont Challenge and other projects should be student-driven. Learn to step aside and have your kids do the work.

4. Deadlines are deadlines. My students have learned--in part due to my allowance--that work can be turned in anytime. Okay, I'm guilty! I allow my fourth graders to turn in work up to the last day of the quarter. However, I'm beginning to rethink this practice. After having my students complete the DuPont Challenge, I think maybe allowing them to turn their work in so late is not helping them in the long run. I think it's time to set deadlines and stick to them.

5. Nothing beats genuine praise. When it was all said and done, I was genuinely proud of all my students for their efforts and final projects. Was it stressful? Yes. Was it worth it? You bet! I am so proud of my students and the hard work they put forth. Going forward, I know what they can do and how I can help them. Plus they know they earned every bit of praise!

Next year, I hope our school is a force to be reckoned with in the DuPont Challenge. 

So embrace PBL. You may not be able to go hog wild with it, but try it for a couple of weeks. You'd be surprised at what your students can learn and produce if you just step aside and let them!