I used to think that CBL was something too abstract. Now I can see how it can help make learning more meaningful for all my students. Still, my district needs to embrace this in order for it to become part of our mission. PNWBOCES
Choose content type
Create a post from the types below.
Find the content you’re looking for.
Search
Don’t see what you need?
33 results found
Filters
Choose only one filter
Choose only one filter
Choose only one filter
Loading page content
Page content loaded
All Content | Question status | views | replies | |
---|---|---|---|---|
CBL Musings
I used to think that CBL was something too abstract. Now I can see how it can help make learning more meaningful for all my students. Still, my district needs to embrace this in order for it to become part of our mission. PNWBOCES
|
939 views 939 | 0 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
CBL and Heritage Months
I used the Challenge Based Learning Framework to create resources for Native American Heritage Month (recognized in the United States during the month of November). The guide helped me think through the process of how I might create a professional learning session on the recognition of heritage months. I’ve attached an epub that outlines my thought process. If you have ideas on using CBL for getting teachers and students involved in understanding heritage months, please post below. And please add other #CBL posts to our Apple Education Community! Challenge for Change Learning Series: Help Shape a Healthier Society West Chester University, Challenge Based Learning and Antiracism 8 ways to make your Classroom Activities more CBL-ish Challenge Based Learning - Making Projects Meaningful Back to School Keynote Welcome Project More new and amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning
|
5,045 views 5,045 | 2 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
CBL: A Comprehensive Survey of the Literature
Abstract Challenge Based Learning (CBL) is a relatively new contribution to the pedagogical landscape, emerging in the early 2000s. Recently the interest in CBL and, correspondingly, the amount of published literature has increased significantly. This document builds on existing literature reviews and identifies additional publications to provide deeper and more comprehensive insight into CBL. Starting with a focused review of the academic databases: Scopus and WoS, a broad collection of CBL publications were identified and analyzed. The survey then identifies and reviews additional documents connected to these publications, resulting in an extensive review of the existing CBL literature. Through the review, a series of themes emerged, providing a structure for the document. The themes include: • the definition, origins and components of CBL; • motivations for adoption and implementation; • current strategies for implementation and potential barriers; • the impact of CBL. These themes are investigated by exploring and connecting a global set of publications. In addition, the document includes future research recommendations, a Bibliometrics and Scientometrics literature analysis, and a comprehensive bibliography. A goal of the document is to consolidate the current CBL literature, expand networks and increase conversations to support adoption, implementation and further research. This literature survey presents an informative perspective of the global CBL landscape. The published literature presents CBL as a unique and promising pedagogical approach used effectively in transformative large-scale implementations and classroom integration. However, a range of new questions arise, and additional rigorous research is needed to deepen the knowledge base and gain a broader perspective on the effectiveness and role of CBL. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Permission is granted to replicate, copy, distribute, or adapt this report for non-commercial use under the condition that attribution is provided. Citation Perna, S., Recke M.P. & Nichols, M.H. (2023). Challenge Based Learning: A Comprehensive Survey of the Literature. The Challenge Institute.
|
20,609 views 20,609 | 1 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
CBL and bringing back the JOY into the classroom
**WARNING** This post contains video of an education professional dressed in a bee costume. It may trigger memories of times when teaching seemed a bit more…fun. Educator, artist and technology enthusiast - Diane Darrow says, “We do not need to teach creativity, but rather inspire its daily practice”. That bee video… Now allow me to explain: I had fun making it and my dog loved it! But what on Earth is it (I hear you ask)? It’s a call-to-action video I made for Challenge Based Learning - AKA CBL - for a school I’m working with. In short, CBL is incredibly engaging, encourages students to collaborate and go deep with their learning and is high in creativity and self-selected means-of-expression. Oh, and it has to relate to a real-world issue. These call-to-action videos really work and students really respond to them. I do a lot of these and my approach to creating them is pretty simple: Summarise the key learnings for the unit of study to that point. Present the challenge ahead with expectations - including contributing questions. Drum roll…”Our ESSENTIAL QUESTION is…” I always write my script in Pages to take full advantage of the Presenter Mode (see video of Pages Presenter Mode in action)… And if there’s one thing I think is most important it’s this: if we want our students to be creative, fearless and take risks we need to MODEL that mindset (and sometimes dress up as a bee as the situation requires it). Try Presenter Mode by downloading the Pages call-to-action script I’ve attached to this post. You’ll find Presenter Mode here: I use two iPads to make my video - one to host my script (in Presenter Mode) and the other to film the video using the Clips app (free from the App Store if you don’t already have it). This workflow is very efficient, quick, easy and lots of fun (especially for pets). After all, if we lose the fun, we’ll lose the students.
|
17,580 views 17,580 | 7 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
Share your CBL Challenge to inspire others
Do you have a Challenge that might inspire others? Share an existing CBL Challenge so that others might participate or adapt for their own community of learners. Tools for sharing a Challenge: Example post to use as a model. General help on Creating Forum posts. Tips for authoring your Challenge post: Start a new story post here and title it “Challenge: Your Challenge statement.” Begin with a brief overview of the Challenge and why it matters. Consider adding your Featured Image. List your Big Idea, Essential Question, and Challenge statement. Consider listing a few Guiding Questions along with any Guiding Activities and Resources that might help learners get started with their investigation. Finalize the post by attaching related resources, adding relevant tags (including ‘Challenge Based Learning’), and uploading a featured image to visually identify it in the CBL Challenges area. Publish and share!
|
17,659 views 17,659 | 0 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
CBL: Creating Textbooks For Students With Students
OVERVIEW Students in my college Music Appreciation course provided a solution to the lack of textbooks by creating their own, publishing to the Apple Books Store. ENGAGE Big Idea: Equity - providing free educational resources for students to provide greater access to learning. Essential Question: What can we do to reduce the cost of textbooks and provide instant access? Challenge: We will create our own textbooks to support our learning and future students. Our bookstore had a difficult time acquiring textbooks for my Music Appreciation course last semester. After a week of instruction, no books. I had an innovative idea that would provide a unique educational experience for my students, but I wanted them to think it was their idea. A challenge routinely faced by college students is the cost of textbooks. I continue to make efforts to relieve students of these expenses by creating quality resources available at no expense. INVESTIGATE Using Freeform, I sketched a plan for creating our own textbook. In addition to content, I wanted to students to consider copyright, plagiarism, design. Then I developed my step-by-step approach including elements to be included in each chapter. On the day we would start this educational adventure in challenge based learning, I put on my best acting face so that I could truly engage these students. I stormed into the classroom “fired up” about the problem that we were facing and wrote “We have a problem!” on a perceivably blank Freeform document. I challenged the class to offer solutions to the problem. After sidestepping ideas like making scans of one textbook for everyone to share (yikes!) and picketing in front of the bookstore (whoa!), a student in the back of the room spoke up and said, “We could write our own textbooks!” - music to my ears. 😁 Others in the class supported this idea. So we began to investigate what that might look like. Here’s a portion of our brainstorming session. Ultimately, we decided to create five separate books - one for each era. We elected to include one historically marginalized composer in each of the five books as well. In order to complete this project, students would need to develop a wide range of skills. Our collective brainstorm led to this list. By the conclusion of the class period, we had a plan and would be ready to act! I marked out “problem” and corrected it to say “solution.” ACT I drafted a calendar that would lead us through the process. It was my first time embarking on such an activity and was all an experiment. At times I doubted myself and thought “why am I doing this” and “what if it is a failure.” But then I also considered, “what if we don’t do this - we’ll be missing out on a great opportunity.” I followed through with my innovative and adventurous instincts. Here’s the calendar we would follow. I strategized how I might form groups to maximize participation and contribution from all members. In the first weeks of class, I had taught the fundamentals of music, standard in a music appreciation course and a necessity for doing this work. As an assessment for our foundations of music unit, I strategically selected five team leaders who would select their team members. In teams, we completed a variety of quizzes using the Socrative app, including the always fun and competitive Space Race. These activities built community and camaraderie among the teams and the class as a whole. These teams would be the teams that would build their individual chapters. Each class began by completing a Heardle Activity, a discussion of the weekly Listening Log entry, and then launching into our book work. Each day would bring new opportunities to teach technology skills such as page layout, paragraph styles, table of contents, image descriptions, and use of live text. To demonstrate the composition of a well-designed Apple Book, we referenced several exemplars such as Jodie Deinhammer’s “The Heart” and Terrance Shipler’s “Susquenita’s Book of Presidents.” We also browsed Apple Education’s “Creating Digital Books on Mac and iPad” and read through portions of Grant Andrews’ “Referencing, Citation and Bibliography Style Guide” to support our learning, creating, and researching. We paused research midway through the project to break up the repetition, completing Apple Education’s Pop Art Activity with composers as our subjects. These projects turned out so well that they were then compiled into a collage that became each book cover. Once the books were assembled, we devised a proofreading plan. I wanted each student to not only proofread their own text, but to proofread all of the books created in the class. After two rotations of revisions, a team member exported a revised edition for proofreading rounds three and four. Not only did students support students by providing substantive comments, they were inspired to implement new ideas into their own books and were exposed to the composers and works of each of the other eras of music. On exam day, students made final revisions and completed a checklist before airdropping their final drafts to me. Students participated in a Socrative quiz on composers and works from all periods to assess their learning and then formed new groups with one member from each team to complete the same Socrative quiz in a Space Race format. Oh what competitive fun to celebrate learning and the conclusion of the semester! The final assignment required each student to submit a reflective video in which they addressed the following questions: What did you contribute to the book project? What did you learn from this (music-related)? What did you learn from this (life/process-releated)? What are you most proud of from your work? What would you do differently if you started over? What grade do you feel you deserve for your work in our class this semester? Please justify your choice. Is there anything else you would like to share? WHAT’S NEXT These five books will be used as a foundation for my next Music Appreciation class who will read them to familiarize themselves with each era and will be tasked with revising and expanding these texts to become stronger and more robust resources. The process will continue for years, improving with each iteration. REFLECTIONS I am delighted to have embarked on this journey together to create these resources. I’m glad that the fear of failure didn’t derail this project. The class was a delight to work with and we developed a great sense of community in our short time together, likely the greatest camaraderie of any class I have taught. The resources we created are well-designed. Their layout is beautiful. I do feel that some of the groups could have provided more content. Perhaps, I should have students submit a mid-term project that I could review in detail to assess their progress. Students seemed to enjoy this work and are proud of the results. One of them commented that it felt like they were in an honors course, being given the autonomy to be creative and develop a resource that would be published for consumption by the public. When motivation stalls, some solutions that were effective were: An artistic activity such as the Pop Art activity. Brain breaks to visit the art gallery. Shoutouts by experts in the field on social media (Michael Hernandez shared our post and provided some kind words of support that reminded students of the impact of their work.). Homemade cookies for the win! Quality of student work improves when public display is imminent. Relevance and purpose are at the heart of challenge based learning. An assignment that is relevant and has purpose warrants student investment in the work and renders quality products. RESOURCES/PRODUCTS 📚 You can find these resources on Apple Books here. 📚
|
20,850 views 20,850 | 4 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
Share Your CBL Story - An outline to get you started.
Other educators are hungry to hear about your successes with Challenge Based Learning. Use this simple outline below to support your storytelling. Feel free to modify as needed. Overview: Provide a brief overview of your CBL experience. Who participated? Describe the team involved in the Challenge and provide context of the learners involved. Engage Phase: What was your Big Idea, Essential Question, and Challenge? How did learners engage with this Challenge? Investigate Phase: What were some of the activities and resources your learners used to answer their guiding questions? What were some key learnings that evolved from the investigation. Act Phase: What solutions were developed and how were they put into action? What was the impact? Please share any additional reflections or insights from this CBL experience. Please share images, videos or attachments to support your story where possible. Please review the Forum Guidelines for guidance on what to post, and use the helpful Creating Forum Posts to become familiar with the authoring tools. Tip: Remember to tag any post you create about CBL with the Challenge Based Learning (CBL) tag in the post editor. Tip: Use the attached CBL Challenge Organizer to share a visual overview of your challenge.
|
18,332 views 18,332 | 2 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
Idea for Documenting a CBL Approach to MLKing Day of Service
The Challenge Based Learning framework is a perfect way to organize activities around the Martin Luther King Day of Service. I used some primary sources from the Library of Congress with Keynote to create digital lamp post banners as an example of how learners might document their activism through the framework. My process Use the Challenge Based Learning framework with the Big Idea of “Service” Take a photo of a lamp post banner. See Learning Center Keynote for iPad Photos Use Keynote to substitute a photo on the banner with a photo of learner participation in the Day of Service. Share out. Day of Service and Challenge Based Learning Martin Luther King Day (this year, Monday January 15, 2024) is a designated National Day of Service that encourages us all to volunteer to improve our communities. This is a perfect opportunity to use the Challenge Based Learning framework to engage learners in the process of participating in a Day of Service. For example: Engage using the Big Idea of “Service” - Through CBL, learners can determine the parameters of their service, formulating questions that will lead to an essential question about community impact on a personal level. Investigate - Learners use digital tools to research guiding questions that drive their investigation and analyze the results. Act - Learners implement and act on an authentic and meaningful service activity. They reflect on their action by using digital tools that document their activity and process. To see other lessons that use #CBL in the Apple Education Community, search #CBL The Library of Congress primary sources I used in my light pole banner example: [Martin Luther King, Jr., half-length portrait, facing left, speaking at microphones, during anti-war demonstration, New York City] A Third year high school girl in the chemical laboratory [Girl Scout in canoe, picking trash out of the Potomac River during Earth Week 1970] Here is an additional interesting resource for Street Art Activity (Apple Education Community) More & new amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning
|
9,365 views 9,365 | 0 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
Commemorating Juneteenth using CBL & Apple Tools
Background The newest U.S. National Holiday, Juneteenth, is another wonderful opportunity for student celebration and learning (great for summer programs). Juneteenth is a holiday that commemorates the announcement of the end of slavery in Texas and encourages reflection and progress on race relations and equity. A possible Challenge Based Learning (CBL) Scenario Using Juneteenth as a Big Idea or topic in a Challenge Based Learning activity provides learners with the opportunity to involve and inform their communities about the commemoration. I’m outlining some simple steps to suggest to teachers as starters for a CBL based activity. Create an engaging entry point to the activity using Keynote, Clips or iMovie to introduce the Big Idea. Consider telling the story of the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas. Challenge leaner teams to brainstorm questions about the event and select questions to research. Post research and additional questions on a collaborative Freeform. Student teams share relevant primary source documents and historical information. Teams create and refine an essential question such as, “How can we celebrate and inform our community about Juneteenth?” Brainstorm ideas around the essential question, teams continue to research and refine. Determine a project proposal and share idea in Keynote, Clips or iMovie presentations. Teams collect peer feedback and constructive suggestions for project improvement. Teams organize and act on selected solution. Examples of solutions might include a virtual panel discussion, an art exhibition, a poetry slam, or a community service project. Select tools to implement CBL activity. For example: Pages for community event flyers or informational brochures Keynote for presentations to engage the community Numbers to keep track of tasks, budgets, or RSVPs iMovie or Clips for promotional videos or documentaries about Juneteenth Garageband for podcasts or interviews Freeform for collaborative brainstorming Notes for collecting research information To assess, use reflective writing with peer feed back that evaluates content learning, project successes and challenges and team organization. Movie Export of Keynote created timeline with primary sources that inform Juneteenth I’ve also attached a Pages file that outlines other activities for Juneteenth Utilizing Digital Activities to Learn About & Celebrate Juneteenth. It incorporates listening and speaking practice, note taking, interviewing and community and civic engagement and involvement. (download below). Let me know what else you would add or what approach would help educators use this holiday as a learning opportunity. More & new amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning
|
5,357 views 5,357 | 0 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
Using CBL to meet Curricular Standards & Objectives
I love how students can bring their unique perspectives and interests to a CBL Big Idea. Educators can also focus on parts of the Framework to effectively achieve standards and curricular objectives. It’s easy to guide learners towards meeting objectives while also encouraging creativity, exploration and student voice. For example teachers might introduce the Engage phase of CBL by sparking interest with an infographic, Keynote, iMovie or Clips, providing a direction for the Big Idea. They can also format the curricular objective as an Essential Question and encourage students to brainstorm ways to achieve that objective in the form of a Challenge. Example: During April’s Earth Month, science and history classes frequently have content lessons based around the history and preservation of our National Parks. This topic might be introduced with a Big Idea of Environmental Preservation. Sparking curiosity around the curricular theme is done with a pictographic from primary sources. The Essential Question is based on a content objective. Students then brainstorm their Challenge and create Guiding Questions. The teacher provides activities and resources as students move through the Investigate phase. (See 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning.) ENGAGE Big Idea: Environmental Preservation Essential Question: How can we preserve and protect National Parks [eg Yosemite] from the impact of traffic while still allowing for open, enjoyable and equitable access for visitors? Challenge: Propose and share an environmental action plan based on the history and impact of traffic in National Parks. INVESTIGATE Guiding questions: What is the history automobile access to National Parks? What is the environmental impact of automobiles in National Parks? How can we provide open parks for the public while still preserving the natural environment? In what ways can the public access National Parks and reduce the impact of automobiles? Guiding Activities and Resources: Interview National Park officials on the impact of automobiles. Create a infographic showing the growth of automobiles in a park. Create a PSA that guides decision making on transportation to National Parks. ACT The ACT phase of CBL can be a demonstration of their achievement and sharing knowledge with others beyond the classroom. How do you approach planning for CBL projects that help to meet educational standards and objectives? Resources: Yosemite National Park Roads & Bridges, Yosemite Village, Mariposa County, CA Drawings from Survey HAER CA-117 Challenge Based Learning - Learning Center Challenge Based learning - Forum
|
8,443 views 8,443 | 0 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
8 ways to make your Classroom Activities more CBL-ish
Tower Building Challenge One of the learning experiences that my 8th grade Science students remember each year is a tower building challenge. This hands-on activity supports many of the concepts I am responsible for teaching in my 8th grade Science curriculum, but even more importantly it is a great opportunity to put Challenge Based Learning into practice…even if in small ways. So while perhaps some would say this isn’t 100% CBL, I believe that small shifts in doing things CBL-ish have great value as well! #1 Keep the challenge open-ended, not prescriptive. Big Idea: Structural Engineering Essential Question: How can a structural design score the highest strength-to-weight ratio? Challenge: Build the tallest, strongest tower possible. While other learning activities might give students step-by-step instructions or very specific parameters, simply phrasing the task as an open-ended challenge adds excitement and intrigue from the start. Although I give Tower specifications, there are still a lot of opportunities for inquiry and innovation in this challenge. In Challenge Based Learning, some parameters can encourage creativity. Tower Specifications Tower Height must be a minimum height of 30 cm and maximum 70 cm. The base of the tower must span a hole a 16cm X 16cm (from any combinations of sides.) A little bigger is better. Top opening in the tower must be at least 5cm X 5cm (to fit load chain.) Towers vary in technique, design, and appearance. Students can see how original ideas helped (or hurt) their team’s solution design. Simply asking students to successfully follow the steps of a lab would not have the same impact as a more open-ended challenge does. #2 Encourage collaborative work. The typical junior high group task involves a divide and conquer approach— dividing up the questions or vocabulary words to minimize individual work load. The tower building challenge offers a chance for higher level collaboration- each learner contributing ideas, research, and hands-on work towards a shared purpose and common goal. Generally I let my 8th graders choose their own collaborative groups for the Tower Building Challenge, but throughout the year there are other activities where I intentionally make the groups. Using CBL in differing ways throughout the school year builds up students’ collaborative skillset. #3 Provide a tool to document the process throughout. For this challenge I use a Numbers document (attached at end of post) so that my students can track their daily progress using data, images, video, and voice reflections. While Numbers is traditionally a spreadsheet tool, it also allows for drawings, media, and whiteboard space organized into tabs(sheets). This is a perfect scaffold for my 8th graders to have some structure, but also allow for open-ended creation within that space. In CBL it is more about process than product, so student documentation of every step along the way is an important cornerstone. #4 Allow ample time for investigation. Encouraging students to generate their own research questions is the first step to making our classroom learning more challenge-based. We start with surface level questions and defining all key terms. What does strength-to-weight ratio mean? What is buckling, deflection, lateral force? Then I have students in their teams generate their own guiding questions… the things they will need to know in order to create a solution design. Taking time for students to generate their own questions about the challenge, ask others for professional insight, and research structural designs in other spaces allows them to be more self-directed learners. What they discover through their investigations is applied to their prototypes and plans, and it makes a world of difference to not let learners quickly rush to the first solution they come up with. CBL allows us to “stay in the question longer” and this is important for deeper learning. #5 Connect with real-world experts. One of the easiest ways to make your classroom lesson more CBL-ish is to connect with real human beings outside of the classroom. In my Tower Building Challenge, my students spoke with their relatives with engineering backgrounds, farmers who created makeshift solutions for similar daily tasks, and even local community members with insight on how these concepts transfer to the real-world. Giving students a reason to ask questions and learn from other humans is one of the best gifts of CBL, and no matter the size of the project, I see the benefit in building in these expectations for my 8th graders. #6 Build in time for reflection. Like allowing time for questioning, I have also learned the importance of building in intentional reflection at key moments in a classroom project or challenge. Sometimes I give students sentence starters and tell them to use PhotoBooth on their Mac or the rear-facing camera on their iPad/iPhone and just finish the narrative. Sometime an audio recording right within their Numbers document is enough. Other times a written reflection in our class LMS that others can read is the preferred reflection activity. No matter the kind of reflection, this metacognitive practice not only helps students focus on their own personal learning journey, but also gives me insight into additional support students might need. In addition, student reflections offer a more authentic way to assess learning as well. “Today I was happy about…” “One thing that didn’t work the way we expected was…” “I wish we knew more about…” #7 Incorporate meaningful use of tech. Students use their iPad camera to capture their tower in its various stages of development and of course slow-mo video at the point of its destruction! They use Apple Pencil to sketch out diagrams, the Measure app for quick measurements with Augmented Reality, audio and video recordings for interviews and reflections. Having choice in how students create their design prototypes is extremely beneficial. Some groups would rather sketch on paper and then capture photos of their designs. Others would rather using Keynote shapes and drawings to design digitally from the start. iPad and Mac become “just in time” tools that support the entire process toward a solution, instead of an “add-on” technology expectation at the end of a lesson. This models what they will experience in their future careers as well. #8 Celebrate failure as well as success! At the time of judgement, each student group tests out their balsa wood tower by gradually adding more and more weight until it collapses. Students are armed with their iPhone or an iPad, ready to capture the moment of destruction in slow mo video. After calculating the strength-to-weight ratio of each tower, the winning designs were applauded and year-to-year leader boards are updated. But I see this final culmination of the tower building challenge as such an argument for CBL in education. Whether a winner or not, the slow mo videos are by far the highlight of the entire experience! Where else can we celebrate our failures in such a positive and enjoyable way? Even the winning towers have to collapse in order to get scored, and the joy and delight that students have for each other in this moment is palpable. Through Challenge Based Learning, students are empowered to work together to come up with original thinking backed through research and share their triumphs (and failures) with the rest of their learning community. It is science class magic. For more ideas about using Challenge Based Learning in middle school science, be sure to check out this article: https://digitalpromise.org/2020/02/19/5-ways-to-boost-middle-school-science-with-challenge-based-learning/ For more on the Balsa Tower activity, view this resource from TeachEngineering: https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/duk_balsa_tech_act
|
23,934 views 23,934 | 4 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
U.S. Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2023 - CBL & Apple Maps.
This year Monday, October 9, marks Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States. I don’t like to let commemoration, recognition or celebration holidays pass without thinking about how to make these meaningful for all students. Challenge Based Learning is an innovative and positive learning framework with an inclusive process that provides that meaning. In addition, traveling via Apple Maps provides updated outlines of Indigenous nations. Commemorating with Challenge Based Learning Last year I posted an outline in a Pages epub of the CBL process using Native American Heritage Month as one example (post located here). Apple Maps Also as part of student learning be sure to travel via Apple Maps and see the additional International outlines of Federally recognized Indigenous lands. This Newsroom article, March 2023, shares the work: Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative surpasses $200 million in investments, doubling initial 2020 commitment under subtitle, Taking Action Across Apple “Apple added representation of Indigenous lands to Maps. In an update made in collaboration with Indigenous communities, Maps now displays tribal, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis territories in the U.S. and Canada. Maps also implemented support for dual-language labels — including in Indigenous-language syllabaries — and redesigned the Maps place card used for Indigenous lands to show more detail, working directly with communities to curate their place card content.” I love the important additions to Apple Maps as a way for students to geographically visualize Indigenous communities during recognition days or months and beyond. #AppleMaps
|
8,294 views 8,294 | 2 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
Historic Peace Posters Displayed in iMovie or Clips - A Challenge Based Learning Big Idea
For Social Studies educators, focusing on current news is one way we connect students to learning and the standards. I’m a fan of Challenge Based Learning (CBL) because it is an impactful framework to help make that connection. For example, learners might direct their attention to the Big Idea of World Peace. What might they develop as their Essential Question(s)? What Challenge might they propose? What local solution might they implement and share? To introduce learners to a CBL activity focused on Peace I would use iMovie or Clips as a spark. I often work with primary sources from The Library of Congress and searching on the term “peace” brings up many free to use historic posters and signs that have been designed by artist to pass along the message of peace over the years. These can be downloaded into Photos and then easily organized into an effective “starter” movie in either iMovie or Clips to kick off the activity. iMovie or Clips - here are a couple of simple examples: Use the Ken Burns effect in iMovie with historic posters to spark interest. How to: Adjust zoom effects in iMovie on iPad Use Clips with filters on historic peace posters art to spark interest. How to: Clips for iPad - Learning Center Maybe a poster or movie learners create as part of their “Act” in CBL will end up in the Library of Congress someday! At the least, by using the CBL framework, they will be involved in the lesson and think hard about the concept. What sparks have you used to start a CBL activity in your classrooms? More new and amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning
|
9,517 views 9,517 | 1 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
Sustainability and the American Bison - Native American Heritage Month
For this November’s Native American History Month I want learners to merge environmental science, history, geography, and creativity by exploring the American Bison. My inspiration for this lesson idea comes from Ken Burn’s two part documentary “The American Buffalo” that premiered October 16, 2023 on PBS. Ken Burns films are known for their depth and this one is no exception. The two part film runs four hours. However PBS classroom has chunked it up in shorter segments with lesson guides which you’ll find here: The American Buffalo Ecosystem Engineers. When using documentary films in the classroom I often like to add activities beyond discussions, essays or reflective writing. I want learners to participate in additional research and use their creativity to not only show what they know about a topic, but to share that information with others. A couple of ideas to build on… Segment Exploration: Divide learners into teams, each assigned to explore one of the PBS documentary segments. Then, through research, they can unpack further information and develop an engaging way to present this knowledge to their peers. CBL Framework and Sustainability: Employ the Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) framework, anchoring lessons around the Big Idea of Sustainability. Engage learners in the topic by streaming one of the documentary segments from PBS The American Buffalo Ecosystem Engineers. (For example you might want to start with the segment Facing the Storm). Next challenge learners to brainstorm an essential question related to the American Bison and their relationship to Native American cultures. Continue through the Framework with Investigate and Act. Learners might use Pages, Keynote, Clips, iMovie as they develop action plans to support their authored challenge and to provide ways to share their knowledge. As learners create, encourage them to use authentic primary source photos from the National Archives or Library of Congress to provide a historic link to their research. Analyzing primary sources as well as Web resources provides good media literacy practice! Here are a couple more posts in our Apple Education Community for Native American Heritage Month: Native American Indian Heritage Month STEM Challenge - Lindsay Fell Apple Maps Guide for Native American History by the National Parks Foundation CBL and Heritage Months U.S. Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2023 - CBL & Apple Maps. And as I post today - it’s National Bison Day! More new and amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning
|
11,449 views 11,449 | 0 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
Challenge Based Learning
CBL is another innovative form of teaching that will enhance instruction. Apple tools are an effective avenue during all stages of challenged based learning. The process and products involved in this learning can be enhanced with the use of technology.
|
1,566 views 1,566 | 0 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
Challenge Based Learning synopsis
I used to think it would be too hard to incorporate CBL in all subject classes. I now know that challenge based learning can be embraced along with the curriculum in each class. It is all about starting small and encouraging students to ask questions about what is around them. PNW BOCES
|
1,034 views 1,034 | 1 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
What are your learners creating for Media Literacy Week?
October 23 - 27 (2023 - United States) is the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) Media Literacy week. I love that our Northern California KQED public radio station education outreach is focusing the week with the theme of “Students as Media Creators” not just as media consumers and providing some wonderful ideas to enhance student voice. Also there are so many creative ideas here in the Apple Education Community that educators can use for engaging learners in creating Media Literacy focused projects. A Challenge Based Learning activity would also be a excellent way to underscore Media Literacy: Big Idea - Media Literacy: Engage: Develop a challenge and essential question around Media Literacy Investigate: Research, analyze, define, & refine questions and challenge Act - on a solution by creating media around the topic of Media Literacy for a broader audience. More new and amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning
|
Unsolved | 19,966 views 19,966 | 3 |
Latest update on the question
|
Community is Where You Make It
Creating positive impact with Challenge Based Learning McCall is a town of about 3,000 people in Valley County, Idaho, located on the south shore of Payette Lake and within the Payette National Forest. The former logging community is an all-season tourist destination for outdoor recreation known for its Winter Carnival and natural beauty. “It's beautiful. Oh, my gosh! It is absolutely beautiful here,” says resident Serena Henry, a Boise State student and participant in University’s Community Impact Program (CIP). “I think that it creates and inspires a different type of person, and it inspires a different type of intentionality.” But life in rural Idaho isn’t always easy. “There's a hustle in McCall and Cascade like you wouldn't believe,” she notes. “People often work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. I'm in six hundred square feet with a family of four, but we're two blocks from the lake. So we're willing to have a smaller space and participate in the hustle because we get to enjoy the nature and the beauty that McCall has to offer.” The area’s transient population, created by a high proportion of second homes and the high cost of living, creates a tension in the community. “People come and go because it can be hard to afford to live here,” says Serena. “And so the people that are here [year round] really have to work hard to be here.” Residents have seen plenty of programs intended to help rural communities come and go, too. “I feel like there's definitely a “prove it” mentality for new programs,” she observes. Making a Positive Impact in McCall Serena knew what she was up against when she took on the challenge of Making a Positive Impact in Your Community as a CIP participant. Challenge Based Learning (CBL) has been adopted at Boise State after witnessing its power as demonstrated by the Onramp Program, an Apple Community Education Initiatives community. Using the CBL framework, Serena and her CIP team partnered with a local school and designed a Keep it Kind week that focused on different acts of kindness for the students to explore each day. A key difference with “Keep it Kind” was that the challenge and solution was designed by local community members, a CBL hallmark. “We wanted this for our kids, our students, and the youth of our community,” says Serena. “They were our own students, and it was going to impact the lives that we live here with the people we live here, which was hugely important to the type of project we took on.” Making a Positive Impact in an Online Cohort Serena is interested in making a difference in her local community and her online student cohort in Boise State’s Bachelor of Applied Science and Interdisciplinary Professional Studies (BAS/IPS) degree program. She applied the CBL framework to create a solution that brings together online students, who often lack options to connect with peers and faculty. The result is Treehouse, a program that supports and promotes connections among BAS/IPS students. “I think a big piece is really asking those questions, and considering those end users so our community changes,” she says of the program’s success. By asking questions about stakeholder needs, “we discovered there was a genuine interest in community among the students,” she says. Creating opportunities for students and faculty to connect “really has made for a much more rich experience as a student.” Having designed solutions with CBL for both in-person and online communities, Serena says, “The solutions between an in-person and online initiative might look different, but how you make discoveries about each of those groups follow the same path and share a common framework.” Seeing the success and impact of engaging students as part of Treehouse, Serena applied the CBL framework to propose a Student Advisory Board as her Leadership Capstone project. The board will provide students a place to offer input on specific program initiatives, test and weigh in on new program offerings, voice the needs and desires of students enrolled in the program, and share insights from the student perspective and experience. “We recognized that beyond sending out surveys to students and hearing second-hand from advisors we didn't have much of a feedback loop from our most important stakeholders,” says Alexis Kenyon, BAS/IPS Associate Director, regarding her support for Serena’s proposal. “This student advisory board is a great way to hear directly from the students about their needs and for them to have a voice in shaping the initiatives we're working on. We're here for the students.” When asked what she likes about CBL, Serena says, “Challenge Based Learning does a great job of helping you identify a project that you're truly interested in and passionate about, which I think enables you to build a robust solution at the end of the day.” “If I don't have the ability to actually influence something related to the problem I'm trying to solve,” she continues, “how much dedication can I actually give to that solution? And I think that's one of the things that Challenge Based Learning does really well is leads to more attainable solutions, and has the ability to make more impact.” Serena doesn’t see the Student Advisory Board as her last contribution to the program. She’s currently developing an internship course that will prepare students to serve on the board and potentially accelerate their progress in their degree program. “If this gets to be the course that inspires students to ask more questions, and dive deeper into the things that they're engaging with, then I am all in, sign me up. Let's build it. Let's develop it, because I think that that's a place where growth and development will come from.” Serena feels the CBL framework helped drive her to do more with her projects. “The more engaged I became, the more investment I was willing to expend,” she says. “Just by being invited to the table, and being invited to kind of wade in and share my thoughts, or share my experience in this one little instance, created value for me. It demonstrated that my thoughts mattered.” If you’re considering trying CBL, Serena has this advice: “Lean in, and the experience is what you're going to make of it. The effort you put in will determine what you get out of the experience. The overall experience and outcome you get to enjoy when it's all said and done, it creates opportunities that you couldn't even imagine.” Making a Positive Impact for Future Students With her CBL solutions being adopted by the University, Serena’s work will continue to create a positive impact on the BAS/IPS student community for years to come. “I am honored to be trusted with this type of program,” she says. “The level of reach that this initiative can have, to be invited in and to be able to contribute is really an honor. The idea of developing a program that really can guide someone else's growth and development for me is really exciting.” As a member of a CEI community, you already know about Everyone Can Code and Everyone Can Create. With CBL, everyone can contribute to making a positive impact on their communities, whether they are in person, online, in a small town, or a large city. CBL helps you meet your learners where they are and invites learners to identify how they can be part of the solution to challenges they care about. The Onramp program challenges you to engage deeply with CBL and prepare to make a positive impact on your community, however you define it. Links Serena’s BAS/IPS Student Advisory Proposal Serena’s BAS/IPS Student Advisory Bylaws Onramp Program - Community, Creativity, and Coding Community Impact Program - Rural Education REP4 Alliance - Removing Barriers to Higher Education Challenge Based Learning.org
|
21,182 views 21,182 | 0 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
West Chester University, Challenge Based Learning and Antiracism
I am one of four professors that team teach a first year experience course at West Chester University of Pennsylvania (wcupa.edu). The class is a 4 credit offering for our education majors. It's a big class with approximately 150 freshman enrolled every Fall semester. An important focus of the class is anti-racism, and more specifically, how to be an antiracist teacher. One of the two assigned books for the FYE 100 course is Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (https://www.ibramxkendi.com/stampedbook). After reading the book in class last Fall we embarked on a Challenge Based Learning project. The class to Challenge Based Learning (CBL), and walked the class though the Taking Action on Racial Equity and Justice Learning Challenge Series—Discussion Guide and Workbook. https://education-static.apple.com/cfc/conversations-discussion-guide.pdf To introduce CBL and the workbook we used of an online collaboration tool called Mural (screenshot below). Trying to wrangle such a large group of students was a big task, but we pulled it off. The class was split into groups of 3-5 students, and they worked through big ideas and guiding questions. In subsequent weeks we took the class to the WCU library to learn about ways to find answers and conduct research using the library resources. The culminating project was a poster. The student groups used iPads and Keynote to create their posters. We printed them on super sized paper and shared them at a poster session at the end of the semester. Think professional conference style poster session. Even of university president showed up to the poster session and heard first hand from our teacher candidates about their big ideas for being anti-racist. Here are two examples of completed posters. This Fall we will be doing a similar CBL project, but focusing on community impact. https://education-static.apple.com/cfc/community-discussion-guide.pdf A big thank you to the Apple Education team for creating these awesome workbooks.
|
22,419 views 22,419 | 2 |
Latest update on the question
|
|
Pages Book to Keynote Animation - Women’s History Month
Previously… I created a sampler postcard book for Women’s History Month. The purpose of the book was to give educators a guide as they created lessons centered around women’s history using Library of Congress primary sources. The book, titled Reminders from the Ceiling Breakers, is in the Apple Book store and includes some “how to” instructions. This Year… I’m sending out those postcards - one a day! This was easily accomplished by copying each page from Pages and pasting onto a Keynote slide. Next I exported the front and back of the card as an animated gif and I’m posting them as a “spark” idea for teachers who might want to create a Challenge Based Learning lesson. These postcards are examples for teachers during online professional learning sessions and network sharing. My challenge is, how might I use Challenge Based Learning in professional educational venues to engage teachers in using digital tools to create history content lesson? With the postcards, this might be the direction: Big Idea: Woman’s History Essential Question: How can we amplify the role of young women in changing the educational opportunities in schools? Challenge: Engage learners in the study of women’s contributions and cultural challenges throughout history. Check back here for some daily postcards during Women’s History Month to hopefully inspire some Women’s History Month CBL! Also please add your own ideas for wrapping content based history lessons with CBL.
|
6,385 views 6,385 | 13 |
Latest update on the question
|
-
CBL Musings 939 views 939 0 replies 0 -
CBL and Heritage Months I used the Challenge Based Learning Framework to create resources for Native American Heritage Month (recognized in the United States during the month of November). The guide helped me think through the process of how I might create a professional learning session on the recognition of heritage months. I’ve attached an epub that outlines my thought process. If you have ideas on using CBL for getting teachers and students involved in understanding heritage months, please post below. And please add other #CBL posts to our Apple Education Community! Challenge for Change Learning Series: Help Shape a Healthier Society West Chester University, Challenge Based Learning and Antiracism 8 ways to make your Classroom Activities more CBL-ish Challenge Based Learning - Making Projects Meaningful Back to School Keynote Welcome Project More new and amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning5,045 views 5,045 2 replies 2 -
CBL: A Comprehensive Survey of the Literature Abstract Challenge Based Learning (CBL) is a relatively new contribution to the pedagogical landscape, emerging in the early 2000s. Recently the interest in CBL and, correspondingly, the amount of published literature has increased significantly. This document builds on existing literature reviews and identifies additional publications to provide deeper and more comprehensive insight into CBL. Starting with a focused review of the academic databases: Scopus and WoS, a broad collection of CBL publications were identified and analyzed. The survey then identifies and reviews additional documents connected to these publications, resulting in an extensive review of the existing CBL literature. Through the review, a series of themes emerged, providing a structure for the document. The themes include: • the definition, origins and components of CBL; • motivations for adoption and implementation; • current strategies for implementation and potential barriers; • the impact of CBL. These themes are investigated by exploring and connecting a global set of publications. In addition, the document includes future research recommendations, a Bibliometrics and Scientometrics literature analysis, and a comprehensive bibliography. A goal of the document is to consolidate the current CBL literature, expand networks and increase conversations to support adoption, implementation and further research. This literature survey presents an informative perspective of the global CBL landscape. The published literature presents CBL as a unique and promising pedagogical approach used effectively in transformative large-scale implementations and classroom integration. However, a range of new questions arise, and additional rigorous research is needed to deepen the knowledge base and gain a broader perspective on the effectiveness and role of CBL. Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Permission is granted to replicate, copy, distribute, or adapt this report for non-commercial use under the condition that attribution is provided. Citation Perna, S., Recke M.P. & Nichols, M.H. (2023). Challenge Based Learning: A Comprehensive Survey of the Literature. The Challenge Institute.20,609 views 20,609 1 reply 1 -
CBL and bringing back the JOY into the classroom **WARNING** This post contains video of an education professional dressed in a bee costume. It may trigger memories of times when teaching seemed a bit more…fun. Educator, artist and technology enthusiast - Diane Darrow says, “We do not need to teach creativity, but rather inspire its daily practice”. That bee video… Now allow me to explain: I had fun making it and my dog loved it! But what on Earth is it (I hear you ask)? It’s a call-to-action video I made for Challenge Based Learning - AKA CBL - for a school I’m working with. In short, CBL is incredibly engaging, encourages students to collaborate and go deep with their learning and is high in creativity and self-selected means-of-expression. Oh, and it has to relate to a real-world issue. These call-to-action videos really work and students really respond to them. I do a lot of these and my approach to creating them is pretty simple: Summarise the key learnings for the unit of study to that point. Present the challenge ahead with expectations - including contributing questions. Drum roll…”Our ESSENTIAL QUESTION is…” I always write my script in Pages to take full advantage of the Presenter Mode (see video of Pages Presenter Mode in action)… And if there’s one thing I think is most important it’s this: if we want our students to be creative, fearless and take risks we need to MODEL that mindset (and sometimes dress up as a bee as the situation requires it). Try Presenter Mode by downloading the Pages call-to-action script I’ve attached to this post. You’ll find Presenter Mode here: I use two iPads to make my video - one to host my script (in Presenter Mode) and the other to film the video using the Clips app (free from the App Store if you don’t already have it). This workflow is very efficient, quick, easy and lots of fun (especially for pets). After all, if we lose the fun, we’ll lose the students.17,580 views 17,580 7 replies 7 -
Share your CBL Challenge to inspire others Do you have a Challenge that might inspire others? Share an existing CBL Challenge so that others might participate or adapt for their own community of learners. Tools for sharing a Challenge: Example post to use as a model. General help on Creating Forum posts. Tips for authoring your Challenge post: Start a new story post here and title it “Challenge: Your Challenge statement.” Begin with a brief overview of the Challenge and why it matters. Consider adding your Featured Image. List your Big Idea, Essential Question, and Challenge statement. Consider listing a few Guiding Questions along with any Guiding Activities and Resources that might help learners get started with their investigation. Finalize the post by attaching related resources, adding relevant tags (including ‘Challenge Based Learning’), and uploading a featured image to visually identify it in the CBL Challenges area. Publish and share!17,659 views 17,659 0 replies 0 -
CBL: Creating Textbooks For Students With Students OVERVIEW Students in my college Music Appreciation course provided a solution to the lack of textbooks by creating their own, publishing to the Apple Books Store. ENGAGE Big Idea: Equity - providing free educational resources for students to provide greater access to learning. Essential Question: What can we do to reduce the cost of textbooks and provide instant access? Challenge: We will create our own textbooks to support our learning and future students. Our bookstore had a difficult time acquiring textbooks for my Music Appreciation course last semester. After a week of instruction, no books. I had an innovative idea that would provide a unique educational experience for my students, but I wanted them to think it was their idea. A challenge routinely faced by college students is the cost of textbooks. I continue to make efforts to relieve students of these expenses by creating quality resources available at no expense. INVESTIGATE Using Freeform, I sketched a plan for creating our own textbook. In addition to content, I wanted to students to consider copyright, plagiarism, design. Then I developed my step-by-step approach including elements to be included in each chapter. On the day we would start this educational adventure in challenge based learning, I put on my best acting face so that I could truly engage these students. I stormed into the classroom “fired up” about the problem that we were facing and wrote “We have a problem!” on a perceivably blank Freeform document. I challenged the class to offer solutions to the problem. After sidestepping ideas like making scans of one textbook for everyone to share (yikes!) and picketing in front of the bookstore (whoa!), a student in the back of the room spoke up and said, “We could write our own textbooks!” - music to my ears. 😁 Others in the class supported this idea. So we began to investigate what that might look like. Here’s a portion of our brainstorming session. Ultimately, we decided to create five separate books - one for each era. We elected to include one historically marginalized composer in each of the five books as well. In order to complete this project, students would need to develop a wide range of skills. Our collective brainstorm led to this list. By the conclusion of the class period, we had a plan and would be ready to act! I marked out “problem” and corrected it to say “solution.” ACT I drafted a calendar that would lead us through the process. It was my first time embarking on such an activity and was all an experiment. At times I doubted myself and thought “why am I doing this” and “what if it is a failure.” But then I also considered, “what if we don’t do this - we’ll be missing out on a great opportunity.” I followed through with my innovative and adventurous instincts. Here’s the calendar we would follow. I strategized how I might form groups to maximize participation and contribution from all members. In the first weeks of class, I had taught the fundamentals of music, standard in a music appreciation course and a necessity for doing this work. As an assessment for our foundations of music unit, I strategically selected five team leaders who would select their team members. In teams, we completed a variety of quizzes using the Socrative app, including the always fun and competitive Space Race. These activities built community and camaraderie among the teams and the class as a whole. These teams would be the teams that would build their individual chapters. Each class began by completing a Heardle Activity, a discussion of the weekly Listening Log entry, and then launching into our book work. Each day would bring new opportunities to teach technology skills such as page layout, paragraph styles, table of contents, image descriptions, and use of live text. To demonstrate the composition of a well-designed Apple Book, we referenced several exemplars such as Jodie Deinhammer’s “The Heart” and Terrance Shipler’s “Susquenita’s Book of Presidents.” We also browsed Apple Education’s “Creating Digital Books on Mac and iPad” and read through portions of Grant Andrews’ “Referencing, Citation and Bibliography Style Guide” to support our learning, creating, and researching. We paused research midway through the project to break up the repetition, completing Apple Education’s Pop Art Activity with composers as our subjects. These projects turned out so well that they were then compiled into a collage that became each book cover. Once the books were assembled, we devised a proofreading plan. I wanted each student to not only proofread their own text, but to proofread all of the books created in the class. After two rotations of revisions, a team member exported a revised edition for proofreading rounds three and four. Not only did students support students by providing substantive comments, they were inspired to implement new ideas into their own books and were exposed to the composers and works of each of the other eras of music. On exam day, students made final revisions and completed a checklist before airdropping their final drafts to me. Students participated in a Socrative quiz on composers and works from all periods to assess their learning and then formed new groups with one member from each team to complete the same Socrative quiz in a Space Race format. Oh what competitive fun to celebrate learning and the conclusion of the semester! The final assignment required each student to submit a reflective video in which they addressed the following questions: What did you contribute to the book project? What did you learn from this (music-related)? What did you learn from this (life/process-releated)? What are you most proud of from your work? What would you do differently if you started over? What grade do you feel you deserve for your work in our class this semester? Please justify your choice. Is there anything else you would like to share? WHAT’S NEXT These five books will be used as a foundation for my next Music Appreciation class who will read them to familiarize themselves with each era and will be tasked with revising and expanding these texts to become stronger and more robust resources. The process will continue for years, improving with each iteration. REFLECTIONS I am delighted to have embarked on this journey together to create these resources. I’m glad that the fear of failure didn’t derail this project. The class was a delight to work with and we developed a great sense of community in our short time together, likely the greatest camaraderie of any class I have taught. The resources we created are well-designed. Their layout is beautiful. I do feel that some of the groups could have provided more content. Perhaps, I should have students submit a mid-term project that I could review in detail to assess their progress. Students seemed to enjoy this work and are proud of the results. One of them commented that it felt like they were in an honors course, being given the autonomy to be creative and develop a resource that would be published for consumption by the public. When motivation stalls, some solutions that were effective were: An artistic activity such as the Pop Art activity. Brain breaks to visit the art gallery. Shoutouts by experts in the field on social media (Michael Hernandez shared our post and provided some kind words of support that reminded students of the impact of their work.). Homemade cookies for the win! Quality of student work improves when public display is imminent. Relevance and purpose are at the heart of challenge based learning. An assignment that is relevant and has purpose warrants student investment in the work and renders quality products. RESOURCES/PRODUCTS 📚 You can find these resources on Apple Books here. 📚20,850 views 20,850 4 replies 4 -
Share Your CBL Story - An outline to get you started. Other educators are hungry to hear about your successes with Challenge Based Learning. Use this simple outline below to support your storytelling. Feel free to modify as needed. Overview: Provide a brief overview of your CBL experience. Who participated? Describe the team involved in the Challenge and provide context of the learners involved. Engage Phase: What was your Big Idea, Essential Question, and Challenge? How did learners engage with this Challenge? Investigate Phase: What were some of the activities and resources your learners used to answer their guiding questions? What were some key learnings that evolved from the investigation. Act Phase: What solutions were developed and how were they put into action? What was the impact? Please share any additional reflections or insights from this CBL experience. Please share images, videos or attachments to support your story where possible. Please review the Forum Guidelines for guidance on what to post, and use the helpful Creating Forum Posts to become familiar with the authoring tools. Tip: Remember to tag any post you create about CBL with the Challenge Based Learning (CBL) tag in the post editor. Tip: Use the attached CBL Challenge Organizer to share a visual overview of your challenge.18,332 views 18,332 2 replies 2 -
Idea for Documenting a CBL Approach to MLKing Day of Service The Challenge Based Learning framework is a perfect way to organize activities around the Martin Luther King Day of Service. I used some primary sources from the Library of Congress with Keynote to create digital lamp post banners as an example of how learners might document their activism through the framework. My process Use the Challenge Based Learning framework with the Big Idea of “Service” Take a photo of a lamp post banner. See Learning Center Keynote for iPad Photos Use Keynote to substitute a photo on the banner with a photo of learner participation in the Day of Service. Share out. Day of Service and Challenge Based Learning Martin Luther King Day (this year, Monday January 15, 2024) is a designated National Day of Service that encourages us all to volunteer to improve our communities. This is a perfect opportunity to use the Challenge Based Learning framework to engage learners in the process of participating in a Day of Service. For example: Engage using the Big Idea of “Service” - Through CBL, learners can determine the parameters of their service, formulating questions that will lead to an essential question about community impact on a personal level. Investigate - Learners use digital tools to research guiding questions that drive their investigation and analyze the results. Act - Learners implement and act on an authentic and meaningful service activity. They reflect on their action by using digital tools that document their activity and process. To see other lessons that use #CBL in the Apple Education Community, search #CBL The Library of Congress primary sources I used in my light pole banner example: [Martin Luther King, Jr., half-length portrait, facing left, speaking at microphones, during anti-war demonstration, New York City] A Third year high school girl in the chemical laboratory [Girl Scout in canoe, picking trash out of the Potomac River during Earth Week 1970] Here is an additional interesting resource for Street Art Activity (Apple Education Community) More & new amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning9,365 views 9,365 0 replies 0 -
Commemorating Juneteenth using CBL & Apple Tools Background The newest U.S. National Holiday, Juneteenth, is another wonderful opportunity for student celebration and learning (great for summer programs). Juneteenth is a holiday that commemorates the announcement of the end of slavery in Texas and encourages reflection and progress on race relations and equity. A possible Challenge Based Learning (CBL) Scenario Using Juneteenth as a Big Idea or topic in a Challenge Based Learning activity provides learners with the opportunity to involve and inform their communities about the commemoration. I’m outlining some simple steps to suggest to teachers as starters for a CBL based activity. Create an engaging entry point to the activity using Keynote, Clips or iMovie to introduce the Big Idea. Consider telling the story of the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas. Challenge leaner teams to brainstorm questions about the event and select questions to research. Post research and additional questions on a collaborative Freeform. Student teams share relevant primary source documents and historical information. Teams create and refine an essential question such as, “How can we celebrate and inform our community about Juneteenth?” Brainstorm ideas around the essential question, teams continue to research and refine. Determine a project proposal and share idea in Keynote, Clips or iMovie presentations. Teams collect peer feedback and constructive suggestions for project improvement. Teams organize and act on selected solution. Examples of solutions might include a virtual panel discussion, an art exhibition, a poetry slam, or a community service project. Select tools to implement CBL activity. For example: Pages for community event flyers or informational brochures Keynote for presentations to engage the community Numbers to keep track of tasks, budgets, or RSVPs iMovie or Clips for promotional videos or documentaries about Juneteenth Garageband for podcasts or interviews Freeform for collaborative brainstorming Notes for collecting research information To assess, use reflective writing with peer feed back that evaluates content learning, project successes and challenges and team organization. Movie Export of Keynote created timeline with primary sources that inform Juneteenth I’ve also attached a Pages file that outlines other activities for Juneteenth Utilizing Digital Activities to Learn About & Celebrate Juneteenth. It incorporates listening and speaking practice, note taking, interviewing and community and civic engagement and involvement. (download below). Let me know what else you would add or what approach would help educators use this holiday as a learning opportunity. More & new amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning5,357 views 5,357 0 replies 0 -
Using CBL to meet Curricular Standards & Objectives I love how students can bring their unique perspectives and interests to a CBL Big Idea. Educators can also focus on parts of the Framework to effectively achieve standards and curricular objectives. It’s easy to guide learners towards meeting objectives while also encouraging creativity, exploration and student voice. For example teachers might introduce the Engage phase of CBL by sparking interest with an infographic, Keynote, iMovie or Clips, providing a direction for the Big Idea. They can also format the curricular objective as an Essential Question and encourage students to brainstorm ways to achieve that objective in the form of a Challenge. Example: During April’s Earth Month, science and history classes frequently have content lessons based around the history and preservation of our National Parks. This topic might be introduced with a Big Idea of Environmental Preservation. Sparking curiosity around the curricular theme is done with a pictographic from primary sources. The Essential Question is based on a content objective. Students then brainstorm their Challenge and create Guiding Questions. The teacher provides activities and resources as students move through the Investigate phase. (See 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning.) ENGAGE Big Idea: Environmental Preservation Essential Question: How can we preserve and protect National Parks [eg Yosemite] from the impact of traffic while still allowing for open, enjoyable and equitable access for visitors? Challenge: Propose and share an environmental action plan based on the history and impact of traffic in National Parks. INVESTIGATE Guiding questions: What is the history automobile access to National Parks? What is the environmental impact of automobiles in National Parks? How can we provide open parks for the public while still preserving the natural environment? In what ways can the public access National Parks and reduce the impact of automobiles? Guiding Activities and Resources: Interview National Park officials on the impact of automobiles. Create a infographic showing the growth of automobiles in a park. Create a PSA that guides decision making on transportation to National Parks. ACT The ACT phase of CBL can be a demonstration of their achievement and sharing knowledge with others beyond the classroom. How do you approach planning for CBL projects that help to meet educational standards and objectives? Resources: Yosemite National Park Roads & Bridges, Yosemite Village, Mariposa County, CA Drawings from Survey HAER CA-117 Challenge Based Learning - Learning Center Challenge Based learning - Forum8,443 views 8,443 0 replies 0 -
8 ways to make your Classroom Activities more CBL-ish Tower Building Challenge One of the learning experiences that my 8th grade Science students remember each year is a tower building challenge. This hands-on activity supports many of the concepts I am responsible for teaching in my 8th grade Science curriculum, but even more importantly it is a great opportunity to put Challenge Based Learning into practice…even if in small ways. So while perhaps some would say this isn’t 100% CBL, I believe that small shifts in doing things CBL-ish have great value as well! #1 Keep the challenge open-ended, not prescriptive. Big Idea: Structural Engineering Essential Question: How can a structural design score the highest strength-to-weight ratio? Challenge: Build the tallest, strongest tower possible. While other learning activities might give students step-by-step instructions or very specific parameters, simply phrasing the task as an open-ended challenge adds excitement and intrigue from the start. Although I give Tower specifications, there are still a lot of opportunities for inquiry and innovation in this challenge. In Challenge Based Learning, some parameters can encourage creativity. Tower Specifications Tower Height must be a minimum height of 30 cm and maximum 70 cm. The base of the tower must span a hole a 16cm X 16cm (from any combinations of sides.) A little bigger is better. Top opening in the tower must be at least 5cm X 5cm (to fit load chain.) Towers vary in technique, design, and appearance. Students can see how original ideas helped (or hurt) their team’s solution design. Simply asking students to successfully follow the steps of a lab would not have the same impact as a more open-ended challenge does. #2 Encourage collaborative work. The typical junior high group task involves a divide and conquer approach— dividing up the questions or vocabulary words to minimize individual work load. The tower building challenge offers a chance for higher level collaboration- each learner contributing ideas, research, and hands-on work towards a shared purpose and common goal. Generally I let my 8th graders choose their own collaborative groups for the Tower Building Challenge, but throughout the year there are other activities where I intentionally make the groups. Using CBL in differing ways throughout the school year builds up students’ collaborative skillset. #3 Provide a tool to document the process throughout. For this challenge I use a Numbers document (attached at end of post) so that my students can track their daily progress using data, images, video, and voice reflections. While Numbers is traditionally a spreadsheet tool, it also allows for drawings, media, and whiteboard space organized into tabs(sheets). This is a perfect scaffold for my 8th graders to have some structure, but also allow for open-ended creation within that space. In CBL it is more about process than product, so student documentation of every step along the way is an important cornerstone. #4 Allow ample time for investigation. Encouraging students to generate their own research questions is the first step to making our classroom learning more challenge-based. We start with surface level questions and defining all key terms. What does strength-to-weight ratio mean? What is buckling, deflection, lateral force? Then I have students in their teams generate their own guiding questions… the things they will need to know in order to create a solution design. Taking time for students to generate their own questions about the challenge, ask others for professional insight, and research structural designs in other spaces allows them to be more self-directed learners. What they discover through their investigations is applied to their prototypes and plans, and it makes a world of difference to not let learners quickly rush to the first solution they come up with. CBL allows us to “stay in the question longer” and this is important for deeper learning. #5 Connect with real-world experts. One of the easiest ways to make your classroom lesson more CBL-ish is to connect with real human beings outside of the classroom. In my Tower Building Challenge, my students spoke with their relatives with engineering backgrounds, farmers who created makeshift solutions for similar daily tasks, and even local community members with insight on how these concepts transfer to the real-world. Giving students a reason to ask questions and learn from other humans is one of the best gifts of CBL, and no matter the size of the project, I see the benefit in building in these expectations for my 8th graders. #6 Build in time for reflection. Like allowing time for questioning, I have also learned the importance of building in intentional reflection at key moments in a classroom project or challenge. Sometimes I give students sentence starters and tell them to use PhotoBooth on their Mac or the rear-facing camera on their iPad/iPhone and just finish the narrative. Sometime an audio recording right within their Numbers document is enough. Other times a written reflection in our class LMS that others can read is the preferred reflection activity. No matter the kind of reflection, this metacognitive practice not only helps students focus on their own personal learning journey, but also gives me insight into additional support students might need. In addition, student reflections offer a more authentic way to assess learning as well. “Today I was happy about…” “One thing that didn’t work the way we expected was…” “I wish we knew more about…” #7 Incorporate meaningful use of tech. Students use their iPad camera to capture their tower in its various stages of development and of course slow-mo video at the point of its destruction! They use Apple Pencil to sketch out diagrams, the Measure app for quick measurements with Augmented Reality, audio and video recordings for interviews and reflections. Having choice in how students create their design prototypes is extremely beneficial. Some groups would rather sketch on paper and then capture photos of their designs. Others would rather using Keynote shapes and drawings to design digitally from the start. iPad and Mac become “just in time” tools that support the entire process toward a solution, instead of an “add-on” technology expectation at the end of a lesson. This models what they will experience in their future careers as well. #8 Celebrate failure as well as success! At the time of judgement, each student group tests out their balsa wood tower by gradually adding more and more weight until it collapses. Students are armed with their iPhone or an iPad, ready to capture the moment of destruction in slow mo video. After calculating the strength-to-weight ratio of each tower, the winning designs were applauded and year-to-year leader boards are updated. But I see this final culmination of the tower building challenge as such an argument for CBL in education. Whether a winner or not, the slow mo videos are by far the highlight of the entire experience! Where else can we celebrate our failures in such a positive and enjoyable way? Even the winning towers have to collapse in order to get scored, and the joy and delight that students have for each other in this moment is palpable. Through Challenge Based Learning, students are empowered to work together to come up with original thinking backed through research and share their triumphs (and failures) with the rest of their learning community. It is science class magic. For more ideas about using Challenge Based Learning in middle school science, be sure to check out this article: https://digitalpromise.org/2020/02/19/5-ways-to-boost-middle-school-science-with-challenge-based-learning/ For more on the Balsa Tower activity, view this resource from TeachEngineering: https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/duk_balsa_tech_act23,934 views 23,934 4 replies 4 -
U.S. Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2023 - CBL & Apple Maps. This year Monday, October 9, marks Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States. I don’t like to let commemoration, recognition or celebration holidays pass without thinking about how to make these meaningful for all students. Challenge Based Learning is an innovative and positive learning framework with an inclusive process that provides that meaning. In addition, traveling via Apple Maps provides updated outlines of Indigenous nations. Commemorating with Challenge Based Learning Last year I posted an outline in a Pages epub of the CBL process using Native American Heritage Month as one example (post located here). Apple Maps Also as part of student learning be sure to travel via Apple Maps and see the additional International outlines of Federally recognized Indigenous lands. This Newsroom article, March 2023, shares the work: Apple’s Racial Equity and Justice Initiative surpasses $200 million in investments, doubling initial 2020 commitment under subtitle, Taking Action Across Apple “Apple added representation of Indigenous lands to Maps. In an update made in collaboration with Indigenous communities, Maps now displays tribal, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis territories in the U.S. and Canada. Maps also implemented support for dual-language labels — including in Indigenous-language syllabaries — and redesigned the Maps place card used for Indigenous lands to show more detail, working directly with communities to curate their place card content.” I love the important additions to Apple Maps as a way for students to geographically visualize Indigenous communities during recognition days or months and beyond. #AppleMaps8,294 views 8,294 2 replies 2 -
Historic Peace Posters Displayed in iMovie or Clips - A Challenge Based Learning Big Idea For Social Studies educators, focusing on current news is one way we connect students to learning and the standards. I’m a fan of Challenge Based Learning (CBL) because it is an impactful framework to help make that connection. For example, learners might direct their attention to the Big Idea of World Peace. What might they develop as their Essential Question(s)? What Challenge might they propose? What local solution might they implement and share? To introduce learners to a CBL activity focused on Peace I would use iMovie or Clips as a spark. I often work with primary sources from The Library of Congress and searching on the term “peace” brings up many free to use historic posters and signs that have been designed by artist to pass along the message of peace over the years. These can be downloaded into Photos and then easily organized into an effective “starter” movie in either iMovie or Clips to kick off the activity. iMovie or Clips - here are a couple of simple examples: Use the Ken Burns effect in iMovie with historic posters to spark interest. How to: Adjust zoom effects in iMovie on iPad Use Clips with filters on historic peace posters art to spark interest. How to: Clips for iPad - Learning Center Maybe a poster or movie learners create as part of their “Act” in CBL will end up in the Library of Congress someday! At the least, by using the CBL framework, they will be involved in the lesson and think hard about the concept. What sparks have you used to start a CBL activity in your classrooms? More new and amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning9,517 views 9,517 1 reply 1 -
Sustainability and the American Bison - Native American Heritage Month For this November’s Native American History Month I want learners to merge environmental science, history, geography, and creativity by exploring the American Bison. My inspiration for this lesson idea comes from Ken Burn’s two part documentary “The American Buffalo” that premiered October 16, 2023 on PBS. Ken Burns films are known for their depth and this one is no exception. The two part film runs four hours. However PBS classroom has chunked it up in shorter segments with lesson guides which you’ll find here: The American Buffalo Ecosystem Engineers. When using documentary films in the classroom I often like to add activities beyond discussions, essays or reflective writing. I want learners to participate in additional research and use their creativity to not only show what they know about a topic, but to share that information with others. A couple of ideas to build on… Segment Exploration: Divide learners into teams, each assigned to explore one of the PBS documentary segments. Then, through research, they can unpack further information and develop an engaging way to present this knowledge to their peers. CBL Framework and Sustainability: Employ the Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) framework, anchoring lessons around the Big Idea of Sustainability. Engage learners in the topic by streaming one of the documentary segments from PBS The American Buffalo Ecosystem Engineers. (For example you might want to start with the segment Facing the Storm). Next challenge learners to brainstorm an essential question related to the American Bison and their relationship to Native American cultures. Continue through the Framework with Investigate and Act. Learners might use Pages, Keynote, Clips, iMovie as they develop action plans to support their authored challenge and to provide ways to share their knowledge. As learners create, encourage them to use authentic primary source photos from the National Archives or Library of Congress to provide a historic link to their research. Analyzing primary sources as well as Web resources provides good media literacy practice! Here are a couple more posts in our Apple Education Community for Native American Heritage Month: Native American Indian Heritage Month STEM Challenge - Lindsay Fell Apple Maps Guide for Native American History by the National Parks Foundation CBL and Heritage Months U.S. Indigenous Peoples’ Day 2023 - CBL & Apple Maps. And as I post today - it’s National Bison Day! More new and amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based Learning11,449 views 11,449 0 replies 0 -
Challenge Based Learning CBL is another innovative form of teaching that will enhance instruction. Apple tools are an effective avenue during all stages of challenged based learning. The process and products involved in this learning can be enhanced with the use of technology.1,566 views 1,566 0 replies 0 -
Challenge Based Learning synopsis I used to think it would be too hard to incorporate CBL in all subject classes. I now know that challenge based learning can be embraced along with the curriculum in each class. It is all about starting small and encouraging students to ask questions about what is around them. PNW BOCES1,034 views 1,034 1 reply 1 -
What are your learners creating for Media Literacy Week? October 23 - 27 (2023 - United States) is the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) Media Literacy week. I love that our Northern California KQED public radio station education outreach is focusing the week with the theme of “Students as Media Creators” not just as media consumers and providing some wonderful ideas to enhance student voice. Also there are so many creative ideas here in the Apple Education Community that educators can use for engaging learners in creating Media Literacy focused projects. A Challenge Based Learning activity would also be a excellent way to underscore Media Literacy: Big Idea - Media Literacy: Engage: Develop a challenge and essential question around Media Literacy Investigate: Research, analyze, define, & refine questions and challenge Act - on a solution by creating media around the topic of Media Literacy for a broader audience. More new and amazing resources on Challenge Based Learning: CBL in the Apple Education Community Learning Center CBL in the Apple Education Community Forum CBL Tool Kit and check out 30 Creative Activities for Challenge Based LearningUnsolved 19,966 views 19,966 3 replies 3 -
Community is Where You Make It Creating positive impact with Challenge Based Learning McCall is a town of about 3,000 people in Valley County, Idaho, located on the south shore of Payette Lake and within the Payette National Forest. The former logging community is an all-season tourist destination for outdoor recreation known for its Winter Carnival and natural beauty. “It's beautiful. Oh, my gosh! It is absolutely beautiful here,” says resident Serena Henry, a Boise State student and participant in University’s Community Impact Program (CIP). “I think that it creates and inspires a different type of person, and it inspires a different type of intentionality.” But life in rural Idaho isn’t always easy. “There's a hustle in McCall and Cascade like you wouldn't believe,” she notes. “People often work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. I'm in six hundred square feet with a family of four, but we're two blocks from the lake. So we're willing to have a smaller space and participate in the hustle because we get to enjoy the nature and the beauty that McCall has to offer.” The area’s transient population, created by a high proportion of second homes and the high cost of living, creates a tension in the community. “People come and go because it can be hard to afford to live here,” says Serena. “And so the people that are here [year round] really have to work hard to be here.” Residents have seen plenty of programs intended to help rural communities come and go, too. “I feel like there's definitely a “prove it” mentality for new programs,” she observes. Making a Positive Impact in McCall Serena knew what she was up against when she took on the challenge of Making a Positive Impact in Your Community as a CIP participant. Challenge Based Learning (CBL) has been adopted at Boise State after witnessing its power as demonstrated by the Onramp Program, an Apple Community Education Initiatives community. Using the CBL framework, Serena and her CIP team partnered with a local school and designed a Keep it Kind week that focused on different acts of kindness for the students to explore each day. A key difference with “Keep it Kind” was that the challenge and solution was designed by local community members, a CBL hallmark. “We wanted this for our kids, our students, and the youth of our community,” says Serena. “They were our own students, and it was going to impact the lives that we live here with the people we live here, which was hugely important to the type of project we took on.” Making a Positive Impact in an Online Cohort Serena is interested in making a difference in her local community and her online student cohort in Boise State’s Bachelor of Applied Science and Interdisciplinary Professional Studies (BAS/IPS) degree program. She applied the CBL framework to create a solution that brings together online students, who often lack options to connect with peers and faculty. The result is Treehouse, a program that supports and promotes connections among BAS/IPS students. “I think a big piece is really asking those questions, and considering those end users so our community changes,” she says of the program’s success. By asking questions about stakeholder needs, “we discovered there was a genuine interest in community among the students,” she says. Creating opportunities for students and faculty to connect “really has made for a much more rich experience as a student.” Having designed solutions with CBL for both in-person and online communities, Serena says, “The solutions between an in-person and online initiative might look different, but how you make discoveries about each of those groups follow the same path and share a common framework.” Seeing the success and impact of engaging students as part of Treehouse, Serena applied the CBL framework to propose a Student Advisory Board as her Leadership Capstone project. The board will provide students a place to offer input on specific program initiatives, test and weigh in on new program offerings, voice the needs and desires of students enrolled in the program, and share insights from the student perspective and experience. “We recognized that beyond sending out surveys to students and hearing second-hand from advisors we didn't have much of a feedback loop from our most important stakeholders,” says Alexis Kenyon, BAS/IPS Associate Director, regarding her support for Serena’s proposal. “This student advisory board is a great way to hear directly from the students about their needs and for them to have a voice in shaping the initiatives we're working on. We're here for the students.” When asked what she likes about CBL, Serena says, “Challenge Based Learning does a great job of helping you identify a project that you're truly interested in and passionate about, which I think enables you to build a robust solution at the end of the day.” “If I don't have the ability to actually influence something related to the problem I'm trying to solve,” she continues, “how much dedication can I actually give to that solution? And I think that's one of the things that Challenge Based Learning does really well is leads to more attainable solutions, and has the ability to make more impact.” Serena doesn’t see the Student Advisory Board as her last contribution to the program. She’s currently developing an internship course that will prepare students to serve on the board and potentially accelerate their progress in their degree program. “If this gets to be the course that inspires students to ask more questions, and dive deeper into the things that they're engaging with, then I am all in, sign me up. Let's build it. Let's develop it, because I think that that's a place where growth and development will come from.” Serena feels the CBL framework helped drive her to do more with her projects. “The more engaged I became, the more investment I was willing to expend,” she says. “Just by being invited to the table, and being invited to kind of wade in and share my thoughts, or share my experience in this one little instance, created value for me. It demonstrated that my thoughts mattered.” If you’re considering trying CBL, Serena has this advice: “Lean in, and the experience is what you're going to make of it. The effort you put in will determine what you get out of the experience. The overall experience and outcome you get to enjoy when it's all said and done, it creates opportunities that you couldn't even imagine.” Making a Positive Impact for Future Students With her CBL solutions being adopted by the University, Serena’s work will continue to create a positive impact on the BAS/IPS student community for years to come. “I am honored to be trusted with this type of program,” she says. “The level of reach that this initiative can have, to be invited in and to be able to contribute is really an honor. The idea of developing a program that really can guide someone else's growth and development for me is really exciting.” As a member of a CEI community, you already know about Everyone Can Code and Everyone Can Create. With CBL, everyone can contribute to making a positive impact on their communities, whether they are in person, online, in a small town, or a large city. CBL helps you meet your learners where they are and invites learners to identify how they can be part of the solution to challenges they care about. The Onramp program challenges you to engage deeply with CBL and prepare to make a positive impact on your community, however you define it. Links Serena’s BAS/IPS Student Advisory Proposal Serena’s BAS/IPS Student Advisory Bylaws Onramp Program - Community, Creativity, and Coding Community Impact Program - Rural Education REP4 Alliance - Removing Barriers to Higher Education Challenge Based Learning.org21,182 views 21,182 0 replies 0 -
West Chester University, Challenge Based Learning and Antiracism I am one of four professors that team teach a first year experience course at West Chester University of Pennsylvania (wcupa.edu). The class is a 4 credit offering for our education majors. It's a big class with approximately 150 freshman enrolled every Fall semester. An important focus of the class is anti-racism, and more specifically, how to be an antiracist teacher. One of the two assigned books for the FYE 100 course is Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You (https://www.ibramxkendi.com/stampedbook). After reading the book in class last Fall we embarked on a Challenge Based Learning project. The class to Challenge Based Learning (CBL), and walked the class though the Taking Action on Racial Equity and Justice Learning Challenge Series—Discussion Guide and Workbook. https://education-static.apple.com/cfc/conversations-discussion-guide.pdf To introduce CBL and the workbook we used of an online collaboration tool called Mural (screenshot below). Trying to wrangle such a large group of students was a big task, but we pulled it off. The class was split into groups of 3-5 students, and they worked through big ideas and guiding questions. In subsequent weeks we took the class to the WCU library to learn about ways to find answers and conduct research using the library resources. The culminating project was a poster. The student groups used iPads and Keynote to create their posters. We printed them on super sized paper and shared them at a poster session at the end of the semester. Think professional conference style poster session. Even of university president showed up to the poster session and heard first hand from our teacher candidates about their big ideas for being anti-racist. Here are two examples of completed posters. This Fall we will be doing a similar CBL project, but focusing on community impact. https://education-static.apple.com/cfc/community-discussion-guide.pdf A big thank you to the Apple Education team for creating these awesome workbooks.22,419 views 22,419 2 replies 2 -
Pages Book to Keynote Animation - Women’s History Month Previously… I created a sampler postcard book for Women’s History Month. The purpose of the book was to give educators a guide as they created lessons centered around women’s history using Library of Congress primary sources. The book, titled Reminders from the Ceiling Breakers, is in the Apple Book store and includes some “how to” instructions. This Year… I’m sending out those postcards - one a day! This was easily accomplished by copying each page from Pages and pasting onto a Keynote slide. Next I exported the front and back of the card as an animated gif and I’m posting them as a “spark” idea for teachers who might want to create a Challenge Based Learning lesson. These postcards are examples for teachers during online professional learning sessions and network sharing. My challenge is, how might I use Challenge Based Learning in professional educational venues to engage teachers in using digital tools to create history content lesson? With the postcards, this might be the direction: Big Idea: Woman’s History Essential Question: How can we amplify the role of young women in changing the educational opportunities in schools? Challenge: Engage learners in the study of women’s contributions and cultural challenges throughout history. Check back here for some daily postcards during Women’s History Month to hopefully inspire some Women’s History Month CBL! Also please add your own ideas for wrapping content based history lessons with CBL.6,385 views 6,385 13 replies 13
per page