I recently finished a PBL that I had refined in a PBL 101 workshop led by National Faculty member, Dori Berg. I had done this project in 2016, but it wasn’t what the Buck Institute would define as Gold Standard. It was a good learning experience, but I felt like my students could go much deeper if I took some time to redesign the project. If you’re familiar with Gold Standard PBLs, you’ll know that they’re wrapped around eight design elements. Check out this awesome graphic to the right. |
So what did it take to reach the Gold Standard?
Rewards and Discussion
My students perspectives about senior adults changed, they soaked up a ton of soft skills, and I hit about twice as many standards as the previous year. I was approached and emailed by at least 10 different individuals about how great it was for the students to come and share their work with them. The Gold Standard is a high one, but it’s also one that you can take a piece at a time. You might not hit every design element this year, but at least you know that it’s within your reach. If you continue to drive forward and practice reflection and critique and revision, you will get there. I'm not there on every one of my projects, but I can confidently say that I've hit the Gold Standard on this last one. Blessings on your work! |
- Where are you in your Gold Standard journey?
- Which design element have you mastered? With which do you struggle? Explain.
- Describe your most recent project and how it fulfilled some (or all) of the Gold Standard design elements. It's great to see how different teachers use different strategies for meeting the design elements.