Playground Problems
By:  Tina Ryan

Project at a Glance :

Recess is a primary time for students to have behavior issues. Often it is difficult to start teaching once recess has ended because so many students have had problems out on the playground. The goal of this project is to give third graders at Sandy Hill Elementary more ownership in how to improve this issue.
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Driving Question:

How can we help all students follow the Wildcat Way  on the playground?          

Standards:

• Collaborative Learning
• Problem-Solving

Team / Culture Building:

• Groups will build a Collaboration Tower.​

• Creative DNA protocol to learn more students strengths and weaknesses.

​Entry Event:

• Interview Dean of Students

Stakeholders:

• Principals
• Teachers
• Students

Empathy Building:

• Students will talk to the stakeholders to gain an understanding of how they all feel based on their different perspectives.
• Create Empathy Maps from the  the Teacher, Principal, and Students perspective.​​

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

• Students will brainstorm questions they could ask both the principal and dean of students, followed by interviewing both.​

• Need to Know protocol
• Shadowing

Incubation:

• Use the Think-Pair-Share activity to generate ideas.
• Silent Think Time/Journaling
• Idea Quota​

Checking in:

• The teacher will check in at the end of each activity to allow each group member to share their thoughts.
• Group and Saturate​

• Tell it to a Toddler

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Solution Building:

• Students will take everything they have learned to start thinking more deeply about what would be a good solution to the driving question.
  
• Poster Session
• NUF Test

Critique and Revision: 

•  Students will use the NUF test to narrow down their top two ideas from the Idea Quota, choosing their favorite of the two and make a poster to share with their teammates. Then, they will present their poster to one another and try to persuade why they think the idea they chose is best.
• Students will do a practice run of their presentations for their classmates to get feedback.​

Authentic Audience:

• Principal
  
• Dean of Students
  
• School Psychologist
  
• School Social Worker
  
• Learning Coach

Final Presentation:

• Students will Pitches ideas to a   panel of judges.​

Click here for teacher's full plan.

​Reflection and Feedback:

• Judges on our panel filled out a feedback form.

Click here for the  teacher's Journey through PBL on Padlet . . .

Meet the Educator:
​
Tina Ryan teaches 3rd grade at Sandy Hill Elementary in Jenison.

     “PBL is a great way to give kids more ownership of their learning and experience at school. I love how excited kids get when they are passionate about an idea they have cultivated.”