Temporary Classroom Design
                                                                         By:  Lauren Behnke

Project at a Glance :

This project will allow 3rd graders to design the library space we will be using as our temporary classroom until construction is finished on our permanent room.  We will use aspects of geography we have studied such as absolute and relative location, maps, compass, and human/environment interaction.
       
Driving Question:

How can we set up our classroom to help every student learn?             

Standards:

• Social Studies standards
• 3-G1.0.1 Use cardinal directions (north, south, east, west) to describe the relative locations of significant places in the immediate environment.
• 3-G5.0.1 Describe how people are a part of, adapt to, use, and modify the physical environment of Michigan. 
• TSkills4Success rubric with examples for self-evaluation.   
• Teamwork:  How do include your whole team? and Set and achieve goals as a team?
• Speaking and Listening standards

Team / Culture Building:

• Use Inner Heroes or Mycreativetype.com to create “baseball cards” before project begins.
• Create groups of 4 based on different types.
• Hopes, Fears, Norms (with an emphasis on Norms!)
• Look at self-evaluation rubric to add what each category might look and sound like.  
• Build a Collaboration Tower with new groups to practice norms.

Entry Event:

• Bug List - what parts of this current room or previous classrooms have bugged you?​​

• The teacher will stage a few exaggerated “problem areas” before students come in that morning.

Stakeholders:

• Students
• Teacher
• Principal
• Superintendent

Empathy Building:

• Speedboat: What features don’t you like about our classroom? What might get in the way of your learning/working?​​​

• Empathy Map: interview a partner in another group and come together to create one per group. 

Inquiry / Need to Knows:

•  Jigsaw to create posters for geography vocabulary: absolute location, relative location, compass, parts of a map, human/environment interaction. Help students relate these from Michigan to the classroom/environment. 
• Interview a partner from another group to find out what helps them learn, what they like in a classroom, how they want to interact with their environment.  
• Share out interview results to create empathy map within group.
• Share out empathy maps to create Top 10 list within class. ​

Incubation:

•  Use the The Anti-Problem protocol to generate solution ideas.
• How would ____ solve this? 
• Mindmapping: create template with driving question in the middle and different categories around it.  Have group members silently add their ideas within the different categories.  (desks, shared supplies, teacher supplies, books, other) Present the categories as constraints, or things that MUST be in the classroom.  

Checking in:

1. After observation: Meet with another group to share bug lists
2. After investigation: Google form survey to anonymously share feedback about group, make sure everyone understands driving question
3. After incubation: Walk around and listen to each group’s discussion with talking chips
4. After solutions:
5. Final reflection: Individual written reflection

•   Maitre D’
• Pluses and Deltas
• Talking Chips​​

Utilize a reflection page from PBL works or Design Thinking Toolbox.

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Solution Building:

• Using the NUF test students will eliminate or change ideas that may not be feasible. Each group will create a map of the classroom and share during a Poster Session, followed by a quick Elevator Pitch explaining ideas.  The teacher will encourage use of map keys, compass, and relative location vocabulary. 

Critique and Revision: 

• Dot Voting: give each student 3 dots and have them place their dots on specific parts of the posters that they like.
• Going back to Top 10 list, get feedback from principal, other teachers, older students.

Authentic Audience:

• Students
• Teacher
• Principal
• Superintendent

Final Presentation:

• Students will pitch the final classroom design to the authentic audience.  They will write and practice a pitch using geography vocabulary to describe the different parts of the classroom. 
• Students can use their strengths for the pitch and design how they would like it to look.

Click here for teacher's full plan.
Reflection and Feedback:

•  The authentic audience will use the top 10 list to give feedback.  Did we achieve everything that was important to us as learners? Suggest they use YES AND… to give students feedback.
• Skills4Success rubric with examples for self-evaluation. Have students add what words they might use to do each category.  
• Use growth mindset to create personal goals moving forward.
• Reflect on the norms used during the project.  Were we successful? Do they need to be adjusted? Should we add anything? 
• Do we need to make changes to the design based on feedback from the authentic audience? ​

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

Meet the Educator:

​Lauren Behnke teaches 3rd grade at Douglas Elementary in Saugatuck, MI.

     "I want my students to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, and have strong collaboration skills.  I try to push them to think outside the box and step outside my own comfort zone."