What is project-based learning (PBL)?
Project-Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge, within the framework of a project (PBL Works, 2020).
How are the projects in this toolkit different from a typical “curriculum” or “lesson plan”?
Unlike a step-by-step curriculum, which would typically be made up of many lesson plans, the Climate Action Educator’s Toolkit presents a package of projects for teachers to choose from. Each project is inspired by a clip in the three-episode documentary, A Climate for Change, which was featured on Hawaii News Now over the course of 2020. The projects are designed so that teachers can comfortably try a project-based learning approach, which can be modified by teachers to fit their needs. Similar to a curriculum, each project has suggested components such as standards and skills, formative assessments, and learning activities; however, all of this is in service of moving students towards completion of the final culminating project, which is typically the summative assessment(s). Projects can take anywhere from two weeks to eight weeks, depending on the scope and depth that a teacher chooses to implement.
Who is this toolkit for?
This toolkit is designed for use by middle school (6-8th grade) teachers, to build climate literacy and action amongst Hawaii’s middle school students. Although projects are designed with 6-8th grade standards and students in mind, all projects can be modified by a teacher to cater to younger or older students.
How do I use this toolkit?
Start by watching A Climate for Change. Think about the themes and topics that you would want to try to bring into your classroom. Then, explore the project site to see what types of projects are available. Think about how a certain project could fit into something you already teach, and go from there! The projects in the toolkit can be implemented at face-value (with little to no changes), or with many modifications to fit your needs. Once you’ve implemented a project, let us know how it went.
How were the standards chosen?
The standards used in the Climate Action Educator’s Toolkit match the standards widely used by Hawaii public school teachers: Common Core State Standards for ELA and Math; C3 Framework for Social Studies; and NGSS Standards for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-related subjects. Although the toolkit does not cover all of the standards that a teacher is expected to cover in a year, it focuses on key standards that can be the key focus of a project. Typically, these are performance standards that students need practice with in order to show growth over time and content standards that cover many processes.
All of the projects in the toolkit are designed from an interdisciplinary lens, meaning that they can, in theory, be assessed for multiple subjects (a great time to team up with other teachers!). However, teachers should modify the standards that projects cover based on what they can realistically do.
What is the Climate Action Lens for?
The Climate Action Lens is a tool that ensures that solutions to climate issues consider multiple perspectives and multiple narratives - no band-aid problem-solving. The team of educators and community members that helped to design these projects used the lens to consider their project ideas from the following angles: urgency; empathy; impact; and relevancy. Each project comes with a blank Climate Action Lens for students and teachers to use as a way to ensure that they too are considering their own impact on the climate from multiple perspectives and narratives.
Can I modify the assessments?
Yes! The formative and summative assessments and additional documents are provided as a tool to get you started. Teachers are encouraged to incorporate activities and tools that they already use and to modify the additional documents to fit the needs of their students. We also welcome your feedback and ideas so that we can support other teachers in implementation.
Can I adjust the schedule?
Yes! Each project comes with a project calendar that estimates the amount of time needed to implement the project. Teachers can modify the calendar to fit their needs. This is a great way to include students in project planning- using a blank project calendar, work together to figure out what needs to be done to finish with a successful project.
Project-Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge, within the framework of a project (PBL Works, 2020).
How are the projects in this toolkit different from a typical “curriculum” or “lesson plan”?
Unlike a step-by-step curriculum, which would typically be made up of many lesson plans, the Climate Action Educator’s Toolkit presents a package of projects for teachers to choose from. Each project is inspired by a clip in the three-episode documentary, A Climate for Change, which was featured on Hawaii News Now over the course of 2020. The projects are designed so that teachers can comfortably try a project-based learning approach, which can be modified by teachers to fit their needs. Similar to a curriculum, each project has suggested components such as standards and skills, formative assessments, and learning activities; however, all of this is in service of moving students towards completion of the final culminating project, which is typically the summative assessment(s). Projects can take anywhere from two weeks to eight weeks, depending on the scope and depth that a teacher chooses to implement.
Who is this toolkit for?
This toolkit is designed for use by middle school (6-8th grade) teachers, to build climate literacy and action amongst Hawaii’s middle school students. Although projects are designed with 6-8th grade standards and students in mind, all projects can be modified by a teacher to cater to younger or older students.
How do I use this toolkit?
Start by watching A Climate for Change. Think about the themes and topics that you would want to try to bring into your classroom. Then, explore the project site to see what types of projects are available. Think about how a certain project could fit into something you already teach, and go from there! The projects in the toolkit can be implemented at face-value (with little to no changes), or with many modifications to fit your needs. Once you’ve implemented a project, let us know how it went.
How were the standards chosen?
The standards used in the Climate Action Educator’s Toolkit match the standards widely used by Hawaii public school teachers: Common Core State Standards for ELA and Math; C3 Framework for Social Studies; and NGSS Standards for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-related subjects. Although the toolkit does not cover all of the standards that a teacher is expected to cover in a year, it focuses on key standards that can be the key focus of a project. Typically, these are performance standards that students need practice with in order to show growth over time and content standards that cover many processes.
All of the projects in the toolkit are designed from an interdisciplinary lens, meaning that they can, in theory, be assessed for multiple subjects (a great time to team up with other teachers!). However, teachers should modify the standards that projects cover based on what they can realistically do.
What is the Climate Action Lens for?
The Climate Action Lens is a tool that ensures that solutions to climate issues consider multiple perspectives and multiple narratives - no band-aid problem-solving. The team of educators and community members that helped to design these projects used the lens to consider their project ideas from the following angles: urgency; empathy; impact; and relevancy. Each project comes with a blank Climate Action Lens for students and teachers to use as a way to ensure that they too are considering their own impact on the climate from multiple perspectives and narratives.
Can I modify the assessments?
Yes! The formative and summative assessments and additional documents are provided as a tool to get you started. Teachers are encouraged to incorporate activities and tools that they already use and to modify the additional documents to fit the needs of their students. We also welcome your feedback and ideas so that we can support other teachers in implementation.
Can I adjust the schedule?
Yes! Each project comes with a project calendar that estimates the amount of time needed to implement the project. Teachers can modify the calendar to fit their needs. This is a great way to include students in project planning- using a blank project calendar, work together to figure out what needs to be done to finish with a successful project.
Did you try a project?