Choose Your Own Adventure PBL
One of the projects third graders complete each year is a coding adventure focused on their Social Studies standards. In order to effectively carry out a PBL project, there are certain aspects that must be met. A “Gold Standard” PBL includes seven essential project design elements.
The components of a Gold Standard PBL:
A Challenging Problem or Question:
Our Driving Question: How can we, as coders and game designers, teach other students about developments in Alaska over time?
Our Project: An Alaskan Choose Your Own Adventure Video Game
Our Standards:
GEO 3.5 Explain how the cultural and environmental characteristics of places change over time.
GEO 3.7 Explain how cultural and environmental characteristics affect the distribution and movement of people, goods, and ideas.
GEO 3.9 Analyze the effects of catastrophic environmental and technological events on human settlements and migration.
Sustained Inquiry
To begin our project, students learned about how Alaska has changed over time. We discussed innovations and developments that have changed our society and how we live and operate.
In order to complete this project, the students had to learn how to use the coding program Scratch. Scratch allows students to develop animations that can move, talk, and change based on the sequences of events they choose.
Authenticity
The project sets up a scenario or simulation that is realistic, even if it is fictitious. Video games are often great opportunities to educate others while having a bit of fun!
Student Voice and Choice
Students were given full control over what developments they wanted to offer in their video games. After learning about the diverse possibilities of advancements (and lack thereof) in towns and cities, students were able to decide for themselves the outcomes certain paths would take their audience/player. Will your path take you to a city with factories and pollution or a small rural village that relies on hunting and fishing? The possibilities are endless!
Reflection
Reflection helps us to move students beyond focusing on the product of learning and instead, focus on the process and their growth. Reflection is a constant practice that I ask students to discuss as they gain new knowledge.
Critique & Revision
Students share their projects with their peers to fix potential bugs and make sure their game runs smoothly. With a program that relies heavily on student programming, self-correction and revision are critical for success.
Public Product
Our goal is to teach other students about the effects of innovation and development in Alaska. To do this, students will be sharing their video games with other grade levels. By sharing their creations with others, they are able to present their work to the world.