The math of capacity-building

The Foundry exists to “Build the capacity of schools for life and work in the 21st century”. We currently have Maker Fellows in eight different schools, each of whom support any number of different teaches, administrators, and teams. Some quick math: do you remember summation?

Beyond the raw number of opportunities, let us remember that capacity-building (like education!) is not one-size-fits-all. Instead, Maker Fellows meet the schools, teachers, and projects where they are, help to identify growth opportunities, and work towards that growth in whatever ways are helpful.

Let me illustrate this process with a recent example. At the direction of a school principal, I connected with a math teacher interested in trying out a project during class time. Over the course of a couple of check-ins, the teacher identified that he needed help coming up with project ideas that were robust, relevant and interesting. We brainstormed ideas back and forth for a while until the teacher hit on the idea of comparing electricity rates: students would compare their actual household's electricity costs to other alternatives on the current market. They would use their math skills: data gathering and analysis, creating linear equations, plotting in Cartesian coordinates. And they would justify their proposed choice in a presentation to the teacher and their peers.

Next, we set to work on working out the project parameters: what Common Core standards will be addressed? Which 21st Century skills will the students practice? The teacher created a framing narrative (students are hired as teams of consultants), defined student deliverables, and drafted assessment rubrics. I provided feedback on these and made a couple of suggestions for increasing the depth of the project.

Upon conclusion of the project, the teacher and I reflected on this experiment: what went well? How can we improve/expand this for next year? What did we learn? The teacher reflected: “We are a couple of days behind […] which is about the time we have put into this project. But I think it's worth it! This is something important for [the students] in the real world: we are molding responsible young citizens. [...] I would love to do more of this."

We recognize that this project is not Gold Standard PBL. And that is okay! Capacity-building is a process, not a product and we must always start from where we are. Yet, there is no doubt that this small project is a stepping stone in the PBL direction.

Come to think of it, maybe this venture itself has been a PBL opportunity for us as educator, capacity-builder, and school. Hmmm....