OHS Students Learning Through Doing

Oskaloosa High School students talked about how they arrived at a conclusion utilizing a problem solving methodology on Friday at the Iowa National Guard Armory.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – Project Based Lessons are something Oskaloosa High School Principal Stacey Bandy says the school has put a lot of work into.

“With Project Based Lessons… we must do presentations,” says Bandy.

The school was filled with students demonstrating how they have put those lessons to practical use. Examples of the collaborative work that is part of Project Based Lessons, or PBL, included math students displaying and answering questions about designs they had created for the French class, and the French Class then explaining the philosophy of French gardens.

“Students have to explain what they have found out and then explain it to somebody else,” said Bandy.

The community plays a role in PBL by providing the needed audience for students, which is why PBL showcases are important for student achievement.

Combining different areas of learning, such as math and French class, encourages cross-curriculum learning. Social studies and math are not compartmentalized in real life and those learned skills will be used together once outside of school.

“Why can’t we come together and teach those things together?” says Bandy of the PBL way of education. “That way, teachers are there to facilitate students’ learning.”

“Now, they are learning more hands on,” explained Bandy. “They are taking an interest in whatever they’re working on. It’s all about the interests they have.”

On Friday, 20 students and 15 teachers who have been training in critical thinking and improvement processes joined with local businesses, each sponsoring 5 students to work on solving a business problem for which there is no set solution.

“These kids are going to go in and do the research and give the company a solution,” said Bandy.

The process is designed to help students build a team atmosphere and find a solution to a problem through research. A similar project was undertaken in Urbandale with students and Firestone was able to save $70,000 a year by employing the students’ recommendations.

Local consultant Rob Taylor helped to facilitate the event held at the National Guard Armory on Friday. Taylor partners with The Iowa Quality Center, a nonprofit organization that is working to provide connections between individuals, organizations, and communities.

Taylor suggested to Oskaloosa High School Principal Stacy Bandy the benefits of a program that helps kids learn through project based problem solving methodology, presentations, and the development of critical thinking.

Bandy then assigned students to 5-member teams and each worked through an initial problem, making their presentations to educators, business members, and community leaders about how they would solve the problem, and the information that they used to provide that solution.

That process leading up to the presentations helped participants to learn the methodology of plan review. “They are actually taking a case study, and going through it and we, as facilitators, are coaching; taking them through the case study to learn the tools,” said Taylor.

The presentations were then based upon data and not opinion. After each team presented their case study, they were selected to undertake the same process for a local business that had sponsored the workshop.

Businesses helped sponsor the teams financially, to offset the costs of the materials used. Another benefit to the businesses is a member of their company also learning the same critical thinking process being taught to the students.

Each sponsor business will then present a problem that they may be currently working on to their teams and the team will give them a “fresh set of eyes” on the problem. Students will then aim their new critical thinking process skills toward a real world situation, not unlike PBL does. An example of one of these projects is for Clow, reducing scrap. The real-world cost savings could be substantial for such a company if a solution is found and accepted.

Another PBL showcase is planned for April 2017 and the community is encouraged to visit with the students about their work.