What is the change deep in the heart of Texas?

THE VIEW FROM 30,000 FEET | David Ross

So why Texas?

When I joined BIE three years ago I reviewed our professional development contracts and noticed we had done, uhm, basically zero work in Texas through 2008. I wasn’t the only one to notice, as our board reminded me during a meeting on a bright, fall day. I made the mistake of showing them a U.S. map of our clients and they noticed a big, Texas-shaped hole.

Fast forward to the summer of 2011. Texas went from zero to 60 faster than a turbo-charged Mustang. By volume of work, Texas is No. 2 in our state rankings. We are coaching and facilitating in a dozen districts, among the Wylie, Frenship, Copperas Cove, Austin, Friendswood, Harlingen, etc. Our two favorites are Richardson and Grand Prairie, which has adopted PBL with a fervor that is breathtaking.

So why Texas? This is the state that helped give intellectual birth to No Child Left Behind. This is a state, one of seven, that turned a cold shoulder to the Common Core. This is the state that is changing its assessment regimen to include up to 45, count ‘em, days of annual testing when the STAAR system is fully implemented in 2015.

Now flip the coin. We are providing professional development to hundreds and hundreds of teachers and principals in Texas. The New Tech Network has one of its star schools, Manor HS, in Austin.  The Asia Society International Studies Schools network has one of its star schools, the International School of the Americas, in San Antonio. And the PBL work of Texas STEM (T-STEM) has been making headlines for years.  What’s up with that?

There is no one more qualified to riff on Texas than a Texan. So I called up a few, and here is what they told me.

Scott Floyd is an Area Director for the Texas Computer Education Association and a powerful advocate of technology-rich PBL. When asked about the movement in his state, Scott replied: “We are in a time where schools are striving for higher levels of critical thinking, deeper levels of understanding, and maximum levels of student engagement. Texas educators are embracing Project Based Learning as a natural solution for these challenges at all grade levels.

Similar ideas were shared by Christy Hanson, the Director of Secondary Education for Grand Prairie ISD: “PBL appeals to Texas educators as an avenue to create a highly engaging learning environment. In Texas, we're constantly seeking innovative teaching strategies that will increase rigor, while making the content relevant to our technologically savvy students. PBL seems to be the perfect way to engage students and teachers together in the learning process. Students are motivated, teacher are motivated, and administrators feel confident that high stakes standards are met at the necessary depth. It's a win win for everyone.

I received a call this week from Chris Bhatti, who is the Director of External Affairs/Clinical Faculty in the School of Education at Southern Methodist University. Chris is deeply interested in both state and national initiatives, among them PBL. “States and school districts across the nation are realizing that Project Based Learning (PBL) is what is needed to best prepare their students for the challenges of the Information Age,’ he said.  “In Texas, I believe PBL is becoming more popular because of its engaging manner that makes learning practical and relevant for students."

The message from Texas is clear so I really need to change the question that initiated this blog. I know the answer to “why Texas?” What I really want to know is “when California?”

David Ross
Director of Teacher Professional Development
& Dean of National Faculty

Where is the heartland of PBL?

THE VIEW FROM 30,000 FEET | David Ross

I am bi-coastal.

I was born and spent the first 10 years of my life in Boston. By the time I was 13 my family had move to Los Angeles after a brief sojourn in Arizona. I have remained within five miles of the Pacific ever since. Without trying, I developed the standard coastal prejudice toward the folks who live in the middle.

That prejudice was never challenged until I began providing professional development to schools in such places as Portsmouth, OH, and Huntington, WV, and Parsons, KS, and Rochester, IN. The educators I encountered there were more eager to implement Project Based Learning, more focused on 21st century learning, than the teachers I encountered on the coasts. But why?

This is a generalization and suffers from the shortcomings of all such statements. That said, the level of commitment among these heartland teachers was remarkable. They understood that the clearest path to equipping students with the skills and knowledge to compete in a global market was an education that used PBL as the how and rigorous content and 21st century skills as the what. These teachers would not consign the heartland to being a 2500-mile flyover zone.

My understanding of this movement simmered for a few years. Just recently, the Buck Institute for Education commissioned a market analysis to determine in which regions PBL is flourishing and in which regions PBL would find new, fertile soil. The analysis came back with a catchy heading, Rust and Silicon, which I have since amended to Rust, Dust and Silicon.

We and other like-minded organizations are doing this work in big coastal cities (New York and Los Angeles: Silicon), but we are also invading aging industrial hubs (Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit: Rust) as well rural communities, big and small (Sioux Falls, Talladega, Sheboygan, Macon and Klamath Falls: Dust). Economic opportunity, or the lack thereof, seems to be the common thread.

In June, John Mergendoller and I were invited to be members of the faculty at a 21st century learning summit produced by EdLeader21 and AASA. Representatives from Apple and the New Tech Network were also on the faculty. Who were the participants in this three-day event in Utah? Fifty or so superintendents, most of who came from small, rural districts.

The clarity of their shared vision is exhilarating. The commitment with which they advocate change that will benefit their students today and their communities for a lifetime is inspiring.

I still live on the coast and will do so until I die. But until I hang up my cleats, I will be spending a great deal of time in the middle of our country. It’s always nice to preach to the choir, and the choir there is singing loud and clear.

David Ross
Director of Teacher Professional Development
& Dean of National Faculty