After travelling around visiting schools hours away from where I live, it was refreshing to be invited to visit a school just a few minutes down the road. Hamilton District Christian High School (HDCH) (https://hdch.org/) is a private Christian high school located near the Hamilton/Ancaster border. It serves students from grades 9-12. The school has been engaged with project-based learning as a method of teaching for the last 5 or 6 years and there is an expectation at HDCH that all teachers do at least one PBL unit in each course (and many courses do much more than this) (https://hdch.org/exceptional-learning/project-based-learning/).
I was welcomed to HDCH by Harry Blyleven, a computer science teacher who is also the school’s PBL lead. Before I was taken on a tour of the school, Mr. Blyleven took some time to talk me about some of the things that HDCH has been doing to support PBL at the school. One of the first things they have done is to provide training for their teachers, and other Christian educators, through the Christian Teachers Academy. This academy offers training in PBL as well as coaching and project planning for teachers. In addition, PBL is a focus of many of the staff meetings at HDCH. In the staff room, there is a Staff Learning board where resources and big ideas are posted. Teachers also have an opportunity to post questions that act as drivers of future staff meetings and PD days. Finally, to support teachers with planning projects as well as offering an extra set of hands in the classroom if it is needed, Mr. Blyleven acts as a part-time PBL coach (and part-time teacher) for his colleagues. Another interesting thing that HDCH has done is create project posters outside of classrooms that summarize the driving question and project that the class is currently taking part in. This serves as a visual reminder of the driving question for students, acts as a discussion point and observation tool for teachers and administrators, and shows parents and other community members what is happening in the classrooms.
As I toured the school, I was able to see projects in action and hear about previously completed projects and a few unique programs created to support a PBL mindset. One of the most creative programs they have at HDCH is an integrated course in grade 9 that combines technology, design and the arts. This course is a blocked course with 3 teachers and has a PBL focus. The day that I was visiting, the students were in the process of completing their “Sharing Beauty Project”. This project pairs groups of students with a local community group or business. Students meet with their client and then design and build a planter that the community group or business can use to beautify their property. Students in this course have an opportunity to learn graphic design, use 3D printers, laser cutters and other digital tools, and also learn to use the woodworking tools in the makerspace/shop. Because all students in grade 9 take this course, by the end of the course they have gained the knowledge and experience needed to be able to use all of these tools throughout their high school career for future projects. On my tour I was also able to see a completed grade 11 math project that involved designing and building an outdoor patio space for student use. I was also told about a project involving an upper grade level computer science course in which the class partnered with the Westfield Heritage Village to create a virtual self-guided tour. Finally, I saw an integrated art/English project in which the students in English were creating a Commedia Dell’Arte play and then were creating the masks for the play in their art class. I was very impressed by the number and variety of projects that I saw or heard about.
The school is beginning to document all of the excellent PBL work that is happening by creating a project chalkboard in their main hallway. One of the most exciting things that HDCH has been doing is creating local partnerships to engage the community with their PBL work. This has given the school the ability to give students authentic projects that can solve problems or serve the needs of their local community. I was very impressed with the PBL that has been happening at HDCH and it is nice to know there is a school so close doing such great work. It is my hope that we will be able to share ideas and create a collegial partnership to work together on the PBL journey.
From Teaching to Learning 