Let's Talk
3-min read

Vol. 61 🤝 What’s it like collaborating with Classmate?

Questions we ask when we’re brainstorming and planning with teachers.

Dylan
Dylan
Carlo
Carlo
Jen
Jen

We work with hundreds of teachers across many schools, helping them create engaging and fun experiences that nurture the creativity and interests of their students. When we sit down with teachers, they usually come to us with a project or lesson idea (or sometimes just with a subject area) that they're curious to revamp. Here’s our collaborative approach, starting with key questions:

What have you done in the past?

🍎 Example Teacher Answers

  • "In the past, we've made posters about the body."
  • "I've always had them write a book report."
  • "We make biome dioramas in shoe boxes."

👂 What We Listen For 

  • Cross-curricular opportunities: Projects often require significant time investment. Teaching multiple curricular areas in one project helps teachers save time while allowing students to practice various skills.
  • Student voice support: Students are more engaged when they have choice and voice. For example, instead of requiring the entire class to study all body systems, let students choose specific systems to become experts in. They can then teach each other and explore system interdependencies.
  • Skill awareness: Are students conscious of the skills they're developing? Are rubrics in student-friendly language? Consider creating job roles that utilize these skills: "As scientists, we'll be testing hypotheses and communicating experimental results."

What excites you about the topic or skills you’re teaching?

🍎 Example Teacher Answers

  • "There's lots of opportunity for creativity!"
  • "I studied European History in school, so I'm excited to teach this content!"

👂 What We Listen For 

How will teachers share their enthusiasm? Projects thrive when teachers are passionate about the lesson. We consider:

  • Teaching strengths: Teacher’s that lean into their strengths often create memorable learning experiences for their students. Are you an entertainer? A great storyteller?
  • Personal connections to the content: A teacher's genuine interest makes lessons more authentic and relevant for their class. 

How comfortable are you with the technology available to you? 

🍎 Example Teacher Answers

  • “I use Google Classroom to send out assignments and assess writing.” 
  • “I do most things on paper but we’ve made videos in the past.” 
  • “I love when my students surprise me with new ways to show what they know, and technology plays a large role in that!”

👂 What We Listen For 

Technology comfort isn't about teaching it to students, but about being prepared to let students explore and create. We consider:

  • How work will be submitted: Knowing this helps us ensure the project doesn't get derailed by technical difficulties at the end.
  • Assessment of milestone achievements: Understanding how teachers track progress lets us suggest tools that support their assessment style.
  • Being open to various digital creation tools: Teachers who are flexible with tools often see increased student engagement and creativity.

What resources do you need?

🍎Example Teacher Answers

  • "I need examples of successful projects."
  • "Time to collaborate with other teachers doing similar projects."

👂What We Listen For

Resources come in many forms, like samples, and tools, but some of the best resources are other teachers. We consider:

  • Proof that these ideas work: Teachers feel more confident when they see concrete examples and case studies for reference. We do our best to share best practices from our awesome teacher community.
  • Opportunities to collaborate: Sharing best practices and lessons learned through professional learning communities helps when iterating on project ideas. 

Weaving it all together

When we understand the content area, skills being assessed, and available technology, we can start crafting compelling project ideas. 

This is where we love using driving questions to form our project ideas. We’re fans of the PBL format: 

How do we, as [ role ], [ do a task/ create a product ], for/to/that [ purpose & audience ].

Here's how our examples might transform into a great driving question:

🌱
In the past we’ve made posters about human body systems.
💡
How do we, as science app developers, design an interactive app that demonstrates how human body systems work for our Grade 1 buddy class?
🌱
I’ve always had them write a book report.
💡
How do we, as book reviewers, create engaging video book reviews to help other students discover great reads?
🌱
We make biome dioramas in shoe boxes. 
💡
How do we, as biologists, create interactive biome models to educate the public about ecosystem conservation?

By transforming traditional projects into engaging, purpose-driven experiences, we help teachers create more meaningful learning opportunities for their students.

Brainstorming Prompts 🧠

Can't meet with us for some reason? Replace us with AI! (just kidding, please don’t 😅)

Here's a conversation we had with ChatGPT about project planning. We used the following prompt to start the brainstorming session. Replace [Grade 3 Social Studies] at your discretion.

Act as an educational coach and lesson planner. You specialize in tech integration, inquiry, and project-based learning, following the BC curriculum. You are an expert in identifying opportunities for cross-curricular learning. Guide me through developing a [Grade 3 Social Studies] lesson plan by asking scaffolded questions, one at a time, about skills, learning milestones, assessments, and project structure. Challenge me on any blind spots you notice and suggest improvements. Keep asking questions until you can summarize the project with a detailed breakdown of key milestones, assessment goals, lesson structure, rubrics, and technology tools for integration.