Authors: Alec Patton

Tags: article, Ask Dr Project, Critique, PBL

post_content: Dear Dr. Project

I have a question about “model critique.” What if I share a model with the students at the start of the project, and students just copy the model?

The answer to this question is, literally and precisely, “I’d like to see them try.”

Once again, I mean that literally and precisely: one of the basic concepts of project-based learning is that students will learn a tremendous amount by attempting to copy a model.

I sense your skepticism, so let me clarify: if you’re assigning simple, rudimentary work, like, say, a fill-in-the-blank vocabulary worksheet, copying is a problem. This is because copying a filled-in worksheet is fast, has a low cognitive demand, and you don’t learn anything from the experience. So a teacher who’s giving out a lot of fill-in-the-blank worksheets needs to police copying very closely.

But let’s say the assignment is to shoot a short film, and a student shoots a shot-by-shot recreation of the first scene of The Godfather. Copying a film scene shot-by-shot takes a long time, requires serious thought, and thus, you learn a huge amount from doing it. Similarly, this is why if you go to an art gallery, you will often see art students painstakingly drawing copies of artworks in their sketchbooks.

So create assignments for students in which, were they able to copy it, you’d be astounded by their achievement.

OK, fine, I’ll buy that. But what about creativity? I still think if I share a model with the students I’m telling them “this is what you should make” and limiting their potential to do something unique and special!

I asked the educator (and critique expert) Ron Berger about this. Here’s his reply:

We all learn by copying. Imagine that you as an adult want to learn something new— perhaps Spanish, or yoga, or guitar. How would you start? You would find a teacher, in person or online, or on a YouTube video, and you would start by copying what they did—copy their pronunciation, their yoga poses, their chords. That’s how we all start learning. We don’t start by improvising. We shouldn’t be afraid of students beginning their learning through copying.

In other words, when students study models, they aren’t just learning how to make the thing that’s being modeled, they’re learning a learning strategy that will serve them for their entire lives.

OK, but if I watch a yoga video and I think “I don’t like the way the teacher did that move” I go and find another video. What if a kid says “I don’t want to make something like this model”?

First of all, it is wise to have a range of models for students to consider. You may analyze one of those models deeply with students to develop criteria for quality in that format, but having other models as well with different approaches to the format is good practice. Also, encouraging kids to find their own models is an awesome idea! You, as a teacher, just need to make sure the model they choose will allow them to learn what they need to learn. For example, if students are writing graphic novels, and one of your goals is for them to learn to write dialogue, then it would be a problem if a student used a wordless graphic novel as their model!

 

Further Reading

How (and Why) to Start a Project with a “Model Critique”

The Power of My Mistakes

 

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