Alternative Education Can't Be Just 'Vibes'

A friend of mine recently described his foray into Project-Based Learning. This isn't unusual; many educators have explored pedagogical strategies ranging from project to problem to challenge-based learning in recent years. Yet, I was sternly informed that the experiment was over. "Back to what we know and trust," were his final words on the subject before we switched to discussing Manchester United's recent struggles in the Premier League.

After leading one of the world's most alternative, distinctive, and progressive schools, I encountered an incredible paradox that I still contemplate today, two years after departing from that role. The paradox was as discomforting as it was challenging to resolve, and it was clear that its implications would ripple through other aspects of both my leadership and school management.

The phenomenon observed was that the more comfortable the term, the more issues our educator team faced on the ground with the learners. To provide context, in one city, our learners stayed in a borderline five-star hotel, with food delivery on standby, and the classrooms were just a comfortable metro ride away. However, by week five of our seven-week term, we encountered triple the number of issues than in locales where our living conditions were "hardcore"—think purist, outward-bound style on the edge of the Okavango Delta.

Why mention this? Because it extends into the academic realm. Alternative education, as it currently stands, often seems to wander aimlessly, akin to a drunkard in a dark room. Once the traditional curriculum guided by terminal exams is removed, following the initial buzz of a project, many schools witness a vacuum appear and promptly revert to lecture-based methods and teacher-led learning models. "It was a nice experience; we tried; now it's over, let's shift back."

My friend was engaged in "doing PBL," but once the novelty wore off, the void appeared, and the experiment ceased. He wasn’t naive or uninformed; the project was intended as an extended "lab" experience. Having seen educational fads come and go, he wasn't inclined to prolong the experiment unnecessarily. He adeptly transitioned from experimentation back to the syllabus when the time was right.

The question now is what to do about this. We're facing not only the conundrum of reconciling terms of contrasting comforts but also the academic Rubik's Cube, presenting a distinctly different challenge—one that must be solved if we're committed to making education more learner-led, emphasizing autonomy, purpose, and mastery.

If we wish to prevent our colleagues from rapidly divesting from Project-Based methodologies, just as past educational reforms have been discarded, we must reinforce our practices now.

At our partner schools, we're witnessing a trend towards what we call the "PROP," the Process Portfolio, which introduces significant structure amid a seemingly chaotic educational design. The PROP enables learners to engage deeply with the learning process, crafting their rubrics, timelines, literature reviews, research, prototypes, evidence, products, and evaluations. Could this approach be adapted to a variety of alternative education models? We at Think Learning Studio believe so. Indeed, through the rigour of developing a robust process portfolio, learners are driven to produce better work. They create not only a product but a blueprint to assist their peers and to pass down to future classes.

The architect Frank Gehry once said, "A portfolio is a living and changing collection of records that reflect your accomplishments, skills, experiences, and attributes. It highlights and showcases samples of some of your best work, along with life experiences, values, and achievements." He captures the essence of growth and vision. If we are to rise above promoting mere 'vibes,' a portfolio is the crucial way to fill the void, offering direction and purpose to faltering modules and projects.