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Building 21st century skills for school-age children in Colombia: lessons from a promising practice

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Building 21st century skills for school-age children in Colombia: lessons from a promising practice

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BUILDING 21ST CENTURY SKILLS FOR SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN IN COLOMBIA:
LESSONS FROM A PROMISING PRACTICE

By
Diego Mauricio Mazo Cuervo

A Dissertation Proposal Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2020

Copyright 2020 Diego Mazo

ii
DEDICATION
To my wife, lover, partner, and friend Gloria Isabel for supporting me to make our
dreams come true.
To my kids, Amelia and Antonio, for being the inspiration of my life and challenging me
to be a better person.
To my father, Antonio, who inspired me to dedicate my life to education and always
invited me to reflect and ask myself how to be a better person.
To my mother, María Teresa, who taught me to have the feet on the earth, the value to be
organized and detail-oriented.
To my brothers, Juan Fernando and Carlos Esteban, for their permanent support and
dreaming with me on to how to transform life. To Juan’s and Carlos’s families for continuously
supporting and cheering me.
To the CEIPA Team for joining and supporting us in this dream.
To the students and alumni that trusted their life’ projects in our educational projects.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In education, we teach our students to face the problems of the future, with the paradigm
of today and the teacher of yesterday.
The number of people I should thank is higher than these pages, so I offer my apologies
to those whose names are not directly mentioned in this section. But please accept my apologies;
you are always in my heart. The last two years have been a journey of profound reinvention, a
time to question my own beliefs, to open the mind to cultures, approaches, traditions, different
scales of values. A time to learn more about human beings, build new friendships and connect
ideas and people. Now is the time to apply what I have learned. My father used to say that we
cannot be like bad farmers who plow and plow and never sow. It is time to plant to collect the
fruits.
In my principles, family goes first. For that reason, I would like to start acknowledging
Gloria, my wife and partner, for joining me in this crazy journey to change everything we had in
Colombia to start a new life from scratch and live a new experience for our family. Amelia and
Antonio play a relevant part in taking care of me in many ways and thanks for understanding that
I take a lot of time that we are supposed to have together for travel, study, and working. Sorry,
but this part must be written in Spanish because it is dedicated to my parents. Padre, aunque ya
no estas físicamente con nosotros tu espíritu y enseñanzas guía mi actuar día a día. Madre gracias
a la formación que ustedes me dieron soy hoy el hombre, hermano, esposo, padre y profesional
que ustedes me ayudaron a descubrir en mi, gracias por dejarme soñar, por construir conmigo y
siempre estar al lado para invitarme a reflexionar, corregirme o animarme, sin ustedes no sería
posible concluir este sueño. To my brothers Juan and Carlos, because you support, cheer, and
understand the importance of this achievement for me and for the family. I acknowledge Lina,
iv
Sara, Agustin, Angelica, Lele and Mercedes for their cheering, supporting and understanding.
The “Beatos” and Chalo and Nora and the rest of family: your support was invaluable.
It is also essential to acknowledge friends, and I will start with the “Cortapalos” that
supported me since we were young. We live a life of sharing, support, and love, more than a
friendship we are a brotherhood, thank you always. High school friends don’t care about time
without talking to us; it always seems like it was yesterday, it’s good to have them all. The
friends that my children gave me, “Los bufalos,” thank you for always welcoming me when I see
you. A special comment for my mentors, friends, and leaders; without them, this achievement
would have been impossible. Let me star with Ramón and Sandra Corona, more than my friends
they are a united family. JB Kassarjian: thanks for having always challenged, taught, and
questioned me. I didn’t know I could learn somethings in that short period. Jaime Alonso
Gómez: the questions you asked in those days and the challenges that you always invite me to
think and take action started this dream that changed my life. All my love for all the people I
mention, I have to be thankful for life to have such fantastic friends in my life.
The CEIPA team has played a crucial role in this achievement. You believed that we
could make a non-traditional institution, focused on students, on the needs of society, with a
different educational model, based on problems, multidisciplinary, breaking the barriers of time
and space with a new type of administration. We achieved this by becoming an example for
Colombia, for you my thanks, affection, and gratitude.
I want to acknowledge all USC professors, Dr. Robison, Dr. Krop, Dr. Seli, Dr. Madox,
Dr. Chung, Dr. Smakian, Dr. Tambascia, Dr. Picus. Thanks to Dr. Chong and her team that lead
this program and make me feel like we are part of a team. All of you made this two years and
amazing journey and transformative experience. Special recognitions and thankful to my chair
v
Dr. Krop; without your support, scaffolding and guidance it would have been impossible to get
to the final line. And to all USC team, The Trojan spirit now runs through my veins.
The Global Executive Education program is not just another doctored program, it is a
team to dream to change education, to change many lives and make the world a better place. I
learned that from the first day when I had the pleasure to meet the C5 and C6. I want to thank
you all for the warm welcome and openness to guide us in this journey.
But this journey would never have been the same if it were not for the C7 classmates. It is
impossible not to thank you all! It is my privilege to have met you and shared with you this path.
We started from a complete stranger group of people in one room and now I can have a group of
friends around the world. I want to thank you all for sharing with me your culture, opinions, your
thoughts, and beliefs. It is my deep desire to share with all of you as many moments as life can
bring to us together.
Allison, Sabba, Nicolas, I will never forget our sushi nights at Sushi Gem; it was our
tradition that I hope that life gives us more opportunities to live this great experience again. My
Chinese friends Linda, Erin, Lingling, Kevin, Luke, you helped me understand a different world.
Close to China, my Hong Kong friend Steve, who shares with us the experience of living and
enjoying life. Alek from Australia, what a great sense of humor and professionalism. Thank you,
Mikal, for teaching me and helping me to understand another reality far from me. Sabba thanks a
lot for your help and for sharing ideas. Allison, thank you very much for your friendship and
help, I enjoyed working together, I hope that one day we can make the project we designed come
true. Nicolas, we shared more than a class; our common language helped us communicate more
powerfully and that helped us get to know each other better. You were a teacher for me in many
aspects, especially in the culinary experience we had around the world. I hope that we can
vi
continually work together for the benefit of our region. Alejandro “chino,” it was great to share
with you our thoughts on how to help our country and your personal point of view. Jane, what a
wonderful lady you are, thanks for openly sharing your thoughts on education. And finally, not
because you are the last, just because of the geographical order that appears on my keyboard.
Thanks, Shakir, life has a very strange way of connecting people, and this is a perfect example.
We had the opportunity to get to know each other, especially on the magnificent tour we took to
the ER rooms around the world. We created the problem space of project XX, which never ends.
Thank you so much for asking those deep and important questions that helped me grow!
This project was possible thanks to the collaboration of High Tech High teachers. The
generosity and disposition of the teachers to participate in this project are reflective of the
collaboration culture embrace in the school. Is important to acknowledge the directors of the
Graduate School of Education that open the doors and made the connection with the teachers and
provide the information necessary. To all of you thanks, I always will be grateful.
Finally, I just what to apologize for the long acknowledging, but when you are as
chronologically sophisticated as I am, you have to acknowledge many people that helped you to
be the person you are.

vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ii
Acknowledgments iii
List of Tables ix
Abstract x
Chapter One: Introduction 1
Background of the Problem 2
Importance of a Promising Practice Project 6
Organizational Context and Mission 6
Organizational Performance Status 8
Organizational Performance Goal and Current Performance 8
Description of Stakeholder Groups 9
Stakeholder Group for the Study 10
Purpose of the Project and Questions 11
Conceptual and Methodological Framework 11
Organization of the Project 12
Chapter Two: Literature Review 13
Changing Global Labor Markets and New Skill Needs 13
Changing Global Labor Markets 14
Labor Markets in Colombia 19
New Skills Demanded 22
Colombia’s Educational System and Skills Development 30
Understanding Colombia’s Educational System 31
Efforts to Improve Educational System and Challenges 36
Education Models and Efforts to Promote New Skills Development 40
Teacher Development 45
Teacher Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences - Needs for Building 21
st
-
Century Skills for School-Age Children 47
Knowledge Influences 47
Motivation Influences 54
Organizational Influences 56
Conclusion 60
Chapter Three: Methods 61
Participating Stakeholders 62
Interview Sampling Criterion and Rationale 63
Data Collection and Instrumentation 64
Interviews 64
Documents and Artifacts 65
Data Analysis 66
Credibility and Trustworthiness 67
Ethics 68
Limitations and Delimitations 69
Chapter Four: Results and Findings 71
Participants 71
Findings 72
viii
Knowledge-Related Findings 73
Motivation Findings 86
Organizational Findings 94
Conclusion 107
Chapter Five: Transferable Practice and Proposed Solutions 109
Recommendations for Practice Transferability to Colombia 110
Recommendations for Teacher Development 113
Culture of Collaboration 122
Future Research 125
Conclusion 125
References 128
Appendix A Interview Protocol 136

ix
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 21
st
Century Skills Comparison 30
Table 2 Assumed Knowledge Assets 54
Table 3 Assumed Motivation Assets 56
Table 4 Assumed Organizational Assets 59
Table 5 Teacher Distribution in High Tech High 63
Table 6 Participant Characteristics 72
Table 7 Summary of Assumed Motivation Assets 74
Table 8 Summary of Assumed Motivation Assets 87
Table 9 Summary of Assumed Organizational Assets 95
Table 10 Validated Teacher Assets and Newly Identified Assets 110
Table 11 Phase 1 Implementation Plan for the Creation of a Master’s Program in Development
of 21st Century Skills 117
Table 12 Evaluation of the Creation of the Master’s Program in Development of 21
st
Century
Skills 119
Table 13 Implementation Plan for the Creation of the Certified Program 120
Table 14 Evaluation Plan Recommendation for Teacher Certificate Program 122
Table 15 Implementation Plan: Culture of Collaboration 124

x
ABSTRACT
Studying promising practices in school models, such as project-based learning, that are
developing students with 21
st
century skills can help to create new models of schooling globally
and in Colombia, where there is a great interest in improving education and supporting new
models. The purpose of this project is to study High Tech Highs’ performance relating to a more
significant problem of practice, the lack of school focus on students’ 21
st
-century skills
development in Colombia. Clark and Estes (2008) identified that organizations can bridge the
gap between actual and desired performance by identifying the knowledge, motivation, and
organizational resources people need to have. Assumed knowledge, motivation and
organizational influences on assets that may contribute to the success of High Tech High (HTH)
teachers in developing students with 21
st
-century skills were formulated through the review of
published literature. Data collection was primarily focused on informal interviews with seven
participants, the review of course syllabi, and the reflection portfolio of one of the teachers. This
study examined 11 assumed assets of teachers of HTH. It was found that 10 of them were
validated to be assets, and two more emerged as new assets. The two new assets are transferable
to other contexts with a necessary adjustment. Two recommendation solutions are proposed for
the creation of the new school in Colombia that incorporates a project-based learning model to
develop 21
st
-century skills.
Keywords: Project-based Learning, 21
st
-century skills, Teacher Development, High Tech
High

1
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
School children in Colombia’s educational system, to a large extent, are not taught skills
and competencies around problem-solving, critical thinking, collaboration skills or digital
literacy, known as 21
st
-century skills, which are vital for them to excel in workplaces of the
future. Colombia’s educational system established its curriculum guidelines in 2006 by
education level and progression to indicate an increasing level of complexity in students’
competencies. The guidelines are a set of criteria of what a student must know but are not
mandatory by the Ministry of National Education. According to the OECD educational report on
Colombia, the government only determines 12% of the curriculum (Radingeri, Echazarra,
Guerrero, & Valenzuela, 2018, p. 5), allowing each school the autonomy to establish their own
curriculum. Colombian state-run standardized tests focus on measuring students’ academic
knowledge in mathematics, reading comprehension and social studies (Radingeri et al., 2018).
There is no evidence of 21
st
-century skills being adopted in either the academic guidelines or the
standardized test itself.
In the late 1990s, the term volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA)
was coined by the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in an attempt to synthesize in
one word the constant changes that our societies face, sparking new ways of thinking and acting.
Under a VUCA environment, the economy is generating changes in the global division of labor,
and a growing dependence of domestic jobs on economic globalization, economic cycles and
shocks, changes in the way firms are organized, technological innovation, demographic change,
and changes in consumption models (Bernstein, 2014).
These changes have a direct impact on labor markets demanding new skills from their
employees. Yet, in many contexts, education systems are not preparing students with these
2
needed skills. In many European countries, 40% of workers feel their skills do not match the
requirements for the available jobs (O. f. E. C. a. Development, 2016). Core business
competencies place greater emphasis on knowledge, mobility, and collaboration (Kai Chu,
Reynolds, Tavares, Noami, & Wing Yi Lee, 2017). UNESCO (1996) Delors Report
recommended that education adopt four key pillars: learning to know, learning to do, learning to
live together and learning to be (Elfert, 2015). After the Delors Report emerged, different
frameworks were developed for skills and competencies needed in future workplaces, in general
known as 21
st
-century skills, which include collaboration, communication, digital literacy,
citizenship, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, and productivity (van Laar, van
Deursen, van Dijk, & de Haan, 2017).
While a significant body of research supports the need for 21
st
-century skills
development, Colombia still has progress to make to ensure all students have access to high-
quality learning opportunities (O. f. E. C.-O. a. Development, 2016). In the upper secondary
level, the competency standards that should be developed are not clearly defined. The offer of
general and vocational upper secondary programs is not always pertinent to the needs of the
context, becoming the main reason for which young people aged 14–18 do not attend upper
secondary school (Radingeri et al., 2018). Therefore, the problem of practice addressed by this
dissertation is the lack of school focus in Colombia on students’ 21
st
-century skills that develop
all the dimensions of human beings (Jenkins, 2017).
Background of the Problem
Research has consistently documented a lack of appropriate skills development to meet
current and future workplace needs. The OECD has generated a series of related reports
including the Getting Skills Right report (2016), which analyzes the “mismatch” in skills in
3
which employees exceed or fall short of job requirements under current market condition. This
mismatch can be categorized by qualification, information-processing skills and field of study. A
survey conducted in 2012 in Europe suggested the average mismatch between skills and
workplace needs was around 60% for workers in Europe (O. f. E. C. a. Development, 2016). In
the United States, Autor (2015) studied the labor market for the past 40 years and proposed five
categories to understand the nature of the tasks in the labor market: routine cognitive, routine
manual, non-routine cognitive analytic, non-routine cognitive interpersonal, and non-routine
manual. The study conducted from 1960 to 2000 determined that only the non-routine cognitive
interpersonal and non-routine cognitive analytic jobs had increased; the other categories had
decreased dramatically and were replaced primarily by machines.
The demand for new skills has increased the necessity for schools and universities to
develop and adopt new pedagogical and curricular models (Atwell, 2018). While the concept of
21
st
-century skills seems new, there has always been a need for essential capabilities such as
critical thinking and problem-solving. With the emergence of knowledge-based economies, these
capabilities have gained increasing importance (Kai Chu et al., 2017). Many initiatives and
frameworks have been drawn up with the backing of international organizations, governments,
multinational companies, and consulting firms to support the development of 21
st
-century skills
(Ananiadou & Claro, 2009). In general, 21
st
-century skills include collaboration, communication,
digital literacy, citizenship, problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity and productivity (van
Laar et al., 2017).
One approach to developing these skills in school-age children has been the pedagogical
methodology of project-based learning (PBL; Lay & Kamisah, 2017). Project-based learning is a
teaching technique that organizes a unit of instruction under a driving question that teams of
4
students are assigned in order to solve a task (Larmer, Mergendoller, & Boss, 2015). The driving
question is a real-world issue, offers a range of viable solutions, requires students to learn
content standards to be solved, encourages collaboration, critical thinking, communication and
interaction with their community (Moritz, 2018).
Colombia is a country facing significant challenges as well as opportunities to adopt new
models of schooling in order to enhance skill development to support workplace needs and to
ensure all students have access to a high-quality education. Currently, the country has a
population of 50 million, of which around 70% of the people live in urban areas. As the National
Demographic and Health Survey from 2015 suggested, during the last five years prior to the
survey, internal migration from rural areas came to 25% (Radingeri et al., 2018). According to
the OECD, the total enrollment of students in k-12 schools is 9.3 million (Radingeri et al., 2018).
The system is organized in school clusters, with the primary school site typically offering all
levels of education, including elementary, lower secondary and upper secondary. Education is
provided by public and private schools; the private provision amounts to about 24% of
enrollment (Radingeri et al., 2018). When a region called a certified territorial entity cannot
provide educational services, a private provider may be contracted. While the government has
made an effort to increase access to education at all levels, the dropout rate remains high. For
example, in lower secondary, it reaches 29.2% (Radingeri et al., 2018). The general and
vocational upper secondary programs are not always pertinent to the needs of the context,
leading to a high dropout rate as well.
Colombia is striving to align its education system to OECD recommendations, including
initiating a long-term participatory process to develop a national curriculum framework and a
more comprehensive approach to school evaluation, further promoting the development of a new
5
vision of teacher professionalism built on effective stakeholders’ engagement and consensus, and
improving the provision of education to meet students’ needs and interests (Radingeri et al.,
2018). One of the efforts the government is focused on is improving students’ results in the
Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA). PISA is designed to measure
students’ ability to think critically and solve problems, key 21
st
-century skills. The PISA results
for 2015, the latest available, ranked Colombia, out of the 72 countries included, at the lowest
performance level, along with Peru (Development, 2017). To increase performance on the PISA
test, there are currently efforts underway to improve teacher qualifications and performance and
to improve the infrastructure and resources at schools (Radingeri et al., 2018).
With all the efforts the country has made, the government has an enormous challenge in
improving the education system. The issues being faced include: access to education in middle
and higher school; reducing the dropout rate; increasing the allocated resources for implementing
programs; improving the results in national and international tests, such as PISA and national
standardized tests (e.g. Prueba Saber); increasing teachers qualification; and improving schools’
facilities and resources (Radingeri et al., 2018).
It is critical to address this problem of practice of the lack of school focus on students’
21
st
-century skills that develop all dimensions of human beings. In the context of Colombia,
according to the National Department of Planning, in 2016, one out of two unemployed people in
Colombia was under 29 years old. The youth unemployment rate reached 15.5% of the working
population, equivalent to 1.3 million young people without work (Planeación, 2 de Mayo de
2016). One of the causes argued by the national government for such high youth unemployment
rate is the lack of relevance of the educational programs in developing the skills that the labor
market needs. This problem of practice, if left unsolved, will have long-term effects on the labor
6
skills required by the youth in Colombia, and on the country itself to be able to develop and
thrive.
Importance of a Promising Practice Project
Studying promising practices is important because all schools need to produce citizens
with 21
st
-century skills and competencies to meet the labor market needs and allow students to
thrive. This is particularly true in Colombia, where the number of unemployed youth reached
15.5% in 2016, school dropout rates are high, and there is an attempt to develop the economy in
new ways (Planeación, 2 de Mayo de 2016). Studying promising practices in school models,
such as PBL, that are developing students with 21
st
-century skills can help to create new models
of schooling globally and in Colombia, where there is a great interest in improving education and
supporting new models. A lot of work remains to be done to reach the outcomes aimed for in
Colombia concerning PISA, youth engagement in school, and growth in both job opportunities
and the economy.
Organizational Context and Mission
High Tech High (HTH) is an established network of charter schools based in San Diego,
California. This organization implemented a PBL model of curriculum that encourages student
engagement and the development of soft skills through holistic education. HTH began operation
in 2000 with a single high school; it has since grown into a network of 12 schools on three
different campuses that span grades K-12 (High Tech High, 2017). In addition, in 2007, it
established a Graduate School of Education to support teachers, educational leaders and school
founders in reimagining schools with a focus on equity, deeper learning and shared leadership.
At the end of 2017, the community of students reached 5,246, with 1,525 students in
elementary school, 1,260 in middle school, and the remaining 2,455 enrolled in high school
7
(Hight Tech High, 2016–2017). In the 2016–17 school year, student distribution according to
their ethnic origin was Black or African American 5.2%, American Indian or Alaska native
0.7%, Asian 3.3%, Filipino 4.4%, Hispanic or Latino 51.2%, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
0.4%, White 29.2%, and two or more races 5.6%. Across the 12 schools, the percentage of
students classified as socioeconomically disadvantaged was about 47%, English learners 10%,
and students with disabilities 12%. A total of 347 teachers were employed at HTH, with 268
with full credentials, 47 without credentials and 32 teaching outside their subject area of
competence (Hight Tech High, 2016–2017).
High Tech High was established through a coalition of San Diego civic and educational
leaders. The four connected principles that guide HTH are equity, personalization, authentic
work, and collaborative design. These principles are the foundation mission to all HTH schools:
provide the students with rigorous and relevant academic and workplace skills, and prepare its
graduates for post-secondary success and productive citizenship. The project-based learning
methodology, as designed, reinforces students’ natural desire to learn, puts forward learning
based on issues or needs formulated by the students themselves; helps to integrate knowledge
practically, and produces relevant and meaningful learning (Basilotta Gómez-Pablos, Martín Del
Pozo, & García-Valcárcel Muñoz-Repiso, 2017).
By fall 2014, HTH had graduated critical thinkers educated in PBL who had a 10.9%
higher possibility of enrollment in a four-year college compared to the other public schools in the
San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) (Beauregard, 2015). In 2018, U.S. News & Report
awarded HTH the Bronze level of achievement and reported that 42% of its students were at the
proficient or advanced level in the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress
8
(CAASPP) in mathematics and 63% of students were at the proficient or advanced level in
reading (Reports, 2018).
Organizational Performance Status
Since its creation in 2000, HTH has worked to achieve the goals under which it was
designed. During the years 2000 to 2010, HTH students had participated in more than 2000
internships in 300 non-profit organizations (High Tech High, 2017). According to the California
Academic Performances Index (API), “for academic years 2001 through 2004 HTH was
awarded two perfect scores of 10” (Neumann, 2008). One goal of HTH is to prepare students for
postsecondary education, including students who traditionally had not pursued higher education.
With the information provided in the School Accountability Report Card, based on the
CAASPP for the academic year 2016–2017, it is possible to compare HTH performance with
respect to that of the SDUSD and the state. The CAASP evaluates the subjects of English
language arts /literacy and mathematics by school. It reports the percentage of students that are
meeting or exceeding the state standards. HTH has a better performance in English language arts
in middle school (53% meeting or exceeding state standards) and high school (79%) compared to
48% across the state in both middle and high school. Compared to SDUSD (53% meeting or
exceeding state standards), HTH performed better in high school (79%). In mathematics, HTH
had higher outcomes in elementary school (39% meeting or exceeding state standards) than the
state (37%), and also in high school (41%) compared to state results (37%) (Hight Tech High,
2016–2017).
Organizational Performance Goal and Current Performance
A coalition of San Diego civic leaders and educators came together in a joint effort to
create and develop a new model of education. The principles adopted for the school included:
9
equity, personalization, authentic work, and collaboration design. Based on these principles, the
primary goals created for the school system are: (i) to provide all HTH students with a
meaningful education, and to graduate students who will be thoughtful, engaged citizens
prepared to take on the leadership challenges of the 21
st
century; (ii) to prepare students for
postsecondary education and leadership in a high technology society by integrating technical and
academic education in school; (iii) to increase the number of socioeconomically disadvantaged
students who succeed in high school and postsecondary education, and in the fields of math,
computer science, engineering, and related fields; and (iv) to improve public education in
California by training and preparing educators to teach in, and lead, innovative public schools
(HTH, 2017).
At the time this study was initiated, January 2019, HTH had graduated critical thinkers
educated in PBL, who have been more widely admitted by four-year colleges compared to other
schools in SDUSD. HTH teachers, many trained in its own teacher education program, have
created and directed diverse, innovative curricula to pursue rigorous in-depth learning, with
personalized, PBL practices. In the reports submitted for their renewal petition to the California
Board of Education, HTH has demonstrated how the institution has met or exceeded its
measurable outcomes of state standards (High Tech High, 2017).
Description of Stakeholder Groups
Schools are not a closed environment; schools are the center of the relationships between
individuals and groups. The school stakeholders include all groups and individuals who come
into interaction with the institution through any means (Anderson, Briggs, & Burton, 2001).
Many stakeholders are involved in HTH and influence its success, including teachers, school-site
administrators, parents, students, suppliers, education specialists, and district administrators.
10
Three important stakeholder groups are teachers, school administrators, and district
administrators because they are involved in the continuous improvement of this new model of
education.
Teachers play a fundamental role in HTH, as they engage in teacher development,
oversee projects and curriculum design, and accompany the students in both the elaboration of
the projects and their own development. Their ability and desire to learn, understand, and
assimilate the requirements of the PBL program through targeted professional development is
critical to the initiative’s success. School administrators are responsible for designing the policies
and support mechanisms for the effective implementation of the pedagogical model and for
providing the necessary resources. District administrators are an important part in this promising
practice because they issue approval for school operations and follow the implementation of this
innovative model.
Stakeholder Group for the Study
In order to create a new school with a project-based thinking model in Medellin,
Colombia, it is necessary to understand the role and assets each of the different stakeholders
brings to achieving HTH’s organizational performance goals. While all stakeholders play an
essential part in school life and its achievements, the stakeholders of focus for this promising
study are the teachers. Teachers implement an innovative model of education day-to-day and
interact closely with the students to observe and guide their development. Understanding the
assets they offer to the accomplishments of the school will help in building teacher capabilities to
support a model of PBL in Medellin.
11
Purpose of the Project and Questions
The purpose of this project was to study HTH’s performance related to a more significant
problem of practice, the lack of school focus on students’ 21
st
-century skills development in
Colombia. While a complete study would focus on all stakeholders, for practical purposes, the
stakeholders on which this analysis was focused were HTH teachers. The analysis concentrated
on the teachers’ assets in the areas of knowledge and skill, motivation, and organizational
resources.
As such, the questions that guided the promising practice study were the following:
1. What knowledge and motivation assets do HTH teachers possess in terms of
incorporating a PBL model to develop 21
st
-century skills?
2. What is the interaction between organizational culture and context and
stakeholder knowledge and motivation?
3. What practices related to the areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational
resources may be transferable to other organizations looking to solve this problem
of practice?
Conceptual and Methodological Framework
Clark and Estes’ (Clark & Estes, 2008) gap analysis, a systematic, analytical method that
helps to understand organizational goal achievement was adapted to a promising practice study
and implemented as the conceptual framework. The methodological framework was a qualitative
case study with descriptive statistics. Assumed teacher knowledge, motivation, and
organizational assets that have helped lead to organizational goal achievement were generated
based on personal knowledge and related literature. These assets were then assessed by using
12
document analysis, interviews, literature review, and content analysis. Finally, research-based
solutions were recommended and evaluated comprehensively. (K. Kirkpatrick, 2018)
Organization of the Project
This study is divided in five chapters. The present chapter provided the reader with the
key concepts and terminology commonly found in a discussion about 21
st
-century skills, PBL,
and education in Colombia. HTH Charter School in San Diego, California was presented as the
organization of study along with its mission, goals, and stakeholders. In addition, the initial
concepts of gap analysis were introduced. Chapter Two provides a review of the current
literature surrounding the scope of the study. Topics discussed include how a mismatch of skill is
affecting the labor force and how it requires new answers from schools, what are the new skills
required, Colombia’s educational system and skills development, and how new models, such as
PBL, can promote new skills development. Chapter Two also presents the assumed teachers’
knowledge, motivation and organizational assets contributing to organizational performance that
guide this study. Chapter Three details the methodology in terms of participants’ selection, data
collection and analysis to better understand these assumed assets. In Chapter Four, the data and
results are assessed and analyzed. Chapter Five provides recommendations for practice, based on
data and literature as well as recommendations for an implementation and evaluation plan.
13
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter includes a review of literature on the changes in the global labor market,
including drivers of change, Colombia’s labor market, and the 21
st
-century skills demanded. The
literature review then moves to the Colombian educational system and skills development
regarding 21
st
-century skills. Educational models to promote new skills development, such as
PBL, are then discussed. This will be followed by a discussion of the Clark and Estes Gap
Analytic Framework (2008) guiding this study, adapted as a promising practice study, to
examine HTH and teachers’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets enabling
achievement of the organization’s goal of graduating critical thinkers educated in PBL. This will
be used to address the problem of practice of the lack of school focus on students’ 21
st
-century
skills development in Colombia.
Changing Global Labor Markets and New Skill Needs
Increased globalization, rapid technological change, and demographic migration are
creating a new VUCA environment with a mismatch between skills development and the labor
market skills demanded. Organizations such as the World Economic Forum (WEF), the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank have
studied global labor markets and change drivers in companies that impact the skills required by
workers. Their results have been published in a number of reports, including The Future of Jobs
(2016, 2018), World Employment Social Outlook (2019), Getting Skills Right (2016), Skills
Matter (2016), and Matching the Skills Labour Market Needs (2014). As suggested by this work,
one of the biggest challenges schools face is identifying the skills the labor market will need in
the future and building those skills in their students.
14
Changing Global Labor Markets
Since the appearance of digital technology, it had commonly been thought that
automation and new technology were going to change the workforce, and consequently reduce
the number of job positions. As Autor (2015) describes it, the concerns over automation and
joblessness during the 1950s and early 1960s were so high that in 1964, President Johnson
established the Blue-Ribbon National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic
progress to confront the productivity problem, specifically since productivity was rising so fast it
could have outstripped the demand for labor (D. Autor, 2015). Autor (2015) concluded that the
interplay between machine and human comparative advantage would lead to computers
substituting workers in performing routine, codifiable tasks while amplifying the comparative
advantage of workers in supplying problem-solving, adaptability, and creativity tasks. The
frontier of automation is rapidly advancing, and the challenges of substituting machines for
workers’ tasks requiring flexibility, judgment, and common sense remain immense. As Autor
(2015) discusses, machines not only substitute but also complement human labor. The past two
centuries of automation and technological progress have not made human labor obsolete, but this
improved computing power, artificial intelligence, and robotics raise the possibility of replacing
labor on a scale not previously observed (D. Autor, 2015, p. 5).
The WEF (2016) stated that the crucial drivers of transformation currently affecting
global industries have a substantial impact on jobs, ranging from the significant creation of
employment to job displacement, and heightened labor productivity to considerable skills
expansion gap (Forum, 2016). The OECD (2016) reported that the cause of changes in the labor
market include: the growing dependence of domestic jobs on economic globalization, economic
and shock cycles, changes in the way companies are organized, technological innovation, and
15
demographic changes in consumption models (OECD, 2016). The WEF (2018) later described
that with the deployment of the fourth industrial revolution around the world, companies will
locate specific labor roles and economic activities in particular countries over others due to a
variety of strategic considerations, changing the global labor market (Forum, 2018).
For the last 25 years, more low-skill jobs have been generated in the United States,
explained by the displacement of routine work positions to service occupations. At the same
time, highly qualified jobs have increased both in the workplace and in better remuneration (D.
Autor, 2015). Autor and Dorn (2013) classified the skills of a job from high to low. During the
time frame of the study, from 1980 to 2005, the net employment changes were strongly U-
Shaped in skill level, with relative employment declines in the middle of the skills distribution
and relative gains in the tails (D. H. Autor & Dorn, 2013). According to Autor and Dorn (2013),
the increase in the lower tail of employment distribution was due to the rise in employment and
wages in a single broad category of employment: service occupations, which grew 30% during
the study frame. Service occupations are jobs that involve assisting or caring for others. Other
categories that grew during the study period were managers, professionals, technicians, finance,
and public safety, with 30% growth. The rest of the categories which decreased were:
production/craft - 38% decline, transportation/construction/mechanics/mining/farming -15%
decline, machine operators/assemblers -54% decline, and clerical/ retail sales -8% decline (D. H.
Autor & Dorn, 2013).
According to Autor (2015), the jobs at the top of the skill ladder –professional, technical,
and managerial occupations– grew even more rapidly between 1980 and 2010 than in the four
decades prior, and positive occupational shifts outside of these categories mostly halted. While
16
physically demanding operative and laborer jobs continued to atrophy, low-paid personal
services began absorbing an increasing share of non-college labor (D. Autor, 2015, p. 11).
For the purpose of this research, it is important to understand the role information
technology has played on labor markets. Autor (2015) describes the effects of information
technology as having an important impact on substitution in accomplishing explicit, codifiable
tasks, called “routine tasks.” The core task of these occupations follows precise, well-understood
procedures, which can be codified in computer software and performed by machines. Autor
(2015) defines the “nonroutine task” in two categories: one “abstract” category that includes
tasks that require problem-solving capabilities, intuition, creativity, and persuasion; and a second
category named “manual,” which requires situational adaptability, visual and language
recognition, and in-person interaction. Jobs that are intensive in either abstract or manual tasks
are generally found at opposite ends of the occupational skill spectrum (D. Autor, 2015, p. 13).
Author (2015) concluded that the polarization of employment across occupations is not
unique to the United States. The analysis of the data of 16 European Union economies during the
period between 1993 and 2010, within the broad sets of occupations, including low, middle and
high wages, and covering all nonagricultural employment, concluded that middle-wage
occupations declined as a share of employment while both high-wage and low-wage occupations
increased as a share of employment over a 17-year period. Autor (2015) concluded that the US
economy would fall roughly in the middle of the pack of this set of countries in terms of its
employment polarization.
In the same direction, the WEF (2016) conducted a study on the change in the labor
market across the globe. The WEF estimated that during the 2015 – 2020 period, a total of 5.1
million jobs would be lost due to disruptive labor market changes, with two-thirds of these lost
17
jobs concentrated in the office and administrative job family. At the same time, there would be a
total gain of two million jobs in several smaller job families (Forum, 2016). Several conclusions
stand out: the administrative and routine white-collar office functions are at risk of being
decimated with strong growth in computer, mathematical, architectural and engineering related
fields. Manufacturing and production roles are expected to see reductions or, in the best case,
redeployment and productivity enhancement through technology. Employment growth in high-
skilled job families is expected to absorb jobs (Forum, 2016).
The OECD (2016) studied the mismatch in skills and qualifications of workers with the
needs of the labor market in the European Union countries. Some degree of misalignment
between the supply and demand for skills was inevitable, particularly in the short run. However,
the costs of persistent mismatches and shortages were found to be substantial. For example, skill
shortages could constrain the ability of firms to innovate and adopt new technologies while skill
mismatches reduced labor productivity due to the misallocation of workers’ jobs (O. f. E. C. a.
Development, 2016, p. 7). The OECD (2016) concluded that mismatches and shortages could
negatively affect economic growth through their effects on increased labor costs, lower
productivity growth, slower adoption of new technologies, lost production associated to
vacancies remaining unfilled, and the implicit and explicit costs of higher unemployment rates.
The OECD proposed two types of mismatch regarding the requirements of the job market in
terms of skills or qualifications. In the EU, more than 40% of workers and employers felt the
skills level did not match to requirements of the job, and similar estimates were observed in
Mexico, Japan, and Korea, with somewhat lower levels in Australia and New Zealand (O. f. E.
C. a. Development, 2016, p. 15). The other type of mismatch reported in the study (OECD,
2016) is through qualifications; workers can be over – or under – qualified for the job by having
18
attained a higher or lower educational level than that required by the job. Qualification mismatch
is particularly relevant for youth as it sets out a career path that may lead to lower life-long
earnings. The OECD (2016) concluded that in EU countries, 60% of the workers were
mismatched; they were either over/under qualified, over/under skilled or graduated from a field
of study that was different from the job sector in which they worked (O. f. E. C. a. Development,
2016, p. 19).
According to the WEF (2018), the emerging new world of work in the fourth industrial
revolution was rapidly becoming a lived reality for millions of workers and companies around
the world (Forum, 2018, p. V). The WEF report focused on the potential of the new
technologies, including automation and algorithms, to create new high-quality jobs and vastly
improve the job quality and productivity of the existing work of human employees. With the
fourth industrial revolution, policy-makers, educators, labor unions and individual workers have
much to gain from a deeper understanding of the new labor market and a proactive preparation
for the changes underway (Forum, 2018). The WEF (2018) stated that if the transformation
generated by the fourth industrial revolution were managed wisely, it could lead to a new age of
good work, jobs and improved quality of life for all, but if managed poorly, it posed the risk of
widening skills gaps, greater inequality and broader polarization.
The key findings of the WEF (2018) remain the same as in the report of WEF (2016), but
it is important to highlight changes in geography of production distribution and value chain,
changes in employment types, and the new human-machine frontier within existing tasks. Four
specific technological advances are projected to be drivers of change: ubiquitous high-speed
mobile internet, artificial intelligence, and the widespread adoption of big data analytics and
cloud technology. Eighty-five percent of the respondents from the companies surveyed stated
19
they are likely or very likely to expand their adoption of user and entity big data analytics or
internet of things, app and web enabling markets, or cloud computing. Other technologies that
can impact the labor market are machine learning and virtual reality, which likewise received
considerable business investment. Fifty-nine percent of the employers surveyed said they
expected that they would have significantly modified the manner in which they produced and
distributed products by 2022 through changing the composition of their value chain. When
determining job location decisions, 74% of respondents prioritized the availability of skilled
local talent. Nearly 50% of companies expected automation to lead to some reduction in their
full-time workforce by 2022. In 2018, an average of 71% of total task hours across 12 industries
covered in the report (WEF, 2018) were performed by humans, compared to 29% by machines.
By 2022, this average is expected to shift to 58% task hours performed by humans and 42% by
machines. By 2022, no less than 54% of all employees will require significant re- and upskilling.
These findings have broad implications for the types of skills and competencies that are
demanded and need to be embedded in our systems of education.
Labor Markets in Colombia
Colombia is a country with a population close to 50 million inhabitants. The national
government has an entity that is responsible for providing the country with official statistical
data, known as the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). DANE monthly
publishes the unemployment data at the national level, as well as its distribution by cities or rural
areas and urban centers, among other information. For this study, it is relevant to consider youth
unemployment data taking into account that by Colombian Law 1622 of 2013, young people are
defined as those citizens who are within the 14 to 28 years age range.
20
Comparing the overall unemployment rate in Colombia, in the month of April during the
nine previous years, it fluctuated between 12.2% in April 2010 to 8.9%, the lowest, in 2017, to
10.3% in April 2019. The employment rate for the same period fluctuated from 63.1% in 2010 to
62.2% in 2019. It is important to note that there is a difference in employment close to six
percent between the 13 main cities and metropolitan areas of the country compared to rural areas
(Estadística, 2019b).
Unemployment in the youth population is attributed to the imbalance in skills
development. Unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region for young
people under 25 is more than half of its population; the Forum’s Human Capital Index showed
that despite significant investment in education in many countries, the MENA region is not
equipping young people with skills for the 21st century (Forum, 2016). Young inhabitants in
Colombia represent 56.7% of the country’s population, with an employment rate of 46.2% and
an unemployment rate of 18.5%. The youth unemployment rate in Colombia in 2010 was 18.1%,
and in 2019, 18.5%; the lowest rate in this period was 16%, and the highest rate was 18.5%
(Estadística, 2019a). The stability of the unemployment rate is an indicator that evidences the
lack of skills in young people to face the labor needs. Departamento Administrativo Nacional de
Estadísticas DANE (2019) clarifies that women unemployment rate is 9.4 % higher than men.
Similar to Autor (2013), DANE (2019) confirms that service occupations were the family of
low-skilled workers that increased in the number of people employed, and the remaining low
skills job families such as construction, transportation, mining, and farming decreased. High skill
jobs have not adsorbed the loss of employees generated by the relocating of the labor force or
automation.
21
DANE (2017) studied the active economic population according to people´s education
level. This report indicated that of those employed in Colombia, 32.4% completed the upper
secondary school level (equivalent to high school in the United States), 23.7% completed the
basic education level (elementary school in the United States), 5.7% finished the secondary
school level (middle school in the United States), 10.7% completed the technical education level
(associate degree), 8.0% completed higher education, and 3.6% completed graduate school
(Estadística, 2017). In the same report, DANE (2017) presented the unemployment rate for each
level of education, differentiated by gender. For graduate school, the rate for men was 4.6% and
4.9% for woman; for higher education, the rate stood at 8.5% for men and 10.9% for women; for
associate level, the rate for men was 8.6% and 14.4% for women; for high school, it was 9.4%
for men and 15.6% for women; for middle school level, it was 8.1% for men and 13.9% for
women; and for elementary school, it was 6.1% for men and 9.9% for women. Rates for those
without any formal education were 3.5% for men and 6.8% for women. The data provided by
DANE suggests that the labor market in Colombia has similar trends to those reported by the
studies of Autor (2013) and WEF (2016).
As it has been seen in the different reports, technological advances have generated
changes in the structure of the labor market, creating new jobs in the higher level and in those
with lower qualifications. Medium-skilled jobs have lost a significant number of jobs. These
changes, as pointed out in the different studies, will be increasingly quick and profound,
impacting not only the workforce but also the training needs. In the next section, the various
skills required to train people who can perform successfully in VUCA environments will be
presented.
22
New Skills Demanded
With the changing global labor markets, as described, it is essential to understand what
competencies are required by the labor market and their impact on the educational world. The
skills of the 21st century affect all levels of educational systems and how they will help develop
the needed skills and competencies.
OECD (2016) defines skills as a wide range of attributes which can refer to both generic
skills and job/occupation/sector specific skills. Generic skills are valued in every job, occupation,
and sector, and include cognitive skills such as information-processing as well as non-cognitive
skills such as perseverance, self-organization, presentation, teamwork and other soft skills (O. f.
E. C. a. Development, 2016). Job-specific skills are not transferrable from one job to another.
According to OECD (2016), education systems need to be able to assess and anticipate future
labor market needs. According to OECD (2016), the result from skills assessments and
anticipation exercises concerning labor market needs can feed into education policy. In most
countries, information from skills assessments and anticipation exercises is used to design new
qualifications, revise curricula, or decide what courses to fund or provide at the adult training,
upper-secondary or tertiary level (O. f. E. C. a. Development, 2016, p. 59). Countries use skill
assessments to inform education policy, specifically in determining course contents and
providing information to students, families, and workers.
According to the WEF (2016), the current technological trends are bringing about an
unprecedented rate of change, with nearly 50% of subject knowledge acquired during the first
year of a four-year technical degree obsolete by the time students graduate. Beyond hard skills
and formal qualifications, employers are emphasizing work-related practical skills that current
employees can use in order to perform various job tasks successfully. The WEF used the
23
streamlined version of the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), developed by the US
Department of Labor in collaboration with its Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Standard Classification
of Occupations (SOC), as reference, allowing for international comparisons. WEF researchers
focused on a core of 35 work-relevant skills and abilities that are used across all industry sectors
and job families (Forum, 2016, p. 20). According to the WEF (2016), by 2020, more than a third
of the desired core skills set will be composed of skills that are not considered crucial to current
jobs (Forum, 2016, p. 20). Core work-related skills are divided into three leading families:
abilities, basic skills, and cross-functional skills.
The abilities family is composed of two subcategories: cognitive abilities and physical
abilities. The cognitive abilities family comprises the cognitive flexibility, creativity, logical
reasoning, problem sensitivity, mathematical reasoning, and visualization skills. The physical
abilities family is composed of manual dexterity and precision and physical strength (Forum,
2016, p. 52). Basic skills include the subcategories of content skills and process skills. Content
skills are made up of active learning, oral expression, reading comprehension, written
expression, and information, communication and technology (ICT) literacy, whereas process
skills are composed of active learning, critical thinking, and monitoring both self and others
(Forum, 2016, p. 52). Five subcategories constitute cross-functional skills: complex problem-
solving skills, resource management skills, social skills, systems skills, and technical skills.
Complex problem-solving skills has only one element which is complex problem-solving. The
subcategories of resource management skills are made up of the skills of management of
financial resources, management of material resources, people management, and time
management. Skills relating to coordinating with others, emotional intelligence, negotiation,
persuasion, service orientation, and training and teaching others are found in the subcategory of
24
social skills. The system skills subcategory is composed of the skills of judgment and decision
making and system analysis. Finally, the technical skills subcategory is made up of skills
concerning equipment maintenance and repair, equipment operation and control, programming,
quality control, technology, and user experience design and troubleshooting (Forum, 2016, p.
53).
In 2018, the WEF produced an updated report on the future of work where they
concluded that reskilling is imperative and that the current changes underway will create new
opportunities in terms of quality and quantity of jobs and better remuneration for those workers
that have the right skills (Forum, 2018). However, those workers who do not have the necessary
skills for new technologies and do not move to jobs with higher qualifications will be affected in
quality of work and in their salary, even if automation only affects a subset of the skills (Forum,
2018). The vast majority of employers surveyed for this report expect that the skills required to
perform most jobs will have shifted significantly by 2022 (Forum, 2018, p. 12). While the results
vary across different industries and geographical zones, only 58% of the respondents expected
core skills to remain the same (Forum, 2018).
Another finding of the WEF (2018) is the falling of the demand for the manual skills and
physical abilities family of skills, while the skills that will grow in prominence by 2022 include
analytical thinking and innovation, active learning, and learning strategies, with a considerable
increase in abilities such as technology design and programming (Forum, 2018). The WEF
(2018) suggests that human skills will retain or increase their value and demand over time
(Forum, 2018, p. 12). Many of such skills fall in the abilities family of skills, such as creativity,
originality and initiative, critical thinking, persuasion, negotiation, attention to detail, resilience,
25
flexibility and complex problem-solving, emotional intelligence, leadership, social influence, and
service orientation.
Education, more than ever, has an integral role to play in preparing citizens for a more
highly mobilized and technology-dominated society (Kai Chu et al., 2017). To support the
development of the needed skills and literacies, scholars have advocated for changes in the
education system. Initiatives on the teaching and assessment of 21
st
-century skills have
originated in the widely-held belief that the current century will demand a very different set of
skills and competencies from people in order to function effectively at work, as citizens and in
their leisure time (Ananiadou & Claro, 2009, p. 6). According to Kai Chu et al. (2017), 21
st

century skills comprise three main knowledge domains: (a) innovative thinking, (b) information,
media and ICT skills, and (c) life and career skills. In the same way, van Laar et al. (2017)
mention, in general, that 21
st
-century skills include collaboration, communication, digital
thinking, creativity and productivity.
UNESCO’s (1996) Delors Report concluded that continuous education needs to go far
beyond what it is today and should be based on the four key pillars: learning to know, learning to
do, learning to live together and learning to be. These four pillars contribute to the notion of
learning throughout life, which was defined as “taking advantage of all the opportunities offered
by society.” According to Kai Chu et al. (2017), the Delors Report was the first of its kind, and
other frameworks have subsequently been established to suggest how education should be
adapted to meet the needs induced by fast-paced technological progress in the knowledge-based
economy. While many frameworks have been drawn under the support of international
organizations, governments, and consulting firms (Kai Chu et al., 2017, p. 19), this review will
look at three frameworks for 21
st
-century competencies that represent different perspectives.
26
These are: 1. OECD framework; 2. Assessment and Teaching of Twenty-First Century Skills
(ATCS); and 3. Partnership for 21
st
-Century Learning (P21) framework.
OECD Framework
OECD promotes a framework developed by Ananiadou and Claro (2009) in the context
of the OECD/CERI project on New Millennium Learners. The OECD’s approach to new
competencies and skills has been developed through two important initiatives: the Definition and
Selection of Competencies (DeSeCo) Programme and the PISA. DeSeCo uses three clusters of
key competencies: a) using tools interactively, b) interacting in heterogeneous groups, and c)
acting autonomously (Ananiadou & Claro, 2009, p. 7). Ananiadou and Claro (2009) propose a
typology when thinking about the different skills and competencies related to ICT, divided into
three different categories: ICT functional skills, ICT skills for learning, and 21
st
-century skills.
ICT functional skills include skills relevant to mastering the use of different ICT applications.
ICT skills for learning combine cognitive abilities or high-order thinking skills with functional
skills for the use and management of ICT applications. 21
st
-century skills bring together skills
considered necessary in the knowledge society but where the use of ICT is not a necessary
condition.
According to Ananiadou and Claro (2009), competence is more than just knowledge or
skills. It involves the ability to meet complex demands, by drawing on and mobilizing
psychosocial resources (including skills and attitudes) in a particular context. The framework
proposed for the 21
st
-century skills and competencies has three dimensions: information,
communication, and ethics and social impact. The information dimension is typically composed
of research and problem-solving skills as they both involve, at some point, defining, searching
for, evaluating, selecting, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting information. The
27
communication dimension plays a vital role in preparing learners with a voice and a sense of
responsibility to others. This dimension has two sub-dimensions: effective communication and
collaboration and virtual interaction. The dimension of ethics and social impact has two ethical
sub-dimensions: social responsibility and social impact (Ananiadou & Claro, 2009).
Assessment and Teaching of Twenty-First Century Skills Framework
The second framework is sponsored by a set of IT companies, including Cisco, Intel, and
Microsoft, promoting an international research initiative of the ATCS, headquartered at the
University of Melbourne. The group aims to identify and help learners acquire the necessary
skills required to be successful in the 21
st
-century workplace (Kai Chu et al., 2017, p. 19). The
ATCS categorizes 21
st
-century skills into four prime types, namely (a) ways of thinking, (b)
ways of working, (c) tools for working, and (d) living in the world.
The way of thinking category emphasizes higher order thinking skills and subsumes more
straightforward skills such as recalling and drawing inference. A significant characteristic of
these skills is that they require great focus and reflection. This category comprises three skill
groups: creativity and innovation; critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision making; and
learning to learn and metacognition (Griffin, McGaw, & Care, 2012, p. 37).
The way of working is aimed at helping people to meet the needs of current jobs, where
teams are geographically dispersed, are composed of members of different companies, and
communicate mainly through digital platforms. Communication must be rapid, concise, and
cognizant of cultural differences. The way of working is composed of two skills: communication
and collaboration and teamwork (Griifin et al., 2012).
The tools for working category combines the skills required for information explosion,
assuming the coming generations must have the skills to access and evaluate new information
28
effectively so that they can effectively utilize all that is available and relevant to their tasks. One
way that they will manage this information explosion is through the skilled use of ICT. This
category comprises two skills: information literacy and ICT Literacy.
The living in the world category emphasizes an understanding of how living and working
in the world will change. Griffin et al. (2012) discuss a US Labor Department estimate that those
entering the labor market today will have had between 10 and 14 jobs by age 38. As more people
individually move in the 21st century to compete, connect, and collaborate, it is even more
critical that they understand all aspects of citizenship. This category is composed of the skills of
citizenship, global and local life and career, and personal and social responsibility –including
cultural awareness and competence (Griifin et al., 2012, p. 54).
Partnership for Twenty-First Century Learning Framework
This third framework was developed in 2001 by business leaders, consultants, and
educators. The P21 framework describes the skills, knowledge, and expertise students must
master to succeed in work and life; it blends content knowledge, specific skills, expertise, and
literacies (Learning, 2002). The P21 proposes a framework that interacts with support systems
such as academic standards, assessment, curriculum and instruction, professional development,
and learning environments. The framework is composed of 13 skills and, for a better
understanding, it is presented as a rainbow composed of two layers: the first layer relates to key
subjects and 21
st
-century themes, while the second layer is focused on life and career, learning
and innovation, and information, media, and technology skills (Learning, 2002). Key subjects
and 21
st
-century themes suggest students should demonstrate mastery in English, reading or
language arts, world languages, arts, mathematics, economics, science, geography, history,
government, and civics. In addition to these subjects, they promote understanding of academic
29
content at much higher levels by weaving 21
st
-century interdisciplinary themes into key subjects:
global awareness; financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy; civic literacy;
health literacy; environmental literacy; and learning and innovation skills (Learning, 2002).
Learning and innovation skills are increasingly being recognized as those that identify
students who are prepared for more complex life and work environments in the 21
st
century.
These skills are focused on creativity and innovation, critical thinking and problem-solving,
communication, and collaboration. Creativity and innovation skills cover thinking creatively and
working creatively with others. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills encompass
reasoning effectively, using systems thinking, making judgments and decisions, and solving
problems. Communication and collaboration skills comprise communicating clearly and
collaborating with others (Learning, 2002). Information, media and technology skills suggest
people in the 21
st
century live in a technology and media-driven environment, marked by various
characteristics, including access to an abundance of information, rapid changes in technology
tools and the ability to collaborate and make individual contributions on an unprecedented scale.
21
st
century workers must be able to exhibit a range of functional and critical thinking skills
related to information, media, and technology. Life and career skills in today’s life and work
environments require far more than thinking skills and content knowledge. The ability to
navigate the complex life and work environments in the globally competitive information age
requires students to pay rigorous attention to developing adequate life and career skills
(Learning, 2002, p. 6), including flexibility and adaptability skills.
Kai Chu et al. (2017) propose a comparison of the three frameworks, putting overlapping
and identical ideas together as a convenient way of understanding the core ideas. The first
common skills set is related to learning and innovation skills, which include communication and
30
thinking ability. The second shared set of skills puts emphasis on the importance of mastery of
information technology skills and literacy skills. The third skill emphasized in all the frameworks
refers to one’s general ability to live and work in the rapidly changing world of the twenty-first
century. This skill focuses on the ethical aspect of citizenship, requiring people to take
individual, national as well as global responsibility toward the world (Kai Chu et al., 2017). The
table below synthesizes the comparison among the three frameworks:
Table 1
21
st
Century Skills Comparison
P21 (skill sets) OECD (dimension) ATCS (categories)
Learning and innovation
skills
Communication Ways of thinking
Ways of working
Information, media and
technology skills
Information Tools for working
Life and career skills Ethics and social impact Living in the world

The rapid changes in global labor markets and new skills needed, as discussed in this
section, have broad implications for education systems globally. Some education systems have
moved ahead with transforming themselves to meet the new skills demands, while others have
not made similar progress. The next section turns to Colombia’s education system and its
strengths and challenges regarding new skills development.
Colombia’s Educational System and Skills Development
Colombia is a country of geographical and cultural diversity that has become largely
urbanized (Radingeri et al., 2018). The poor living conditions and violence in the rural areas are
causing migration to the urban cities. Rural life still plays a significant role in Colombia,
representing almost 30% of the population; between 60% and 76% of its municipalities can be
considered rural. The country’s topography limits the connections among regions, in the absence
of efficient infrastructure, and constrains the development of the country. Weak institutions,
31
limited connection between rural and urban areas and a focus on traditional agricultural activities
also contribute to regional inequalities (O. f. E. C.-O. a. Development, 2016).
After the recession of 1990, Colombia had witnessed strong and sustained economic
growth. This growth has recently slowed down because of weaker trade and a fall in commodity
prices and the fiscal rules adopted in 2012 that have narrowed the space for public expenditures
(Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 12). The allocation of resources, therefore, needs to be reconciled with
the required efforts to close persisting gaps in educational coverage and quality, including the
differences between rural and urban (O. f. E. C.-O. a. Development, 2016). In the coming years,
Colombia needs to identify long-term goals and priorities in order to adequately use limited and
insufficient financial resources, seeking new funding sources for facing educational challenges
(Forero & Saavedra, 2019; Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 12).
Understanding Colombia’s Educational System
Compulsory education in Colombia’s education system starts in pre-school and ends in
upper secondary (high school) in year 11. The levels of Colombia’s education systems are as
follows: pre-school for children ages 3 to 5 where grades of pre-kinder, kinder and transition
focus on integral attention to early childhood. Primary level (básica primaria), known in the
United States as elementary school, covers the ages 6 to 10 and 1
st
to 5
th
grade. The secondary
level (básica secundaria) or lower secondary, typically known in the United States as middle
school, is for young people from 11 to 14 years old and cover 6
th
to 9
th
grade. The upper
secondary (media académica or media vocacional) or vocational education, equivalent in the
United States to high school, covers 10
th
and 11
th
grades and the population of teens aged 15 -16
or older (Radingeri et al., 2018). Vocational education can follow the general education track,
which strengthens students’ abilities in a specific area of their preference, preparing them for
32
tertiary education. The vocational track prepares students to enter the labor market upon
graduation (Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 152).
Education is provided by public and private schools. Public provision is responsible for
certified territorial entities (O. f. E. C.-O. a. Development, 2016). The certification of territories
is a decentralization process to grant the departments, districts and municipalities more
autonomy in the fulfillment of certain requirements made by the Nation Planning Department.
The Ministry of Education holds responsibility for regulation, policy and planning, and
monitoring as head of the sector. The secretariats of education from the certified territorial
entities must guarantee access to free compulsory education for their students. According to
OECD (2016) and Radingeri, et al. (2018), when a certified territorial entity has difficulties to
provide education, it can contract with a private provider, and since 2012, co-payment by
families have been prohibited in public schools.
Schools, and especially public schools, are organized in school clusters with a number of
sites or sedes in Spanish. The main site, also referred to as an educational institution (institución
educativa), offers all levels of compulsory education. The remaining sites, classified as
educational centers (centros educativos), only offer some levels of education. According to
official records, at the end of 2002, 48% of schools offered primary education, another 35%
offered pre-school and primary education, and 5% offered all levels from pre-school to upper
secondary education (Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 153). In 2017, there were 9,881 public school
clusters with a total of 44,033 individual sites, most of them located in rural areas. The private
school usually has only one site and offers all levels of education, so it can be considered a
single-site school. The private schools in Colombia include about 9,768 institutions (Radingeri et
al., 2018).
33
Colombia’s educational system in 2017 had 9.3 million students, 81.3% were enrolled in
the public system, with 6.6% of these students being served by a school hired by the Secretary of
Education under a different mechanism (Radingeri et al., 2018). Parents can choose an
independent private school. The private schools represent about 24% of the total enrollment of
students in Colombia, with about 19% of students enrolled in independent private school, and
5% enrolled in a private school that serves the certified territories as public services (Radingeri et
al., 2018, p. 153). In 2015, the average public school cluster had 783 students, in contrast with
152 in private schools that usually serve a single site.
The General Education Law (Art. 77) gives schools autonomy to define their own
curriculum and study plan – one of the most distinctive characteristics of education in Colombia.
Public schools also have some budgetary autonomy, but little influence on the selection or
dismissal of their teachers. Responsibilities for pedagogical and curricular decisions fall on
school principals and the school board, while teachers make most of the curricular choices.
Education authorities have fewer responsibilities over the curriculum than in most countries.
This means choosing textbooks, determining course content or deciding which courses are
offered is a local decision (Forero & Saavedra, 2019). Compared to OECD countries, the
Colombian education authorities have the least responsibility over the curriculum in the region,
with control over only 12% compared with 28% in Chile, 39% in Brazil, 47% in Peru, 66% in
Mexico and 64% in Uruguay (Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 155).
Colombia has made considerable efforts to expand access to education, increasing
enrollment rates in both secondary level and general vocation education and widening access to
early childhood thorough childcare centers as well as to tertiary education. Gaps in enrollment
rates still persist between urban and rural areas, particularly in pre-primary and upper secondary
34
education. However, the country still needs to make additional efforts to increase coverage and
keep students in school (Forero & Saavedra, 2019). Even though Colombia has reached universal
enrollment for its 5 – 14 year-olds, understood as an enrollment rate of 90% for students in this
age group, it still is lower than for all other OECD countries and the countries in the region with
available data (Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica) (Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 60). Concerns remain
around student completion rates as well. In 2016, 3.7% of students in compulsory education
dropped out of public school education, while the rate of students failing a year and getting
delayed in their education is 4.9%. Transition into lower secondary (middle school) is
particularly challenging for students, with a sharp drop in the share of students expected to
complete it. In 2015, the cumulative dropout rate in lower secondary was about 29%; only Costa
Rica had a higher dropout rate with 33% and Mexico was the third country with the highest
dropout rate at 10.4% (Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 62). The incentives for young people to
complete upper secondary education are relatively low, considering the size of the informal labor
market and the challenges young people face in their transition from school to formal work (O. f.
E. C.-O. a. Development, 2016). Access to tertiary education for young people who expect to
start a program for the first time in Colombia is only 45%, according to data provided in 2015
(Organisation For Economic Co-Operation And Development & World, 2012).
There are also some improvements in learning outcomes, but results are mixed and
education quality, as measured by standardized tests, remains low overall. A significant share of
students do not reach satisfactory levels of achievement from early on in their schooling (Bank,
2008). Students’ results in the OECD PISA 2015 show enrollment in independent private schools
is much higher in Colombia than in many other countries (19% of 15-year-olds compared to 4%
on average across the OECD). Also, students in rural areas show a lower performance than those
35
in urban areas, as is the case in many other countries. Based on data from OECD PISA 2015,
only 37% of the 15-year-olds from the most advanced quartile attended public schools, compared
to 95% of students from the least advantaged quartile. By contrast, 59% of the most advanced
students attended independent private schools, compared to only 4% of the country’s least
advanced quartile (Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 182).
In 2017, Colombia had 303,735 school teachers in the public sector, teaching from pre-
school to upper secondary. Of those, 31% of teachers were between 18 – 40 years of age and
39% were 50 and older; 66% were male and 44% female; and, according to geographical
location, 65% were urban-based and 35% rural-based. In 2002, after a collective agreement with
the largest teachers’ union (Federación Colombiana de Trabajadores de la Educación,
FECODE), a new employment framework was deployed for teachers (Forero & Saavedra, 2019).
Teachers who were in the old framework, known as statute 2277 (decree law 2277 of 1979),
remained under it, representing 44% of the teachers. For those teachers, the salary scale is
composed of a single scale made up of 14 categories; qualifications and service time are the main
factors defining the salaries and career progression. The new framework, known as Statutes 1278
(Decree Law 1278 of 2002), also regulates private schools and represents 54% of public school
teachers. The salary scale is composed of 3 categories (1-3) and 4 stages within each grade (A,
B, C, D), with qualifications as the primary importance and seniority as a secondary feature.
There are three main routes to becoming a teacher in Colombia: completion of a first
professional degree in education, completion of a complementary program in education and
pedagogy, or side entry through completion of a postgraduate qualification or a program in
pedagogy (Forero & Saavedra, 2019).
36
Efforts to Improve Educational System and Challenges
The process of becoming a full member of the OECD demands that Colombia improve its
educational system. The team in charge of conducting the review process of Colombia’s
educational system identified strengths and challenges. For the purpose of this research, only
those that have direct connection with the research project will be described in detail.
Education has taken on a priority in recent years, but public funding is insufficient to
achieve the objectives set for early childhood and compulsory education. The Ministry of
Education has set ambitious and important goals to increase access to early childhood and
secondary education, extend the length of the school day, improve the country’s educational
infrastructure, and promote the inclusion of children with special needs, and the rights of youth
in conflict with the law. However, the amount of public resources the central government has
allocated to early childhood and compulsory education in the last decade is not consistent with
these ambitious and multiple commitments (Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 17).
While education policy-making theoretically supports a long-term shared vision, the
institutional framework to ensure continuity in education policy is weak. Colombia holds
national elections every four years and each new government transforms its programs into
concrete actions through a National Development Plan. National Development Plans steer the
allocation of financial resources, thereby linking spending decision with political priorities, and
facilitating the political and technical monitoring of progress towards the set goals. Departments
and municipalities also develop territorial plans for the medium term that should be aligned with
the national plan. National Development Plans are linked to the political approval from
successive governments, meaning their continuity is not necessarily guaranteed and programs
often lack stability over time (O. f. E. C.-O. a. Development, 2016; Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 18).
37
The education funding system contributes to multiple public finance objectives but does
not adequately consider inequalities between territories, schools and students. Since the creation
in 2001, the General System of Transfers has been the main source of public school education
funding in Colombia (Forero & Saavedra, 2019). The system contributes to multiple public
finance objectives. The General System of Transfers represents a stable source of revenue for
territorial entities to finance the provision of school education as the system’s composition is
highly regulated, dedicating specific resources to the funding of education, and is annually
readjusted. While the system’s allocation for education effectively delivers more resources per
student to the most vulnerable territories, the difference is so small that they have not contributed
to reducing territorial gaps or compensated for inequities in the contributions made by territorial
entities from their own resources base (Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 18).
School education follows a comprehensive approach with potential benefits for equity,
but challenges remain in developing a pertinent and articulated vision. The Colombian school
system avoids early tracking and selection into different pathways–only at the age of 15 can
students choose between a general and a vocational option, but the distinction is more on
emphasis than on independent tracks. All upper secondary students gain rights to access tertiary
education. Unlike other countries, students in the two programs do not differ in their social
background or their academic performance, although vocational options have a lower social
status (Forero & Saavedra, 2019).
Expanding coverage and improving the quality of provision at both lower and later
stages, including rural areas, are crucial for the next years. Colombia’s educational system
promotes an integrated approach to early childhood development, which includes pre-primary
education; however, the educational component of early childhood education remains
38
underdeveloped. Transition into lower secondary education is particularly challenging for
students. Promising national initiatives have been put into place to strengthen demand for upper
secondary education and to articulate provision with tertiary education and other short vocational
programs offered by the National Learning Service (SENA). However, upper secondary
programs are not always pertinent to the needs of students and the competency standards that
should be acquired are not clearly defined (Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 21).
Colombia has taken considerable steps towards the professionalization of teaching, but
further efforts are needed to build a new vision for the profession (García, Maldonado, &
Rodríguez, 2014). The country has advanced in professionalizing teaching over the last two
decades, notably with a reform of its teacher employment framework in 2002. This new
framework represents a skills -and competency- based approach to salary and advancement
(García et al., 2014). With the introduction of the new framework, teachers of the new statute
and old statute coexist, performing the same responsibilities and tasks, which can generate a
negative effect on schools’ working climates and collegiality, which has raised some challenges
(Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 26).
Central initiatives have supported teacher learning, but overall, teacher education and
development does not sufficiently support and prepare teachers. Data from international surveys
show that teachers in Colombia are relatively highly qualified, which is confirmed when looking
at national data. Nevertheless, there are concerns that teacher education does not adequately
prepare and support teachers in their work (Forero & Saavedra, 2019). The quality of initial
teacher education offered by faculties of education is considered to vary considerably. While a
career in teaching represents possibilities for social mobility, education programs are among
those with the lowest numbers of applicants, attracting students with a weaker performance in
39
the school-leaving examination. Given the difficulties in reforming initial teacher education,
different levels of capacity and resources to manage teachers’ professional development, and
limited forms of school-based teacher learning, the Ministry of Education has developed targeted
national initiatives focusing on closing the gaps between rural and urban areas and on building
new professional cultures in schools (Radingeri et al., 2018, p. 27).
Forero and Saavedra (2019) address the problem of weak cognitive and non-cognitive
skills and argue that the low productivity of workers in the country ends up being the other side
of the coin of the existing chronic learning deficit in the Colombian educational system. It should
also be pointed out that the Saber standardized tests in Colombia also try to measure, within the
citizen competencies component, the development of non-cognitive abilities, but they have fallen
short of the multidimensionality of this concept (Forero & Saavedra, 2019). Given that in
Colombia, educational institutions have the autonomy to establish their curriculum, they are the
ones that have the greatest influence on the type of curriculum adopted by these institutions.
Forero and Saavedra (2019) clarify that the lack of connectivity between the content
received and the experience itself generates a lack of motivation, poor performance and increases
school dropout. Additionally, the traditional teaching methodology seeks to strengthen
knowledge learning, without addressing the training of socioemotional skills in the student, skills
that are also strongly associated with student motivation. In the research conducted by Forero
and Saavedra (2019), they suggest improving the Colombia educational system to include in the
curriculum the development of socioemotional skills, since there is no evidence of curricular
guidelines or specific information embodying these skills. For Forero and Saavedra (2019),
socioemotional skills work together with cognitive abilities, to the extent that solving the
40
challenge of personal and professional life depends on both types of abilities (Forero &
Saavedra, 2019).
Colombia’s education system has been in a continuous process of improving, prioritizing
issues of quality, equity, and coverage. At the same time, Colombia’s public educational system
has not seen an investment in new curricular models and forms of instruction that would lead to
the development of the 21
st
-century skills needed for the labor market and for the country and its
youth to develop and thrive. Education models, such as PBL, hold potential to develop these
needed skills and competencies in Colombia’s youth for the future as well as to keep them
engaged in learning and motivated in school.
Education Models and Efforts to Promote New Skills Development
Project-based learning has been noted to promote social learning as children practice and
become proficient with 21st-century skills. To ensure PBL can be implemented, opportunities for
teachers’ development must be provided. This section focuses on efforts to change education
models toward PBL and the importance of teacher development for teaching under the PBL
model.
The first documented evidence of PBL dates to 1577, under the patronage of Pope
Gregory XIII, at an art school called the Accademia di San Luca founded in Rome (Larmer et al.,
2015). A lecture-based course was an inadequate methodology for architecture and sculpture to
identify student talents; they needed the opportunity to apply and test what they were learning
about form and function (Larmer et al., 2015). As students became more advanced, they were
assigned to progetti, to complete scale models of churches, monuments, or palaces. This was the
first time that the word project was used to signify a methodology for teaching and learning
(Larmer et al., 2015, p. 25).
41
The importance of progetti is that they were organized around the solution to a
challenging problem. The importance of this concept –-organizing learning around active
problem-solving and knowledge application, as opposed to listening, understanding,
internalizing, and recalling– lies in that the progetti allowed them to think, solve problems, and
apply what they had been learning. In addition, it was intended to reflect the experience and
professional expectations of the working architect and to include the sorts of tasks architects
confront daily, such as producing design specification or meeting deadlines (Larmer et al., 2015,
p. 25). Further, the students had considerable voice and choice in the real problems posed by the
teacher. The goal of progetti was to develop a public product that could be evaluated by others
(Larmer et al., 2015, p. 26).
It was not until 1918, when William Head Patrick, John Dewey’s student, published an
influential essay titled “The Project Method.” Kilpatrick’s description of the Project Method
caught the attention of educators in the United States and focused attention on the importance of
student engagement and the purposeful act in which students are engaged (Larmer et al., 2015, p.
26). The goal of the project method was to foster students’ motivation by encouraging them to
decide the purposes they wanted to pursue freely. In contrast with the thinking of Kilpatrick,
Dewey argued the student’s choice was important, but not absolute. Dewey focused attention on
the act of thinking, an iterative process whereby students encounter a conceptual or practical
obstacle, plan a solution, try it out, and reflect upon their results, rather than focusing on the
significance of the activity proposed by Kilpatrick (Bell, 2010). For Dewey, in an effective
project, the teacher becomes a partner in the learning process, guiding students to independently
discover meaning within the subject area (Railsback, 2002). The ideas of John Dewey continue
to influence those who teach using PBL, including the importance of the teacher as a mentor and
42
senior partner in PBL design, planning, management, coaching, assessment, and reflection (Bell,
2010).
During the 1960s, leaders at the medical school of McMaster University in Canada were
concerned that their students were not learning the clinical and diagnostic skills they would need
to practice as effective physicians. The approach they developed –problem-based learning– was
immediately adopted by several institutions, including Maastricht University in the Netherlands
and Michigan State University in the United States. Today, problem-based learning is the most
accepted pedagogical model for medical school around the world (Larmer et al., 2015, p. 28).
Problem-based teachers keep five activities in mind: (a) diagnosing students’ learning
needs, (b) mentoring by helping students build an intellectual bridge from their current
understanding to more complete and complex understanding, (c) encouraging student progress,
(d) questioning student thinking, and (e) modeling the inquiry process.
Bell (2010) defines PBL as a student-driven, teacher-facilitated approach to learning.
Learners pursue knowledge by asking questions that have piqued their natural curiosity. The
genesis of a project is an inquiry. Students develop a question and are guided through research
under the teacher’s supervision (Lay & Kamisah, 2017). Lay and Kamisah (2017) define PBL as
an instructional approach that encourages both students and teachers to dig deeply into a subject,
going beyond rote learning and grappling with the concepts and understandings fundamental to
the subject and the discipline (Lay & Kamisah, 2017). Bell (2010) mentions that most projects
include reading, writing, and mathematics by nature. The outcome of PBL is a greater
understanding of a topic, deeper learning, higher-level reading, and increased motivation to learn
(Zabit, 2010). Bell (2010) suggests that PBL is a key strategy for creating independent thinkers
and learners. The student working on the project has to plan their learning, organize their
43
research, implement a multitude of learning strategies, and gain valuable skills that build a strong
foundation for their future in our global economy.
As children become more proficient in PBL, they learn to self-monitor their progress
through daily-agenda setting and report on whether they have met their goals for the day.
Students must stay focused and on-task to succeed, using their work time effectively (Zabit,
2010). Students learn accountability with PBL through reporting periodically the goals as
defined by the teacher. When students work collaboratively, there is the expectation that each
child will contribute to the project (Bell, 2010, p. 40).
PBL has also been noted to promote social learning as children practice and become
proficient with the 21
st
-century skills of communication, negotiation, and collaboration. As
children work on their project, they must brainstorm ideas and act as good listeners to their group
members. Teaching students active listening skills enhances collaboration ability, and students
learn the fundamental skill of productive communication, respect for others, and teamwork while
creating ideas together. Negotiating how to collectively solve a problem is also part of PBL
(Tucker, 2014). Similarly, Larmer et al. (2015) suggest projects may encourage students to
express their creativity or be innovative, while all projects provide students with opportunities to
think deeply, solve problems, work with others, and manage their learning, time, and task.
Bell (2010) suggests that the active learning process of PBL takes students’ various
learning styles and preferences into account. Students use a range of tools and resources to
conduct their research, and they also choose distinct ways to demonstrate their learning in their
final product (Zabit, 2010). The opportunity to make mistakes is part of the learning process,
allowing children to discover who they are as learners. They become able to make better choices,
whether relating to process, environment, or outcome, which enables them to become more
44
independent and responsible for their learning (Zabit, 2010). In PBL, students construct their
background knowledge and retain more information when they are learning by doing.
The beginning of PBL occurs when students learn in a social environment, working hand-
in-hand with their teachers to discover ideas through careful scaffolding, documenting their
journey of learning, and finally presenting their learning through projects. Beginning this
approach early leads to greater success because it hones the essential skills necessary for the 21
st

century (Basilotta Gómez-Pablos et al., 2017). PBL is seen as an approach to enable children to
eventually enter a workforce in which they will be evaluated not only on their outcomes, but also
on their collaborative, negotiating, planning and organizational skills. As Bell (2010) concludes,
by implementing PBL, we are preparing our students to meet the twenty-first century with
preparedness and a repertoire of skills they can use successfully.
The PBL model has been growing in use, with the number of publications and journals
that focus on the subject as well as organizations dedicated to promoting training and consulting
services serving as an indicator of the growth of adoption. For example, the Alliance for
Excellent Education, a national policy and advocacy alliance for ensuring students, particularly
those traditionally underserved, graduate from high school ready to succeed in college, work and
citizenship suggests a total of 10 states, 261 school districts, and 2846 schools participate in
specific programs that promote what they called deep learning or 21
st
-century skills in the United
States with grounding in PBL (A. f. E. Education, 2019). Another organization that supports the
adoption of PBL in the United States is PBLWorks, which had trained 110,000 teachers, 1,200
schools have implemented PBL with their support, and more than 40 districts have partnered
with them (PBLWorks, 2019).
45
While PBL appears to be a meaningful and growing approach to building 21
st
century
skills and capabilities in a variety of contexts, one of the challenges to its success is teacher
development and enabling teachers to foster learning in a PBL setting.
Teacher Development
As stated in the McKinsey Report, “The quality of education system cannot exceed the
quality of its teachers” (Barber & Mourshed, 2007). According to Canaleta et al. (2014), the
traditional teaching model is essentially based on the action of the teacher, with the student
taking a passive role, mostly limited to listening and taking notes (Canaleta, Vernet, Vicent, &
Montero, 2014). Teachers are generally educated and trained under traditional teaching models
from past decades and are neither adequately aware nor ready with the skills to create a 21
st

century teaching environment for their students’ learning (Kai Chu et al., 2017, p. 109).
Increased focus has been placed on the development of teachers and their capacity to build a
learning environment for their students to effectively foster students’ development of 21
st
century
skills (Kai Chu et al., 2017, p. 109). Most teachers in current systems of education were exposed
to a traditional model of teaching as children in their systems of education and were taught under
a model of teacher-directed, as opposed to student-directed, instruction in their teacher training
programs. This can lead to challenges in moving from a more traditional teaching model into a
PBL curricular approach (Barab & Luehmann, 2003).
Canaleta et al. (2014) state that in the teaching-learning binomial, the traditional teaching
model is based on teaching, while the current model focuses its attention on learning (Canaleta et
al., 2014). According to Blackbourn et al. (2011), our current best professional practices have
failed to produce teachers of the quality necessary to meet the demands of the new millennium
(Blackbourn et al., 2011). Kai Chu et al. (2017) recommend that teachers should mentally
46
prepare themselves for adopting 21
st
-century teaching skills prior to actual changes, so as to
professionally identify and engage in corresponding teaching roles with the use of technology
and a collaborative network. This is a process that will also require new expectations through the
development of standards around expectations of what students should be doing in the classroom
to facilitate the development of 21
st
-century skills, from which teachers can develop teaching
strategies that facilitate the learning process (Kai Chu et al., 2017, p. 117).
According to Blackbourn et al. (2011), for PBL work, the teachers have to become self-
directed in their learning, and the pedagogical style must be student-centered with faculty
facilitation. The facilitator, in essence, becomes a coach by modeling and prompting self-
assessment questions (Blackbourn et al., 2011). Blackbourn et al. (2011) advise that teachers
avoid the temptation to lecture and direct. Larmer et al. (2015) state planning a project takes
more time and more thought about how all the parts connect; it is not a straightforward process
which can also challenge teachers.
As PBL expands as an accepted model of learning, standards are being developed that
could help guide teachers in their curricula. One example of such standards is from the
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (Kai Chu et al., 2017, p. 110). ISTE
NETS established a set of standard for teachers and puts forward the following abilities required
of teachers in order to effectively teach 21
st
-century century skills: (a) to facilitate and inspire
student learning and creativity, (b) to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and
assessments, (c) to model digital-age work and learning, (d) to promote and model digital
citizenship and responsibility, and (e) to engage in professional growth and leadership.
Given the challenges facing teachers in adopting PBL approaches, the next section
examines the assumed teacher assets at HTH that have allowed teachers to effectively
47
incorporate project-based learning into their curriculum. These assets will be examined for this
study to better inform the work of others, including educators in Colombia, looking to
incorporate 21
st
-century skills development in their youth.
Teacher Knowledge, Motivation and Organizational Influences - Needs for Building 21
st
-
Century Skills for School-Age Children
The performance gap analysis proposed by Clark and Estes (2008) establishes three
important factors that must be examined in order to understand stakeholder capacity in a
comprehensive manner: workers’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences that
impact the performance of the organization. According to Clark and Estes (2008), for people to
performance well on a task, they need to know the how, what, when, why, where and who to
accomplish it; motivation is an internal process that involves choosing, persisting and investing
mental efforts to accomplishing a goal; and organizational barriers are the organizational
processes or resources that act against accomplishing your goals, including missing tools,
inadequate facilities or obsolete procedures. Clark and Estes (2008) identified that organizations
can bridge the gap between actual and desired performance by identifying the knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources people need to have. This section discusses knowledge,
motivation and organizational assets that may contribute to the success of HTH teachers in
developing students with 21
st
-century skills.
Knowledge Influences
Keeping students engaged in learning and motivated in school is a challenge for even the
most experienced teachers. Project-based learning has been presented as an effective alternative
in responding to these challenges (Basilotta Gómez-Pablos et al., 2017). As Bell (2010)
discusses, standardized tests only measure the specific content knowledge they are designed to
48
test, but they do not measure critical 21
st
-century skills that are integral to a student’s success.
PBL is a student-driven, teacher-facilitated approach to learning. Learners pursue knowledge by
asking questions that have piqued their natural curiosity (Bell, 2010). Teachers with appropriate
knowledge and skills to apply PBL curricula in their classrooms have a better chance of
supporting the achievement of student outcomes on standardized tests and on in-class work when
PBL is implemented (Moritz, 2018).
As proposed by Clark and Estes (2008) knowledge and skills are required for job
performance to accomplish their performance goals. Understanding and identifying teacher
mastery of the four dimensions of knowledge – factual, conceptual, procedural and
metacognitive– as proposed by Rueda (2011), is fundamental for understanding how effective
teaching occurs. With the right combination of these knowledge factors, teachers could assure
that a more accurate picture of learning is created, thus leading to more effective instruction in
terms of where knowledge gaps might lie (Rueda, 2011).
Krathwohl (2002) describes four types of knowledge: factual, conceptual, procedural and
metacognitive. Factual knowledge refers to discrete, isolated, content elements or “bits of
information” that individuals must know to be acquainted with a discipline. Conceptual
knowledge is the interrelationships among the basic elements within a larger structure that enable
them to function together. Procedural knowledge refers to how to do something, methods of
inquiry, and criteria for using skills, algorithms, techniques, and methods. Metacognitive
knowledge is knowledge of cognition in general as well as awareness and knowledge of one’s
own cognition (Krathwohl, 2002). As Rueda (2011) suggests, all four types of knowledge are
needed for effective performance. The following sections review literature that defines specific
knowledge influences that teachers at HTH need in order to design and implement PBL in their
49
classroom. To understand how teachers at HTH have effectively integrated PBL into their
curriculum, this study explored three of the above knowledge influences, namely, those
classified as conceptual, procedural and metacognitive.
Knowledge of PBL Key Features
PBL is not a supplementary activity to support learning; it is the basis of a curriculum
(Bell, 2010). Railsback (2002) defined project-based instruction as an authentic instructional
model or strategy in which students plan, implement, and evaluate projects that have real-world
applications beyond the classroom. The outcome of PBL is a greater understanding of a topic,
deeper learning, higher-level reading, and increased motivation to learn (Bell, 2010). PBL is an
instructional approach that encourages both students and teachers to dig deeply into a subject,
going beyond rote learning and grappling with the concepts fundamental to the subject and the
discipline (Larmer et al., 2015). PBL aims to develop not only the student’s understanding but
also their ability to use and apply that understanding in the future. The essential design elements
in PBL are as follows: (a) a challenging problem or question, (b) sustained inquiry, (c)
authenticity, (d) student voice and choice, (e) reflection, (f) critique and revision, and (g) a public
product (Larmer et al., 2015). This study examined how teachers at HTH have gained
knowledge of key features of PLB to empower them in their classrooms.
Knowledge of PBL Key Benefits When Compared to a Traditional Curriculum
Keeping children engaged and motivated in school is challenging, even for the most
experienced teachers. Although it is difficult to prescribe a “one-size-fits-all” approach, research
shows that there are practices that will generally encourage students to be more engaged
(Railsback, 2002). According to Basilotta et al. (2017), it is not enough to settle for a school
instilling basic and fragmented knowledge through simple and repetitive activities. Some studies
50
suggest that a more effective educational approach is a school where varied and complex
activities that cater to the different interests, abilities, and needs of students are carried out on a
daily basis.
In the face of a cumulative and fragmentary treatment of a curriculum that is difficult to
understand, project-based work has emerged as a process that is capable of lightening the
curriculum and encouraging proactive attitudes without compromising knowledge and basic
skills (Basilotta Gómez-Pablos et al., 2017). Bell’s (2010) work discusses different studies where
schools in different cities adopted PBL, compared the results of the students who took a
standardized test, and concluded that the performance of students that studied under PBL was
higher on the tests compared to the standards of the district, city or state. As stated by Railsback
(2002), there are more than 20 years of research that support engagement and motivation lead to
high achievement.
The PBL approach allows students to select the topics that are interesting and relevant to
them. PBL is a key strategy for creating independent thinkers and learners. Children solve real-
world problems by designing their own inquires, planning their learning, organizing their
research, and implementing a multitude of learning strategies. Students flourish under this child-
driven, motivating approach to learning and gain valuable skills that build a strong foundation
for their future in our global economy (Bell, 2010). Railsback (2002) listed the benefits of PBL
based on research, including preparing children for the workplace, increasing motivation,
connecting learning at school with reality, providing collaborative opportunities to construct
knowledge, increasing social and communication skills, increasing problem-solving skills,
enabling students to make and see connections among disciplines, providing opportunities to
contribute to their school or community, increasing self-esteem, allowing children to use their
51
individual learning strengths and diverse approaches to learning, and providing a practical, real-
world way to learn to use technology (Railsback, 2002). This study explored how HTH teachers
see the key benefits of PBL when compared to a traditional curriculum and how they have
gained that knowledge and use it as an asset in their classrooms.
Knowledge of How to Implement PBL in a Curriculum
Railsback (2002) proposed essential elements for structuring projects effectively,
stressing that there are multiple ways to implement PBL; however, there are three points to be
considered when designing effective projects. First, it is important to outline the goals of the
project for everyone involved so that they are clear. This includes defining the situation or
problem, the purpose and description, performance specifications, rules, list of project
participants with roles assigned and assessment mechanisms. The second is identifying learning
goals and objectives that will be achieved. To accomplish this task, the teacher must answer the
next set of questions: what important cognitive skills do I want my students to develop? What
social and affective skills do I want my students to develop? What metacognitive skills do I want
my students to develop? What type of problems do I want my students to be able to solve? What
concepts and principles do I want my students to be able to apply? The third is assessing the
project and the work around it. Before determining what assessment strategies work, the teacher
needs to determine what the purpose of the assessment is, achievement or diagnosis and
improvement (Railsback, 2002).
In turn, Capraro (2013) proposed four design principles for PBL. First, making content
accessible, by allowing learners to engage in problems, examples, and contexts that connect new
ideas to personally relevant prior knowledge, and grounded in three pragmatic pedagogical
dimensions: building on students’ ideas, use of the personally relevant problems, and scaffolding
52
inquiry. The second one refers to making thinking visible, and meaning grounded in how ideas
are connected, includes three pragmatic pedagogical dimensions: modeling scientific thinking,
scaffolding students to make their thinking visible, and providing multiple representations. The
third one, helping students learn from others, is grounded in social constructivism, cooperative
learning, and communities of learners, and includes four pedagogical dimensions: encouraging
listening to others, designing discussion, highlighting cultural norms, and employing multiple
social structures. And the fourth one, promoting autonomy and lifelong learning, is grounded in
metacognition and inquiry and includes four pragmatic pedagogical principles: encouraging
monitoring, providing complex projects, revisiting and generalizing the inquiry process, and
scaffolding critique (Capraro & Slough, 2013).
Lamer et al. (2015) described the role of the teacher in PBL as a facilitator, a coach, a
conductor; the guide on the side, not the sage on the stage (Larmer et al., 2015, p. 45). It is
possible to think that teachers do not teach in PBL, but Larmer (2015) clarified the role of the
teacher as a content expert, a mentor, a motivator, and an assessor of learning. They engage
students in scaffolding conversations and monitor the progress of the project. They devise new
resources and provide coaching. They build the classroom culture that supports PBL. They act as
instructional designers and project managers (Larmer et al., 2015, p. 46). This study explored the
teachers’ specific PBL-related knowledge and skills that allowed HTH teachers to effectively
implement PBL into their curriculum as an asset.
Knowledge of How to Design Projects That Integrate the Different Areas of the Curriculum
Larmer (2015) suggests that for optimizing PBL, the content of the ideas for a project
needs to be aligned with the academic standards adopted by the school early on to help ensure
that it targets content and understandings worth knowing, and that students’ time will be well
53
spent (Larmer et al., 2015). Aligning means making sure the products of the students will require
the knowledge and skills laid out in the academic standards. Railsback (2002) explains that
cross-curriculum projects allow students to see how knowledge and skills are connected in the
workplace, and this type of project demands support from the principal, starting early and being
clear about alignment of content to standards. This study explored how HTH teachers work to
design effective projects that integrate the different areas of the curriculum while aligning them
to content standards.
Knowledge of How to Reflect on Own Effectiveness in Implementing PBL
Krathwohl (2002) described metacognitive knowledge as including knowledge of general
strategies that may be used for different tasks, the conditions under which these strategies may be
used, the extent to which the strategies are effective, and self-knowledge. The knowledge
gleaned from the ability to reflect on one’s own thinking process, behavior, skills, and
understanding is known as metacognitive knowledge (Atwell, 2018). Since teachers need to
constantly evaluate the quality of their instruction and strategically use feedback from student
performance with respect to learning goals (Moritz, 2018), it is important that teachers engage in
self-reflective practice. Self-awareness can be applied to teachers as they learn how to implement
new teaching styles. This study examined how teachers at HTH reflect on their effectiveness and
use that reflection to continuously improve their instruction.
Table 2 presents the assumed teachers’ knowledge assets explored in this study.

54
Table 2
Assumed Knowledge Assets
Assumed Knowledge Assets Knowledge Type
Knowledge of PBL key features Declarative (Factual)

Knowledge of PBL key benefits when compared to
traditional curriculum

Declarative (Conceptual)
Knowledge of how to implement PBL in a curriculum Procedural

Procedural

Knowledge of how to design projects that integrate the
different areas of the curriculum

Knowledge of how to reflect on their own effectiveness in
implementing PBL

Metacognitive

Motivation Influences
Human beings are made of two very distinct yet cooperating psychological systems:
knowledge and motivation. Knowledge dictates how to do things. Clark and Estes (2008)
propose a definition of motivation as the force for getting things done, the effort to be made on a
work task, and being moved to take action (Clark & Estes, 2008). It is important to understand
motivation because someone may know how to do something, but may not want to do it or
believe they can succeed (Rueda, 2011). Motivation is an internal state that initiates and
maintains goal-directed behavior. Motivation has four components: it is personal, activating,
energizing, and directed (Mayer, 2011). Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic, and conscious or
unconscious. Intrinsic motivation derives from personal interest, satisfaction, or pleasure, while
extrinsic motivation comes from external reinforcement (Atwell, 2018).
The following section reviews the relevant literature on motivation influences that are
assumed to affect teachers’ ability to implement PBL in their classroom. The two main theories
addressed are the expectancy-value theory and self-efficacy theory.
55
Teacher Perception of PBL as an Effective Approach to Supporting Student Achievement
This influence is linked to the expectancy-value theory, associated with the work of
Atkinson (1964) and Eccles and Wigfield (2000, 2002) (Savolainen, 2012). The theory deals
with an individual’s belief regarding the likelihood of success in completing a task. Expectancy
of outcome is externally oriented; it does not depend on an individual’s self-judgment regarding
capability. The locus of control resides outside the person (Savolainen, 2012); an individual must
want to do a task in order to commit to and optimize engagement. Optimal engagement also
includes knowing that they can perform the task at hand as this will enhance the continued effort
that individuals will apply over the long term to achieve the goal (Moritz, 2018). This study
explored HTH teachers’ perceptions of PBL as an effective approach to supporting student
achievement and how this motivates them in their work.
Teacher Self-Efficacy About Implementing PBL
Self-efficacy, associated with the work of Albert Bandura, is defined as “people’s
judgment of their capabilities to organize and execute the course of action required to attain
designated levels of performances” (Rueda, 2011, p. 39). The most influential source of self-
efficacy is individuals’ own previous performance on the task, with success raising and failure
lowering self-efficacy, recognizing that making progress towards one’s goals can validate your
initial sense of self-efficacy and maintain your behavior as you move toward goal attainment
(Dembo & Seli, 2016). In education, students and teachers with comparable skills and
knowledge may behave differently depending on whether they expect to succeed at a task. Self-
efficacy impacts how a person approaches a goal and the extent of challenge he or she is willing
to undertake (Atwell, 2018). For teachers to succeed in designing, implementing, and teaching
56
the PBL model, they need to feel confident enough in their ability to implement project-based
learning. This study explored how this self-efficacy was gained among teachers at HTH.
Teacher Mastery Orientation About Implementing PBL
As Rueda (2011) discusses, a goal is something that individuals want to achieve. Goal
orientation theory looks at the reasons behind an individual’s disposition toward developing or
validating one’s ability in achieving a goal. Goal orientation is defined as a pattern of beliefs that
represent different ways of approaching, engaging in, and responding to achievement situation
(Rueda, 2011, p. 43). Mastery orientation allows the individual to be successful because it
motivates them to succeed for the sake of achieving a proficiency. Teachers will benefit from a
focus on continuous improvement of PBL implementation, in other words, from a mastery
orientation related to their implementation of PBL. This study explored the mastery orientation
of HTH teachers and how it has served as an asset in effective PBL implementation.
Table 3 presents the assumed teachers’ motivation assets explored in this study
Table 3
Assumed Motivation Assets

Organizational Influences
In addition to knowledge and motivation influences on performance, organizational
influences are critical. According to Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001), an institution’s culture
can be analyzed based on its cultural settings and cultural models. Cultural models are the often
Motivation Construct Assumed Motivation Assets
Utility Value Utility Value – Teacher perception of PBL as an effective
approach to supporting student achievement
Self-Efficacy Self-Efficacy – Teachers self-efficacy about
implementing PBL
Goal Orientation Goal Orientation – Teachers mastery orientation about
implementing PBL
57
invisible features that enable an understanding of the organization and its stakeholders’
behavioral, cognitive and affective components, what is valued and ideal, what settings should be
enacted and avoided, who should participate, and the rules and interactions and the purpose of
interactions (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). The development of cultural models is a process
that takes time and is a collective construction by transmitted information and shared
experiences. Cultural settings, on the other hand, are visible and concrete manifestations of
cultural models. Cultural settings include the organizational structure and resources to
accomplish the tasks, and the social context in which the teachers’ work is performed (Gallimore
& Goldenberg, 2001). Organizations commonly make changes in cultural settings to produce
changes in the cultural model. Both cultural models and settings affect the effectiveness of an
organization and were looked at in this study in terms of how they support PBL and teachers in
implementing PBL at HTH.
A Culture of Collaboration Around the PBL Model
Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) describe the cultural model as a tool for the mind that
an institution represents. Educators benefit from time for collaborative planning and thinking
(Barab & Luehmann, 2003). However, complex schedules and competing demands often prevent
the creation of an organizational culture where meaningful collaboration is possible. Larmer
(2015) described the importance of collaboration not only among students, but also among
teachers, specifically if they are implementing cross-curriculum projects, which are a key feature
of PBL. This study explored how HTH has created a culture of collaboration among teachers.
58
A Strategic Platform (Vision, Mission, Values) to Support Students for Postsecondary Success
and Productive Citizenship
PBL is a new concept, and, therefore, the institution has to clearly establish its purpose to
all stakeholders; otherwise, they will be left in the dark (Yeo, 2005). Similarly, Camacho, Coto
and Jorgensen (2018) assert that each process of change to problem-based learning is unique, and
that culture and contextual issues play an important role in the process and its results (Camacho,
Coto, & Jørgensen, 2018). As Railsback (2002) discusses, the principal’s support in a cross-
curriculum design is fundamental to achieve the goals of PBL. When Railsback uses the term
‘principal,’ he is not only referring to the person who is in charge, but also to a broader support
from the institution. Yeo (2005) recommends strategic communication of PBL objectives and
rationale to all students and teachers, as well as regular dialogue, feedback, and sharing through
effective communication channels to disseminate information. This study examined teachers’
perceptions around how HTH’s leadership has established a PBL-aligned strategic platform as
manifested in the school’s vision, mission and values.
Clear Goals and Accountability Around Implementing PBL
Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001) describe cultural settings and cultural models as
analytically distinct, even though they are manifestly interconnected, and argue that it is difficult
to establish the primacy of one or the other. In the case of HTH, as a charter school led by the
same standards applying to all other schools in the SDUSD, they have to achieve the same goals
as other schools concerning student achievement and they are accountable to those goals. This
cultural setting is at the intersection of HTH and the community and the school district. This
study examined how HTH sets goals and standards and guarantees that students meet the high
standards set by the district and the community within a PBL model.
59
Clear Structures and Processes to Implement the PBL Model
In the case of HTH, this cultural setting focused on what some possible features in the
operational process that support the PBL model are, in contrast with the organizational settings
of a traditional school. Research suggests that process management is a crucial consideration in
maintaining an intrinsic PBL structure, leading to greater connectivity in the learning cycles
(Yeo, 2005). As Yeo (2005) describes it, effective planning of timetable to optimize and balance
up lesson loads, appropriate scheduling of PBL lessons to complement the syllabi, and timely
provision of resources including online material and laboratory facilities, are some of the
challenges to face when an institution changes to the PBL model. According to a study
conducted by Baer (2014), two of the main challenges to the implementation of PBL are the lack
of time for planning or organization of the PBL unit and lack of administrative and faculty
support, mentioned by 60% and 32% of the participants, respectively (Baer, 2014). The present
study looked at key features in HTH’s operational processes, including the structure of the
teaching day, and time allocated to teachers for planning.
Table 4 presents the teachers’ organizational assets explored in this study
Table 4
Assumed Organizational Assets

Organizational
Influence Category
Assumed Organizational Assets

Cultural Model Influence 1 A culture of collaboration around the PBL model.
Cultural Model Influence 2 A strategic platform (vision, mission, values) to support their
students for postsecondary success and productive citizenship
Cultural Setting Influence 1 Clear goals and accountability around PBL.
Cultural Setting Influence 2 Clear Structures and processes to implement the PBL model.
60
Conclusion
This chapter provided an overview of the literature on changes in the global labor market
including the drivers of change, how the market has changed worldwide, the Colombian labor
market and educational system, the 21
st
-century skills needed for our youth to thrive, and PBL as
one model to develop those skills. The chapter then turned to identifying possible HTH teachers’
knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets that support the performance of PBL at HTH.
The next chapter discusses in detail the methodological approach employed in this study to
understand the HTH teacher assets and their relevance for other schools looking to embrace PBL
practices.
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CHAPTER THREE: METHODS
It was essential to study HTH as a promising practice because schools are intended to
educate citizens with 21st-century skills and competencies to meet labor market needs and allow
students to thrive. This is particularly true in Colombia, where both youth unemployment and
school dropout rates are high, and there is an attempt to develop the economy and schooling in
new ways (Planeación, 2 de Mayo de 2016). Studying promising practices in schools which
develop 21
st
-century skills in students can help develop new models of schooling globally.
The purpose of this project was to study HTH performance related to a more significant
problem of practice: the lack of schooling that focuses on students’ 21
st
-century skills
development in Colombia. While a complete study would focus on all stakeholders, for practical
purposes, HTH teachers were the stakeholders on which this study was focused. The analysis
particularly focused on the teachers’ assets in the areas of knowledge and skill, motivation, and
organizational resources.
As such, the questions that guided the promising practice study were the following
1. What knowledge and motivation assets do HTH teachers possess in terms of
incorporating the PBL model to develop 21
st
-century skills?
2. What is the interaction between organizational culture and context and stakeholder
knowledge and motivation?
3. What practices related to the areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational
resources may be transferable to other organizations looking to solve this problem of
practice?
This research project was conducted following a qualitative design. As Merriam and
Tisdell (2016) suggest, this type of design allows understanding the meaning people have
62
constructed. The main data collection was based on interviews, documents analysis and informal
observation. As Creswell (2018) suggests, the interview involved unstructured and generally
open-ended questions that are few in number and intended to elicit views and opinions from the
participants (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Interviews are a process in which a researcher and
participant engage in conversation focused on questions related to a research study (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). During the process of research, the investigator collected public and private
documents that allowed them to obtain the language and words of participants (Creswell &
Creswell, 2018). The interview was triangulated with HTH’s public and private documents
obtained from the teachers and which were integrated into the research.
Participating Stakeholders
In order to create a new school with a PBL model in Medellin, Colombia, it is necessary
to understand the role and assets each of the different stakeholders contributes to achieving
HTH’s organizational performance goals. While all stakeholders have an essential part in the life
of the school and its achievements, the stakeholders of focus for this study were the teachers. The
teachers are implementing an innovative model of education and are interacting closely with the
students to observe and guide their development day-to-day. Understanding the assets they offer
to the accomplishments of the school will help build teacher capabilities to support a model of
PBL in Medellin. HTH has a total of 13 schools distributed in different areas of San Diego, four
elementary schools, four middle schools, and five high schools. From the total population of 347
teachers, as presented in Table 5, seven participants were selected.

63
Table 5
Teacher Distribution in High Tech High
School level/
/Type of teacher
Full Credential Without
Credential
Outside subject School Directors
Elementary 91 12 1 4
Middle 46 16 10 4
High 131 19 21 5
Total 268 47 32 13
(School Accountability Report Card, 2017).
Interview Sampling Criterion and Rationale
The population identified for this study was all teachers from different HTH schools. The
original methodology proposed for this dissertation project was cluster sampling, with three
clusters defined, one for each level of education, elementary, middle, and high school. Cluster
sampling was selected with the aim of understanding the assets in each level of education. For
selection from this population, two criteria were proposed. First, teachers with more than five
years of experience and at least three years teaching in HTH were to be selected. And, second,
teachers at each school from different grade levels would be selected. The research plan was to
interview teachers selected among those who met the criteria.
In practice, the researcher was provided access to a select group of teachers who were
participating in the HTH District Intern Program at the Graduate School of Education. This
included four teachers of different levels of instruction, including middle and high school
teachers; two of whom also train teachers to teach under the PBL model. The researcher also had
access to two of the principals of the Graduate School of Education in charge of training teachers
for HTH and other schools in California. These six participants had between four and 17 years of
experience at HTH. A senior leader was also interviewed. This group of participants enabled the
researcher to have in-depth conversations around how teachers implement PBL at different levels
64
of education, how teachers integrate different academic areas into a project, and what training is
required for teachers to perform confidently in PBL. Each interview lasted approximately 60
minutes.
Data Collection and Instrumentation
Data collection was primarily focused on informal interviews, documents, and artifacts.
The interview questions were the primary method of collecting information on HTH teacher
knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences in order to establish the assets of HTH
teachers in these areas. The researcher also searched through HTH’s webpages for public
documents that could support the research questions. Also, the researcher asked for documents
which could support the answers of the interviewees. The original methodology included
informal observation of one teacher’s classroom from each cluster, but the researcher did not
have the authorization to visit the classrooms.
Interviews
Merriam and Tisdell (2016) explain that interviewing is necessary when we cannot
observe behavior, feelings, or how people interpret the world around them or we cannot observe
how people have organized the world and meanings they attach to what goes on in the world.
According to Merriam and Tisdell (2016), there are three types of interviews: highly structured,
semi-structured, and unstructured interviews. The decision of which is the best approach to
follow depends on different factors such as the knowledge the researcher has of the phenomenon
to study, or the type of information the researcher wants to gather. The semi-structured interview
is more open-ended and less structured, assuming the participant responses define the world in
unique ways (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
65
The interviewer requested for interviewee’s permission to record the interview to make it
accurate. The transcription was kept confidential and destroyed once its accuracy had been
established. During the interview, the researcher requested the validation of the responses to
mitigate the biases of the researcher. The researcher also asked for public and private documents
supporting the interviewees’ answers. Five interviews took place at the HTH facilities, in a
comfortable and private space and two was made online. The interview was semi-structured
because each teacher has a unique perspective, allowing the researcher to point out or go deeper
into the aspects that were essential for the project. The semi-structured interview allowed the
researcher to respond to the situation at hand, to the emerging worldview from the respondent,
and to new ideas on the topic (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Documents and Artifacts
Documents and artifacts are ready-made data sources easily accessible to the imaginative
and resourceful investigator. These types of data can exist in both a physical setting and an
online setting. The term ‘document’ is used as an umbrella term referring to a wide range of
written, visual, digital, and physical materials relevant to the study (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
During data collection, the researcher looked into public and personal documents related
to the influences of knowledge, motivation, and organizational supports to help understand the
assets of HTH. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) describe public documents as an ongoing record of
society’s activities. For this project, the researcher searched public documents such as any report
that would be related to academic foundations, policies, administrative organization,
accountability reports, research studies, or any other type of document that was in the interest of
the goals of the project. Personal documents such as lesson plans, class notes, projects, or other
documents that teachers provided were also included. Merriam and Tisdell (2016) consider
66
personal documents as a good source of data concerning a person’s attitudes, beliefs, and views
of the world; however, it is important to understand that personal documents are also highly
subjective (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Merriam and Tisdell (2016) suggest that documents offer
a wide array of opportunities to collect data to garner participants’ perspective and ways of
making meaning from personal experiences. The interviews provided information about the
knowledge of the teachers related to PBL in the different phases of planning, teaching, and
evaluating.
Triangulation of data through documents reduces the risk that conclusions will reflect
only the biases of one specific method, and allows the researcher to gain a more secure
understanding of the issues under investigation (Maxwell, 2013). The documents collected or
provided by interviewees permitted the researcher to compare the answers given in the interview
and the findings in the documents. As Maxwell (2013) mentions, the researcher considered that
interviews, questionnaires, and documents are all vulnerable to self-report bias, therefore
emphasizing the need to recognize the fallibility of any particular method or data, and triangulate
in terms of validity threats (Maxwell, 2013).
Data Analysis
For interviews and documents, data analysis began during data collection. The researcher
wrote analytic memos after each interview. During the process of data collection, the researcher
documented the thoughts, concerns, and initial conclusions around the conceptual framework
and the research questions. Once the researcher left the field, interviews were transcribed and
coded. In the first phase of analysis, the researcher used open coding, looking for empirical codes
and applying a priori codes from the conceptual framework. The second phase of analysis was
conducted where empirical and prior codes were aggregated into analytic/axial codes. In the third
67
phase of data analysis, the researcher identified patterns and themes that emerged about the
conceptual framework and study questions.
The researcher assessed the authenticity of the documents and artifacts, in terms of the
author, date, places, and any information which provided validated trust in the evidence. The
online documents collected were validated following the same principles. Once the documents
or artifacts were validated, the researcher proceeded to code and catalog them and conduct the
content analysis (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Once the interviews and documents and artifacts were analyzed, the findings, pattern
codes, and themes that emerge were triangulated and compared. An example of the triangulation
was between what the teacher said was the design of the projects, and the documents provided to
the students to develop the projects. Another example was triangulating the expected project
outcomes with documents provided to students and examples of their work.
Credibility and Trustworthiness
Ensuring validity and reliability in qualitative research involves conducting the
investigation in an ethical manner (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). As Maxwell (2013) describes it,
methods and procedures do not guarantee validity; they are nonetheless essential to the process
of ruling out validity threats and increasing the credibility of one’s conclusions. Maxwell
provides a list of strategies that can be used for this purpose, including intensive, long-term
involvement; rich data; respondent validation; searching for discrepant evidence and negative
cases; triangulation; and comparison (Maxwell, 2013).
In order to enhance credibility and trustworthiness, the research methodology prioritized
a rich data strategy. Maxwell (2013) emphasizes that in order to obtain data full of precise
detail, interviews should be transcribed verbatim, not just notes on what the researcher felt was
68
significant (Maxwell, 2013). To mitigate the bias of the research, the strategy of respondent
validation was used to ask for feedback and to clarify points which could be interpreted
differently in another context. As Maxwell (2013) proposed, it is a systematic way of soliciting
feedback on your data and conclusions from the people you are studying. This comparison
strategy was included in this project to contribute to the interpretability of the results (Maxwell,
2013).
The researcher has experience in higher education and a background in computer science,
as well as minimal experience in a K-12 institution. In addition, the researcher has extensive
experience in the development of online programs and engaging information and
communications technologies in education programs in both higher education and corporate
training. This previous background and the experience of the researcher can influence or lead to
misunderstanding of the findings. The different context and the experience of the researcher
could be a bias to misinterpreting or misunderstanding the information provided. To mitigate this
effect, the researcher had reviewed the literature of K-12 schools and PBL, learned the
terminology, and conducted respondent validation.
Ethics
This promising practice study required document analysis and interviews. The
stakeholders selected were teachers and administrators. The researcher adopted the IRB code of
ethics which states that any human participant will have sufficient information to make an
informed decision about participating in a project; and the information will remain confidential
or receive recognition depending on the wishes of the participants (Glesne, 1999). The researcher
endeavored to ensure that the research did not harm the safety, dignity, and privacy of the
participants. The interviewees were informed of the importance of the study, limitations and
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voluntary participation, confidentiality, and ability to opt out at any time verbally and by writing.
In addition to this, the researcher asked for authorization to record before beginning. Each
participant was informed that the recorded data would be destroyed immediately after its
transcription and that no identifying data would be attached to their records. All data were
secured in an encrypted file on a password-protected computer. In case that documents or
artifacts were found on the internet, the researcher worked to assess the authenticity of the data
sources (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
As the main investigator in this case study, the researcher’s role was to conduct an asset
analysis of knowledge, motivation, and organizational support at HTH to determine how a new
school in Medellin, Colombia could model PBL practices and support future teachers to design,
implement, and assess PBL curricula for their classrooms. The researcher has no past or current
affiliation with HTH, either formally or informally, beyond two visits to the school, the first in
April 2018, and the second in February 2019.
Limitations and Delimitations
All research studies have weaknesses, and it is important to understand them in order to
facilitate the interpretation of the findings. This study contains both limitations and delimitations.
The limitations are, for the most part, constructs outside of the researcher’s control. This includes
how the interviewees responded to the questions presented and the truthfulness in their
responses. This limitation was partially addressed by assuring confidentiality in data collection
and conducting member checks. Delimitations, on the other hand, are based on intentional
choices the research made, meaning that they are elements within the research study over which
the researcher has control. These are choices made by the researcher based on time and resource
constraints of the study, and the burden placed on the organization. This study was delimited to
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evaluate only one organization, to understand the performance of this organization. The results
cannot be generalized across the population of all K-12 schools, but only suggest applications to
schools with similar models as HTH’s that are attempting to implement PBL into their
curriculum. Time also delimited the study as did access to documents or artifacts that HTH was
willing to supply.
Finally, a full promising practice analysis would evaluate the contributions of all
stakeholders to the school’s success in implementing the PBL model at HTH to improve
students’ 21
st
-century skills. This dissertation project examined only one key stakeholder group,
that of teachers. Teachers’ knowledge and motivation, their views and prior experiences,
organizational assets and ongoing needs, may not reflect those of other stakeholder groups.
Access to teachers from different academic areas was not possible because the participation of
teachers was completely voluntary: they were recruited by means of a general invitation from
HTH. The researcher only had access to the teachers that voluntarily accepted to participate in
the study. Nonetheless, the study allowed the deeper understanding of knowledge, motivation
and organization assets present at HTH.
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CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS
The purpose of this promising practice study was to examine HTH teachers’ knowledge,
motivation, and organizational resources for teaching under a PBL model. Data for the study
were collected through interviews and document analysis.
Assumed assets on performance were identified in Chapter Two through an in-depth
literature review. Chapter Three provided the conceptual framework as well as the methodology
plan for this study. This chapter presents a discussion of the results and findings of the study
organized by assumed teacher knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets as they relate to
the conceptual framework of the study. The following three questions guided the promising
practice study:
1. What knowledge and motivation assets do HTH teachers possess in terms of
incorporating a PBL model to develop 21
st
-century skills?
2. What is the interaction between organizational culture and context and
stakeholder knowledge and motivation?
3. What practices related to the areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational
resources may be transferable to other organizations looking to incorporate a PBL
model of instruction?
Research questions one and two are addressed in this chapter, and research question three
is addressed in Chapter 5.
Participants
The participants for the study were members of the teacher stakeholder group at HTH. As
outlined in Chapter Three, a total of six participants from the participant pool of teachers were
interviewed as well as one senior leader. In order to protect their identities, the participants have
72
been assigned pseudonyms and referred to with gender-neutral pronouns. Three of the
participants had experience in teaching at HTH and other schools while two of them only had
teaching experience through HTH; in addition, one of them had experience in the industrial
sector before moving to the education sector. The participants had experience teaching in middle
and high school. Four of the teachers had participated in the HTH District Intern Program, as
described below.
Table 6
Participant Characteristics
Participant Total years
of
experience
Years of
experience in
HTH
Only HTH or Other
Institutions and
HTH
Grades
Teacher #1 20 17 Both 6
Teacher #2 15 12 Both Master
Teacher #3 16 11 Both 9, 10, 11, 12
Teacher #4 8 8 HTH, Industry 8, Math, Chemistry
Teacher #5 3 3 HTH 9, 12 Math and Science
Teacher #6 4 4 HTH 12, Academic coach
Senior Leader +40 22 HTH, Other PhD, Master
Findings
The findings of this study revealed themes that emerged as they relate to teacher
knowledge, motivation and organizational assets for PBL. Interview findings were triangulated
with HTH District Intern Program curriculum documents. The HTH District Intern Program is a
job-embedded teacher preparation program authorized by the California Commission on Teacher
Credentialing. The HTH District Intern Program is guided by four principles – equity,
personalization, authentic work, and collaborative design – that set aspirational goals and create
a foundation for understanding the HTH approach. The first year of the program is comprised of
seven courses with 13.5 units in total, and the second year has five courses with a total of 10.5
units.
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The researcher collected 11 course syllabi from the HTH District Intern Program. A
syllabus is a document that communicates information about a specific course and defines the
expectations and responsibilities of teachers and students; in this case, it is particularly important
for understanding the skills and competencies expected from the teachers. The objective of
having access to the syllabi of the courses was to connect what the teachers stated they are doing
in the classroom to what is reflected in the syllabi. The researcher also collected one of the
teacher’s reflection portfolios, where different projects used to teach their students were
uploaded. On this portfolio, the teacher explained each project, presented the lesson plan,
described the process, provided examples of some of the students’ works and reflected on what
worked well and what could be improved. This visual document is noted in discussions below as
teacher #5 reflection portfolio.
The study participants had varying years of experience and had taught at different
school-levels at HTH, as it was important to try and obtain a broad perspective of teacher
experiences. Even though their individual experiences as employees of the organization showed
some differences, together their insights about HTH teacher development offered a full picture of
this process.
Knowledge-Related Findings
Knowledge of PBL is a critical factor in the implementation of this model in classrooms
throughout the school. As proposed by Clark and Estes (2008), determining individuals’
knowledge related to their work functions is fundamental to understanding their performance.
According to Moritz (2018), teachers with appropriate knowledge and skills to apply PBL
curricula in their classroom have a better chance of supporting the achievement of student
outcomes when PBL is implemented.
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This section details the findings related to teachers’ knowledge assets to implement a
PBL model in their classrooms. Each assumed asset was addressed in the interviews and
triangulated with the documents provided. Table 7 summarizes each assumed knowledge asset
and whether it was validated as a knowledge asset among those interviewed. To be validated as
an asset, it was necessary that 75% of participants made a clear and precise reference according
to the literature and training received. The findings presented in the table will be discussed in
depth below.
Table 7
Summary of Assumed Motivation Assets
Knowledge
Category
Assumed Knowledge Assets Current Asset Continuing Need
Declarative
(Factual)
Knowledge of PBL key features Ö
Declarative
(Conceptual)
Knowledge of PBL key benefits when
compared to traditional curriculum
Ö
Procedural Knowledge of how to implement PBL
in a curriculum
Ö
Knowledge of how to design projects
that integrate the different areas of the
curriculum

Ö

Metacognitive Knowledge of how to reflect on their
own effectiveness in implementing
PBL
Ö

Knowledge of PBL Key Features
The literature defines PBL as an authentic instructional model or strategy in which
students plan, implement, and evaluate projects that have real-world applications beyond the
classroom (Railsback, 2002). According to Ball (2010), PBL involves a greater understanding of
a topic, deeper learning, higher-level reading, and increased motivation to learn. The essential
design elements in PBL are as follows: (a) a challenging problem or question, (b) sustained
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inquiry, (c) authenticity, (d) student voice and choice, (e) reflection, (f) critique and revision, and
(g) a public product (Larmer et al., 2015).
The first assumed knowledge asset of HTH teachers included in this study was
knowledge of PBL key features. In the interview, teachers were asked about the key features of
PBL, and this question provided insight into the teachers’ understanding of PBL. All six
participants interviewed presented an understanding of the key features of PBL. Participants’
answers aligned with the literature review on key elements of PBL as presented in this study.
Railsback (2002) claims one important PBL feature is that students face real-world
applications. To this point, Teacher 1 said: “… So they know their work is meaningful to them,
to a wider community, and that there’s an authentic audience and purpose for it; that they will
create something of value to be shared publicly.” In support of this, the description of the
ED544.4 Science Methods course from the Intern HTH program states that in the course,
“Through the design of open-ended, student-centered, constructivist learning experiences,
including but not limited to PBL, participants will investigate how to integrate authentic
teaching, learning and assessment of foundational skills, such as reading, writing and numeracy.”
Teacher 6 stressed the significance of projects in the educational process when they stated, “The
idea is that the project will be like the tool that we get to use to teach them these skills, for many
people, they consider them like the soft skills or the 21
st
-century skills, where it’s like, well, we
can collaborate, working together, teamwork, group work, all of that.”
Teacher 2 referred to the importance of presenting the project publicly, in line with
Larmer, Mergendoller, and Boss’s (2015) proposal, and stated, “One of the big questions that,
you know, teachers usually ask themselves in designing a project is, who’s the audience?”
Regarding students’ involvement in PBL, Teacher 5 argued that “They can get involved in a
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professional working environment and develop relationships and skills because we’re not just
focused on them sitting in class and listening to someone.” In the TED 543 Teaching & Learning
1 course, the competencies to be developed are outlined as follows: “Teaching Performance
Expectations: Applying student knowledge, including their prior experiences, interests, and
social-emotional learning needs, as well as their pools of knowledge and cultural, linguistic, and
socioeconomic backgrounds, to engage them in learning.” Under the planning and preparation
section of the Teacher #5 reflection portfolio created for a project called “Along for the Glide,” it
mentions,
I knew we’d build both kites and gliders as we learned about aeronautical physics and
students applied their knowledge. For the end product, I wanted them to create something
new. After some discussion about it with other teachers at my school, I settled on the
following key question: How might future challenges be managed, solved, or prevented
using airborne solutions?
Lamer (2015) describes PBL as an instructional approach that encourages both students
and teachers to dig deeply into a subject, going beyond rote learning and grappling with the
concepts fundamental to the subject and the discipline. Teacher 6 posited:
Project-based learning is much more about drafting and critique, and drafting and
critique, and the content just kind of like finds its way like water, it just fills the hole
naturally that your project is creating and the drafting critique, so by the end, you’re just
really, you’re just ready to exhibit, you’re well versed in whatever the project is,
whether it be art pieces, or some kind of like, panel or seminar that you have at
exhibition.
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Based on the evidence collected, the assumed teacher knowledge asset of PBL’s key
features was confirmed among the teachers participating in this research.
Knowledge of PBL´s Key Benefits When Compared to Traditional Curriculum
Research suggests that settling for a school instilling basic and fragmented knowledge
through simple and repetitive activities is not enough (Basilotta Gómez-Pablos et al., 2017). The
PBL approach allows students to select the topics that are interesting and relevant to them. PBL
is a key strategy for creating independent thinkers and learners. Children solve real-world
problems by designing their own inquires, planning their learning, organizing their research, and
implementing a multitude of learning strategies (Bell, 2010).
The second assumed knowledge asset of HTH teachers included in this study was
teachers’ knowledge of PBL key benefits when compared to traditional curriculum. Teachers
were asked in the interview to discuss the key benefits and challenges of PBL, and the reason for
teachers to engage in it. The six teachers mentioned the benefits compared to traditional
curriculum as discussed in the literature review.
According to Railsback (2002), keeping children engaged and motivated in school is
challenging; it is difficult to prescribe a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Supporting this idea,
Teacher 1 noted: “We’re personalizing learning and giving students voice and choice on what
they learn, how they learn and how they share their learning; we engage in collaborative design
with them so that their voice is taken into account in the work that they do.” Railsback (2002)
mentions increased self-esteem when listing the benefits of PBL. Teacher 4 concurs: “The key
benefit is that it’s humanizing,” while Teacher 5 defined the benefit as having an authentic
experience with students, “It’s like much more holistic.” As a basis for the teachers’ work, in the
538 Authentic Assessment course, teachers are guided toward “involving all students in self-
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assessment and reflection on their learning goals and progress and providing students with
opportunities to revise or reframe their work based on assessment feedback,” in line with the
ideas expressed by Teacher 4 and Teacher 5.
Bell (2010) argues students flourish under this child-driven, motivating approach to
learning relative to traditional curriculum and gain valuable skills that build a strong foundation
for their future in our global economy. Teacher 2 offered an explanation for this concept: “One
of the things that I really, really hope for my students is that, at the end of the day, they are
beautiful human beings, human beings who can help, who can identify problems and work with
others to solve them; who can empathize, who can, you know, work together and communicate
efficiently, who can be kind. All of those things are like really, really important.” The TED 537
Design for Deeper Learning course description builds these skills and reads: “Using a
consultancy model along with tools for lesson design and assessment, participants will design,
teach, record and reflect on a lesson (or series of lessons) that supports students in developing
deeper learning competencies,” including being kind to each other and being empathic.
Similarly, Teacher 3 claimed that “High Tech High doesn’t prepare you for college. It prepares
you for life after college when you’re in the workforce.” Teacher 5 agreed with Basilotta Gómez-
Pablos (2017) in that PBL is extremely engaging, and, motivation, a challenge for even the most
experienced teachers, is higher in a PBL model of instruction. A description found in the teacher
#5 reflection portfolio presents how students engage in the PBL: “I began feeling happy while
grading. It definitely takes longer to grade, but it is really rewarding to see assignments, which
were not initially acceptable, develop into high-quality work. I felt a new emotion while
grading: ‘Man, I knew they could do it!’.”
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Based on the data collected in the interviews, the syllabi and the Teacher 5 reflection
portfolio, this assumed knowledge asset relating to teachers’ knowledge of PBL’s key benefits
when compared to a traditional curriculum was validated among the teachers who participated in
this research.
Knowledge of How to Implement PBL in Curriculum
According to Railsback (2002), there are three points to be considered when designing
effective projects. The first is outlining the goals of the project. The second is identifying the
learning goals and objectives that will be achieved. The third point is assessing the project and
the work around the project. Caprano (2013) proposed four design principles for PBL: (a)
allowing learners to engage in problems; (b) making thinking visible, meaning grounded in how
ideas are connected, and it includes three pragmatic pedagogical dimensions of modeling
scientific thinking, scaffolding students to make their thinking visible, and providing multiple
representations; (c) helping students learn from others; and 4) promoting autonomy and lifelong
learning which is grounded in metacognition and inquiry and includes four pragmatic
pedagogical principles of encouraging monitoring, providing complex projects, revisiting and
generalizing the inquiry process, and scaffolding critique.
The third assumed knowledge asset of HTH teachers included in this study was
knowledge related to how to implement PBL in a curriculum. Teachers were asked in the
interview about the training they had received on how to implement PBL in their curriculum,
either inside or outside HTH, and what they found helpful or less helpful in their teacher
development, with examples. The six teachers explained the process of implementing PBL in
detail.
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Railsback (2002) mentions the first step when designing effective projects is outlining the
goals of the project for everyone involved. This point was supported by different teachers; for
example, Teacher 1 stated: “Equity, personalization, authentic work, okay, okay, authentic work,
and collaborative design are design principles that are central to how teachers approach their
work.” Later, the same Teacher added: “Here’s not a set curriculum, it really needs to come from
students’ interests and passions, teachers’ interests and passions, and a lot of creative, creativity,
huh, so, I think designing projects that are authentic, that are relevant, that require complex, deep
critical and creative thinking requires true craftsmanship.” Likewise, Teacher 2 noted: “It really
forces you to be open-minded and like really think out of the box because you are trying to
ensure student engagement is high through deeper learning experiences, and deeper learning
experiences are experiences where students are creating meaning for themselves.” Teacher 2
proposed the following questions for understanding the goals of a project: “So I think that having
really clear, essential questions is important. Having a very clear outcome, and asking what is it
that students are going to be producing? Apart from their peers, who are they going to be
working with, from outside external organizations?” In the teacher development program, the
ED544.4 Science Methods Syllabus course, among other courses, trains teachers to design and
implement projects in their courses. The main topic in week 1 of the ED544.4 course is described
as follows: “We will be discussing in more detail how to plan for science and engineering
projects in the context of NGSS. We will explore various phenomena and starting points for
getting students excited about learning science and go through a protocol for collaborating on
planning a science and engineering project/lesson sequence.”
Teacher 3 further explained the importance of outlining the goals of a project, as
proposed by Railsback (2002): “We use documents called the backwards designer, this is what
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teacher will start with, this is what I want the presentation to look like, this is what I want our
final product to be like.” Once the teachers define the final product, it is necessary to resolve the
questions about the development of the project, such as what the learning goals are, the timeline,
if it is necessary to bring guest speakers, and where to exhibit the project.
The second step proposed by Railsback for designing projects is the importance of
identifying the learning goals and objectives to be achieved. Teacher 1 reflected on this topic:
“How do we do that work, in relation to others, so that we can think critically about our
classrooms, our schools, our organization, our systems? So it’s not just about pedagogy and
project-based learning, but about the intersection of pedagogy and equity, considering the
ultimate goal is to create more opportunities and to narrow gaps for the students we serve, and
the students who have had the least privilege and power.” Teacher 6 provided another view: “It
was all about just getting the content and making sure that you know it so you can go on. And
now it’s more of an experience. I, as a teacher, want to provide experiences, I want to facilitate
experiences rather than lecturing and teaching content about history, or English. Nonetheless, all
that, all that fits into the, into the bottle.” Teachers are training to design projects that achieve a
learning goal; course ED544.4 provided the framework for science teachers: “We will be looking
at strategies for this through the lens of scientific note-booking. We will also be participating in a
Teacher Learning Collaborative and planning a 5E lesson plan that we will implement in the
following class meeting.”
The third point of Railsback (2002) includes the importance of previously defining how
to assess the student. Teacher 5 presented the importance of this following Railsback’s principle:
“I design a project, I figure out how I’m going to assess the students, I create a timetable, I
figure out the flow of my classroom, I decide what content I’m going to cover, what content I’m
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going to skip, everything.” Teacher 4 referred to the importance of defining clear goals to assess
the students because every student approaches projects from a different perspective, and projects
allow for the assessment of different aspects. In the same vein, Teacher 5 further argued: “And
so rating their projects using the same scale would be very unfair” because all the students do not
start the project from the same place. It is essential to consider their previous experience, and
knowledge. Assessment is an important part of PBL implementation, for that reason, the Intern
Program has the Authentic Assessment Intern course. In this course, teachers are trained to deal
with the following assessment-related issues: “We will answer the following questions to help
guide the final project: What do we want our students to know, demonstrate or apply at the end
of the multi-day lesson? How will we and the students know if they met or exceeded standard(s)?
What informal assessments can we create to check for skill development toward meeting the
formal assessment goals? How can we create student self-assessments to inform them of their
progress?”
This asset is validated in that the teachers participating in this research were
knowledgeable about how to implement PBL in their curriculum.
Knowledge of How to Design Projects That Integrate the Different Areas of the Curriculum
Aligning curriculum means making sure students’ products demonstrate the knowledge
and skills laid out in the academic standards defined by the school. Railsback (2002) explains
that cross-curriculum projects allow students to see how knowledge and skills are connected in
the workplace, and this type of project demands support from the principal, starting early and
being clear about alignment of content to standards.
The fourth assumed knowledge asset of HTH teachers included in this study was
knowledge of how to design projects that integrate the different areas of the curriculum.
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Teachers were asked in the interview to describe the process of designing projects and to provide
examples of multidisciplinary projects. Regarding this, five of the six teachers provided at least
one example of cross-disciplinary projects.
Larmer (2015) suggests that for optimizing PBL, the content of the ideas for a project
needs to be aligned with the academic standards adopted by the school. An example that supports
Larmer’s (2015) proposal is found in the teacher #5 reflective portfolio: “The theme of this
project is climate change. During this semester the students will learn about climate change by
making mechanical animations which illustrate physics principles informing climate change.”
Teacher 4 provided an example of another project: “History, language, and biology were taught
in that project. We had to learn the systems of the body; we also had to learn the systems of
power. And we had to be able to write personal narrative, so those were like the three big
things.” Teacher 5 discussed another project that integrated different areas of the curriculum: “I
was teaching the ninth grade, being a humanities teacher, collaborating, because that teacher was
interested in telling the stories of historical figures who came from minorities, because they were
not well represented in a lot of the textbooks we had growing up. And I was really interested in
furniture design so we decided to create a project where the students would research a historical
figure who came from a minority group, and they would make high-quality furniture in my
class.” Teacher 3 also provided an example of a project that integrated different areas: “For
example, with my sophomores, sophomores, 10th graders have chemistry, their humanities
courses, which are English and History, and then the Spanish component with me. One of the
projects we did revolved around immigration when we had the refugee crisis here on the border.
It affected our students so much more than we had anticipated.”
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The principles for designing a project which integrates different areas, mentioned by
Larmer (2015) and Railsback (2002), were supported by the curriculum the teachers were taught
in their training program, including the Math Methods course, whose objectives are described as
follows:
Through the design of open-ended, student-centered, constructivist learning experiences,
including but not limited to project-based learning, participants will investigate how to
integrate authentic teaching, learning and assessment of foundational skills, such as
reading, writing and numeracy. Participants will also learn how to intentionally develop
academic mindsets, such as belonging, growth mindset, efficacy and purpose, in students
in relation to their subject and grade level.
Based on the data collected, this assumed knowledge asset of how to design projects that
integrate the different areas of the curriculum was validated among the teachers who took part in
this research.
Knowledge of How to Reflect on Their Own Effectiveness in Implementing PBL
The knowledge gleaned from the ability to reflect on one’s own thinking process,
behavior, skills, and understanding is known as metacognitive knowledge (Atwell, 2018).
According to Moritz (2008), teachers need to constantly evaluate the quality of their instruction
and strategically use feedback from student performance with respect to learning goals.
The fifth assumed knowledge asset of HTH teachers covered in this study was the ability
to reflect on their own effectiveness in implementing PBL. Teachers were asked in the interview
to explain how they reflect on the projects, how success influences confidence, and were also
asked to provide examples. All the teachers provided examples of how they reflect on teaching
under PBL to increase the quality of their instruction.
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Krathwohl (2002) describes metacognitive knowledge general strategies that may be used
for different tasks, the conditions under which these strategies may be used, and the extent to
which the strategies are effective. Teacher 2 provided a description of the way in which self-
reflection is interpreted by asserting: “And the reason why I think that this project was the most
successful is because I saw the most, like, transformation in each student, in their own selves.”
Teacher 4 explained how after the first years of teaching under PBL, they get more structure,
tools and confidence to design projects, in this way: “Well, I’m also really hard on myself. So I
think, I think in the last few years, I definitely felt successful more often than in the first few
years because I had a lot of different tools and a lot of things that I had designed that I knew I
could use as a kind of template and then I would just change it for whatever I was doing that day.
I had structures.” Teacher 5 added: “I guess what I’m really saying is what’s most helpful is for
teachers to play the role of their students and have a day or a weekend when they are taught by
somebody else, and then reflect: how do I feel having to do all this stuff that I make my own
students do? And do I feel like this is fair? Do I like this? What would I do it differently? That
was a huge moment of empathy for me and really gave me a lot of perspective and I feel like
maybe better.”
Reflecting on project development allows teachers to identify what needs to be
improved. The following is an example of the self-reflection collected in the Teacher 5 reflection
portfolio:
With regards to the project, what are you the proudest of? I’m very proud of how the
class was able to learn how to manage all their projects as the semester progressed. I was
micromanaging less and less throughout the weeks as they became more independent. I
am also proud of many of the final projects themselves, though it’s hard for me to see
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them without thinking how much more they might have been if I had stuck to my original
schedule.
Based on the data collected, this assumed knowledge asset of knowing how to reflect on
one’s effectiveness at implementing PBL was validated among the teachers who participated in
this research.
Summary of Knowledge Assets
As shown in Table 1, there were five assumed knowledge assets related to teachers at
HTH. The data validated all five assumed assets. Triangulation of interview findings with the
syllabus of the different courses of the HTH District Intern Program and the Teacher 5 reflection
portfolio provided evidence of the coherence between the training and teaching practices. The
teachers who participated in this study confirmed the importance of PBL knowledge for effective
practice. For the implementation of a PBL model in a school, it is important that teachers have
mastery of the key concepts and benefits of PBL, know how to design projects, and know how
different academic areas can be integrated into a single project. The importance of self-
reflection on teaching practice under PBL was also evidenced in this research.
Motivation Findings
Clark and Estes (2008) define motivation as the force for getting things done, the effort to
be made on a work task, and being moved to take action (Clark & Estes, 2008). Understanding
motivation is important because someone may know how to do something, but they may not
want to do it or believe they can succeed (Rueda, 2011). Motivation is an internal state that
initiates and maintains goal-directed behavior. This section examines teachers’ motivational
assets related to the PBL model. Each assumed asset was addressed in the interview and
triangulated with the HTH Teacher Intern Program curriculum and Teacher 5 reflection portfolio
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documents provided. Table 8 summarizes each assumed teacher motivation asset and whether it
was validated as a motivation asset related to the PBL model.
Table 8
Summary of Assumed Motivation Assets
Motivation
Category
Assumed Motivation Assets Current Asset Continuing
Need
Utility Value Teacher perception of PBL as an
effective approach to supporting
student achievement
Ö
Self-Efficacy Teacher self-efficacy about
implementing PBL
Ö
Goal Orientation Teacher mastery orientation about
implementing PBL
Ö

Teacher Perception of PBL as an Effective Approach to Supporting Student Achievement
Above, the assumed knowledge asset examined whether teachers know PBL concepts.
This motivation influence deals with an individual’s belief that this is an effective approach so
that they will have the motivation to use it. In terms of motivation, this assumed asset examined
’teachers’ perceptions of PBL as a practical approach to supporting student achievement and
how this motivates them in their work.
The first assumed motivation asset of HTH teachers included in this study was teachers’
perception of PBL as an effective approach to supporting student achievement. The teachers
were asked in the interview about the goals for teaching in HTH or for teaching under the PBL
model. All of the teachers provided different ideas about their perception of PBL as an effective
approach to supporting student achievement.
The expectancy-value theory deals with an individual’s belief regarding the likelihood of
success in completing a task. According to Clark and Estes (2008), in terms of utility value,
people choose what to do because of the benefits that come when they finish the task. In that
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respect, Teacher 6 stated that: “I should say you have to trust each other and communicate, and
that was, I noticed, a very transformative experience for students - that’s kind of what I want to
go for every semester: to transform their way of thinking and hopefully, they’re, developing
better social skills.” The Intern Program is designed to prepare new teachers to understand,
engage in, and apply the equity, participation, authentic work and collaboration principles to
their daily practices, so that they can be confident in their teaching under PBL. The 521
Principles of Reading Instruction course is an example of how teachers learn the PBL model and
can see it as an effective approach to implement in their classroom. One of the Teaching
Performance Expectations of the course is described as follows: “Connect subject matter to real-
life contexts and provide active learning experiences to engage student interest, support student
motivation, and allow students to extend their learning.”
In the 537 Design for Deeper Learning course, the teachers are provided with the
knowledge to perform the task. The teacher performance expectations describe one objective of
the course as being to “promote students’ critical and creative thinking and analysis through
activities that provide opportunities for inquiry, problem-solving, responding to and framing
meaningful questions, and reflection.” Teacher 5 explained what happened in one of the projects
in their classroom: “They were really proud and a lot of them took all the furniture home and
they wanted to keep it which is the best sign of a good project: the kids really want it… I also
feel it’s successful because the students are using appropriate academic language to describe
their work.” Teacher 3 highlighted this further: “I would say that the learning moments, but it’s
not formulas. It’s not memorized vocabulary. It’s not that regurgitation of information. It’s how
the student felt at that moment. How the students felt, again.”
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The third step proposed by Railsback (2002) for structuring projects effectively is
assessing the work around it. The Intern Program offers one course that allows the teachers to
develop the skills for assessing student work. The Authentic Assessment Intern course claims
that, “When students are assessed frequently during the learning process, it allows teachers to
adjust their instruction to address learning deficiencies and misconceptions before it is too late.
Successful formative assessment informs students about their own learning and guides their
decision making so they can become more successful learners in the future.”
According to Basilotta Gómez-Pablos et al (2017), PBL has been presented as an
effective strategy for student engagement. Teachers get motivated about PBL in the way they
perceive the students get engaged in the projects. Teacher 2 described the experience as follows:
“You know, look at my students and say, wow, they’re, like bored out of their minds from this
curriculum that’s being taught, you know, like, I was constantly thinking about ways in which I
could get them engaged with the curriculum. So, so that was, you know, like, how do I engage
them? It’s through active learning experiences, which you know, equates to a method, a form of
project-based learning.” Likewise, Teacher 1 explained how PBL contributes to student
engagement if it is conducted well: “Helps them begin to make sense, sparks interest, and
motivation, and drives the rest of the learning and the project; so the project -the learning of the
content, skills, dispositions needed to be successful in their project- happens through the project
itself.”
Based on the data collected, this assumed motivation asset of perception of PBL as an
effective approach to supporting student achievement was validated among the teachers who
participated in this research.
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Teacher Self-Efficacy in Implementing PBL
According to Dembo and Seli (2016), the most influential source of self-efficacy is
individuals’ own previous performance on the task, with success raising and failure lowering
self-efficacy. Recognizing that one is making progress towards one’s goals can validate initial
sense of self-efficacy and maintain behavior as you move toward goal attainment (Dembo &
Seli, 2016). In education, students and teachers with comparable skills and knowledge may
behave differently depending on whether they expect to succeed at a task. Self-efficacy impacts
how a person approaches a goal and the extent of the challenge they are willing to undertake
(Atwell, 2018). For teachers to succeed in designing, implementing, and teaching the PBL
model, they need to feel confident enough in their ability to implement project-based learning.
The second assumed motivation asset of HTH teachers included in this study was
teachers’ self-efficacy in implementing PBL. Teachers were asked to provide significant
successful projects and how these projects influenced their confidence in teaching under the PBL
model. All of the teachers involved in the study expressed how previous performance positively
affected their confidence in teaching under the PBL model.
The Intern Program follows the principle of learning by doing to develop teacher self-
efficacy. One example is the Authentic Assessment Intern course, which encourages the teachers
to “Write about a lesson that you are planning to teach tomorrow. What is your learning target
for that day? Which strategies might you use to check for understanding? What is something you
have done before? What is something that you are excited to try? What would give you the best
insight into student thinking?” Related to this point, Teacher 3 explained: “I think the word is-the
word confidence leads me to think about being fearless. And so, if a project was successful, and
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like hey, if we were to, if we were able to do this, then let’s dream big and let’s do something
else.”
On the Teacher 5 reflection portfolio collected, there is evidence of how the teacher
reflected on their previous experience and asked for help in order to improve their teaching skills
and confidence. The teacher reported on a conversation with a colleague: “At the beginning of
this semester I was looking for ways to improve my teaching practice. I had had a fairly
successful experience with my previous class though I hadn’t collected much feedback from
them except at the very end. I was asking a colleague how I could tell if I was doing a good job
throughout the semester. What small metrics were there so that I could keep track of whether I
was facilitating a good experience for my students? Among the advice I received then, one
knowledge nugget stood out and I have been thinking about it ever since. They said, “Make sure
everyone feels like they can be heard.”
Based on the data collected in the interviews, and the Intern Program syllabi, teachers are
getting challenged through different academic activities in their training courses to gain self-
efficacy. The teacher #5 reflection portfolio provided another example of how previous
experience develops self-efficacy. This assumed motivation asset of teacher self-efficacy in
implementing PBL was validated among the teachers participating in this research.
Teacher Mastery Orientation for Implementing PBL
As pointed out by Rueda (2011), a goal is something that individuals want to achieve.
Goal orientation theory looks at the reasons behind an individual’s disposition toward developing
or validating one’s ability in achieving a goal. Goal orientation is defined as a pattern of beliefs
that represent different ways of approaching, engaging in, and responding to achievement
situations (Rueda, 2011, p. 43). Mastery orientation allows the individual to be successful
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because it motivates them to succeed for the sake of achieving a proficiency while a performance
orientation refers to comparison with others, a desire to perform better than others or simply
performing tasks out of compliance. Teachers will benefit from a focus on continuous
improvement of PBL implementation; in other words, from a mastery orientation related to their
implementation of PBL.
The third assumed motivation asset of HTH teachers discussed in this study was mastery
orientation for implementing PBL. Teachers were asked in the interview about their goals for
teaching in HTH or under the PBL model. The six teachers expressed the significance of a
successful project in increasing mastery.
The Intern Program provides the teachers with a series of activities for developing and
achieving their mastery for implementing PBL. The Authentic Assessment Intern course
describes the role of assessment in teacher mastery as follows: “Performance assessments can
provide meaningful, real time information for students, teachers, parents, and administrators, and
can be a spring-board for improving teacher practice.” It also notes that: “As teachers use and
evaluate [performance assessment] tasks, they become more knowledgeable about the standards
and how to teach them, and about what their students’ learning needs are.” To achieve mastery, it
is essential that teachers evaluate what had been working well for them and what needs to be
improved. Teacher 5 explained: “I guess there are different types of success-successes in a
project. If the, if the class is able to create work they’re proud of, then that’s success. If they’re
able to learn the content that I intended for them to learn about, that’s also successful, but they
don’t always happen at the same time…. Sometimes these projects where they work will be
really exciting, and there’s a sense of pride to it.”
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Previous experience with PBL can affect motivation in teacher mastery. Teacher 6
provided an example of this: “I would say one of my favorite, one of my better projects would be
The Offbeat Music Festival. The end product was the exhibition, which is a music festival. Kids
got to… every student had to learn to play an instrument or sing, and they all got advanced …
And the evidence that I have for that is, is really the transformative experience that I saw in the
kids from the beginning of the semester to the end of it.” As posited by Rueda (2011), a goal is
something that individuals want to achieve, previous experience validates one’s ability in
achieving a goal. Teacher 1 concurred with this in stating:
I would say, yeah, I think the confidence comes from, I would say, for me personally,
what helped built my confidence is a project-based learning teacher, it’s very scary when
you do a project, and you are only a couple steps ahead of where the kids are at or maybe
even behind because you are not an expert. It’s impossible to be an expert in all the areas
that you want to cover as a project-based teacher; and so you really have to let go of what
we all know, like being the sage on the stage, you’re more of a coach, and you are
learning alongside the students.
Teacher 3 described an experience and how it affected mastery: “So it was interesting
that my moment as a teacher where I was like, this is a failure, there’s no hope. It wasn’t until
someone else came back and said, we can use this, and we were just able to tweak it and make
some changes. So, they did more research and this time they were focusing on, like I said, the
victims of human trafficking.”
This asset is validated in that the teachers included in this research stated how mastery
orientation motivates them in implementing PBL.
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Summary of Motivation Assets
As seen in Table 2, there were three motivation assets that were assumed to positively
influence teacher performance related to PBL. All of the assumed assets were validated by the
data, which included interview findings and document analysis. Teacher perceptions of PBL
impacted their confidence in PBL being an effective approach to supporting students’
achievement. Teacher self-efficacy allowed the teachers to design and implement better projects.
Further, previous experience had an impact on teacher mastery which motivated them to further
engage in PBL.
Organizational Findings
In addition to knowledge and motivation influences on performance, organizational
influences are crucial. According to Gallimore and Goldenberg (2001), an institution’s culture
can be analyzed based on its cultural settings and cultural models. Gallimore and Goldenberg
(2001) describe cultural settings and cultural models as analytically distinct, even though they
are manifestly interconnected, and argue that it is difficult to establish the primacy of one or the
other. Cultural models are the often invisible features that enable an understanding of the
organization and its stakeholders’ behavioral, cognitive and affective components, what is valued
and ideal, what settings should be enacted and avoided, who should participate, the rules and
interactions and the purpose of interactions (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001). Cultural settings,
on the other hand, are visible and concrete manifestations of cultural models. Cultural settings
include the organizational structure and resources to accomplish the tasks, and the social context
in which the teachers’ work is performed (Gallimore & Goldenberg, 2001).
This section details the findings related to PBL assumed organizational assets which
assist teachers in implementing PBL. Each assumed asset was addressed in the interview and
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triangulated with the syllabi provided. Table 9 summarizes the assumed organizational assets and
whether they were validated as principal organizational assets for the PBL model. In addition,
through the collection of data, two additional HTH organizational assets, that were not originally
assumed based on the literature, became apparent.
Table 9
Summary of Assumed Organizational Assets
Organizational
Category
Assumed Organizational
Assets
Current
Asset
Continuing
Need
Newly
identified
Asset
Cultural Model
Influence 1
A culture of collaboration
around the PBL model
Ö
Cultural Model
Influence 2
A strategic platform (vision,
mission, values) to support
their students for
postsecondary success and
productive citizenship
Ö
Cultural Setting
Influence 1
Clear goals and
accountability around PBL
Ö
Cultural Setting
Influence 2
Clear Structures and
processes to implement the
PBL model
Ö
Cultural Setting
Influence 3
Selection and training of
teachers
Ö
Cultural Setting
Influence 4
Lessons for building a new
school
Ö

A Culture of Collaboration Around the PBL Model
Educators benefit from time for collaborative planning and thinking (Barab & Luehmann,
2003). However, complex schedules and competing demands often prevent the creation of an
organizational culture where meaningful collaboration is possible. Larmer (2015) described the
importance of collaboration not only among students, but also among teachers, specifically if
they are implementing cross-curriculum projects, which are a key feature of PBL.
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The first assumed organizational asset of HTH teachers included in this study was the
culture of collaboration around the PBL model. Teachers were asked in the interview to explain
how often they collaborate with other teachers and to provide examples, and how the
collaboration among them is valued by the school. All teachers stated the importance of the
culture of collaboration for a school based in the PBL Model.
According to Larmer (2015), collaboration among teachers is important for the
implementation of PBL. Supporting this statement, Teacher 1 noted: “Collaboration among
teachers and the project design with different teachers is where a lot of the richest learning takes
place. And especially when veteran teachers are partnered with newer teachers, then you have so
much peer-to-peer learning and mentorship; that happens organically and naturally across the
team-teaching structure.” According to Kramer and Pittinsky (2012), trust is essential if
relationships are to form and endure, collaborations are to succeed, and communities are to
survive and thrive (Kramer & Pittinsky, 2012). Teacher 2 highlighted the importance of a
collaborating, trusting culture: “I need to be vulnerable as a teacher, and ask my colleagues for
feedback on their project through a project to me, which is why staff culture is really important
because if I don’t like you, I don’t trust you, and therefore your feedback means nothing to me.
Right? And so that’s typical. That’s human relationships, right?”
Teacher collaboration is essential for PBL implementation. The Intern Program uses
different strategies for teacher training to ensure teachers learn to collaborate. One of the
activities that they face in the ED544.4 Science Methods Syllabus course is “Teacher Learning
Collaboratively,” in which, “We will be co-teaching the 5 E lesson in one of our colleague’s
classrooms. We will go through a cycle of preparing, instructing, reflecting, revising, and
teaching again. This will give everyone a chance to participate in a 3-dimensional 5E lesson from
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start to finish.” For Teacher 3, the PBL model: “Can’t happen without collaboration. Space and
time for collaboration need to be provided to our teachers. Here our teachers are in teams, so we
need to give them time in the morning. We can’t expect them to create an interdisciplinary
project while not giving them time for it during the day.” Teacher 4 discussed their collaboration
strategies: “And a lot of times what we do is that we say, okay, Tuesdays and Thursdays, we’re
going to do team planning. And team planning could be from project-related issues to preparing
for student-led conferences.” The teacher #5 reflection portfolio also described the collaboration
process among the teachers in deciding what project to work on:
This project was developed alongside my teaching partner to combine our common
interests. Before the start of the semester we realized that we both were interested in
chairs and especially ones made of wood. … Instead of learning history by replicating an
artifact, we thought we would try to teach about history by making an artifact to represent
it. We selected a historical event that we cared about and found a chair to draw
inspiration from, and then designed a chair to represent that story.
Similarly, related to collaboration, Teacher 6 mentioned the following: “My thinking
partner, we talk literally every day in the morning and every day after school, asking what we are
doing, what our worries are when performing our work. And we’re very much working as a
team, which I’m really happy about. I also talk to the humanities department.” Teacher 5
indicated the different levels of collaboration among teachers:
I collaborate at different levels. High-level collaboration involves completing a project
together, where the students are doing the same work. I also show my, I show my
planning and models and examples to teachers all over the place very often. And so that’s
a lower level of collaboration, but I get feedback on my plan. Small, like emergency days
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where staff members need to use tools of mine or like, hey, can your kids look at my
kids’ work because I need an opinion, and they need some outside perspective. I
absolutely want to do that.
This asset is validated in that the teachers included in this research presented how a
culture of collaboration is established at HTH and its importance for implementing PBL.
A Strategic Platform (vision, mission, values) to Support Students for Postsecondary Success
and Productive Citizenship
PBL is a concept not generally adopted by the schools, and the institution has to clearly
establish its purpose to all stakeholders; otherwise, they will be left in the dark (Yeo, 2005).
Similarly, Camacho, Coto and Jorgensen (2018) assert that each process of change to problem-
based learning is unique, and that culture and contextual issues play an important role in the
process and its results (Camacho et al., 2018).
The second assumed organizational asset of HTH teachers discussed in this study was a
strategic platform to support their students for postsecondary success and productive citizenship.
Teachers were asked in the interview about the main strategies to support students’ success in
life and productive citizenship.
On the Local Control Accountability Plan and Annual Update (LCAP), HTH outlined
these strategic goals: ensuring high-quality work, improving student-centered instruction,
nurturing a culture of belonging, increasing support for struggling students, ensuring college
access and persistence. Teacher 1 explained their understanding of the strategic platform: “And
then strong college advising, I would say, also, advisory program and strong with a third thing,
strong college advising and strong advisory to support that…There has always been a strong
focus on… ultimately, we want to get kids to and through college and to be successful in life and
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less of a focus on standardized test scores or state tasks.” A strategic platform is important for
aligning stakeholder action. They need to understand and share the set goal. On this matter,
Teacher 2 commented: “I think that, you know, like, we have external measures in regards to
LCAP, you know, which is the Local California Accountability Plan, you know where each
organization has to outline their goals. Those are a little less about project-based learning and
more about like students, you know, populations.”
Teacher 3 described one of the programs that enables students to be prepared for success
and productive citizenship: “And so I think one of the most amazing programs we have here is
the junior internship program where we have them go into the community and work for four
weeks where they not just shadows that one but they’re actually living the experience of
following a nurse or following a vet or following an engineer and learning what they do, how
they work with other people.” Teacher 5 also described another program established by HTH:
“Let’s see, once a week for 45 minutes after lunch, we have like a grade-level, club meeting. So
all the seniors get together, and we lead a short lesson or activity around college admittance and
secondary education so it’s always on their minds, especially for senior year and they’ll do that
for the juniors and the sophomores and the freshmen as well, as appropriate, depending on where
they are in the application process.”
This asset was validated because the teachers showed a clear understanding of the
strategic platform and the connection between the strategic platform and how they provide
support for postsecondary success and productive citizenship.
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Clear Goals and Accountability for Implementing PBL
This cultural setting is at the intersection of HTH and the community and the school
district, examining how HTH sets goals and standards and guarantees students meet the high
standards set by the district and the community within a PBL model.
The third assumed organizational asset aiding HTH teachers included in this study was
the clear goals and accountability for PBL set at the school level. Teachers were asked how the
school measures success in implementing PBL and what accountability measures are used. This
assumed asset was discussed by four of the six teachers.
Every semester, an open exhibition to the community is organized by HTH, showing the
results of the projects developed by the students. For HTH, this exhibition is an essential
measure of the quality of the students’ work and their engagement with society. Teacher 2
described one of the measures that HTH took: “I think that exhibitions are always a form of
measurement as well. So students’ work not only represents the final product, but also the
learning, all the learning that has taken place in that project. So from the brainstorming stages, to
reflections, to the drafts, all that stuff is presented as well.” Teacher 5 explained HTH considers
more accountable the projects developed by students than the standardized test. Projects have to
set a clear goal before getting started, otherwise their evaluation will be complicated: “We can’t
say we want all the students to get this score on these standardized tests, but, product design is
not standardized by nature, and so it’s very difficult to, to, to assess.”
While teachers pointed to the exhibition as a measure of assessment, the teachers also
discussed the difficulty in assessing product design and key elements of a PBL curriculum.
Challenges remain in determining how to assess effective implementation of key elements of
PBL for accountability purposes, as has been documented by research. HTH is not alone in this
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challenge. One of the challenges to expanding this model is that it calls for new types of
assessment/accountability and changing stakeholder ideas about assessment/accountability (Bell,
2010). As such, this assumed asset was not validated. Although HTH’s goals concerning the
purpose of the school are clear, there was not a clearly expressed connection to accountability
around implementing PBL.
Clear Structures and Processes to Implement the PBL Model
Research suggests that process management is a crucial consideration in maintaining an
intrinsic PBL structure, leading to greater connectivity in the learning cycles (Yeo, 2005). As
Yeo (2005) describes it, effective planning of timetables to optimize and balance lesson loads,
appropriate scheduling of PBL lessons to complement the syllabi, and timely provision of
resources including online material and laboratory facilities, are some of the challenges faced
when an institution changes to the PBL model. According to a study conducted by Baer (2014),
two of the main challenges to the implementation of PBL are the lack of time for planning or
organization of PBL unit and the lack of administrative and faculty support, mentioned by 60%
and 32% of the teachers in the study, respectively (Baer, 2014).
The fourth assumed organizational asset of HTH teachers examined the inclusion of a
clear structure and processes to implement the PBL model. Teachers were asked to describe the
organizational structure and processes necessary to implement the PBL model and the
differences with other schools they are familiar with, including the training available. All of the
teachers shared their opinions about the structure needed to implement the PBL model.
Cultural settings include organizational structure and resources to accomplish the task. In
this regard, Teacher 1 described some aspects of the HTH model: “We intentionally keep the
students to gather in a cohort-based model … And then those teachers share the same 50 to 55
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students because we have probably high to you know, 25 to 28 students in a classroom” which
allows the teachers to know the students’ needs better. Teacher 1 also explained the role of the
teacher in getting funding for the development of the projects: “Then if there are projects that
require even more funding, we might get donations or run Kickstarter campaigns or, yeah, but
we can’t make demands on the parents.” Teacher 2 showed further support for the school
structure: “So some structures that we have here at High Tech High which help facilitate deeper
relationships are the block classes. So at the high secondary levels, those classes are two hours
long. Thus, the humanities class is two hours long, the math science class is also two hours
long… Another structure is counseling. So counseling is a program where you see students for
about 40 minutes a couple days a week.” In terms of supportive structures, Teacher 3 referred to
the importance of the buildings: “If you turn around and look, you will see we have glass
everywhere, so… I wouldn’t say there are no secrets, but the students know it’s a welcoming
space. This is their space… I think the most significant element for me would be the teacher’s
voice: here we are included in the process. It’s figuring out our budget. If it’s the hiring process,
our teachers are actually very involved in who we hire.” School size is also a factor to be
considered in the cultural settings; if the schools are small, community interaction and
communication are facilitated, and everybody can know the members of the school. Teacher 5
explained this cultural setting: “We hold ourselves accountable by having a small group, making
sure the schools have fewer than 400 students, and so all the teaching staff can fit around one
conference table and talk to each other.”
This asset was validated because both the structure and the processes are in place to
support teachers in implementing the PBL model.
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Based on the research, four assumed organizational assets were validated as contributing
to the effective implementation of PBL among teachers. In the course of collecting data, two
additional organizational assets were identified. The newly identified assets are the selection and
training of teachers and lessons in building a new school.
Teacher Training and Selection
This asset was not initially identified in the literature review but emerged as an essential
HTH asset in the implementation of PBL. This section will describe the main programs
implemented by HTH to train and select teachers. The Bonanza program is used for selecting
the teachers. The Odyssey program is a welcome program to train the new teachers in the PBL
model. The HTH District Intern Program is an option for teachers to obtain the State of
California credential. HTH offers many other informal or unstructured programs for teacher
development. This section will describe the Bonanza and Odyssey programs, in particular.
The Bonanza program is used to select new teachers for HTH, and it consists of five
steps. First, the candidate must teach a demo lesson to a group of students. Second, the candidate
has an interview with the students. Third, there is an interview with a group of teachers. Fourth, a
group discussion about progressive education takes place with the school director and the rest of
the candidates who are being evaluated on the same day. Fifth, at the end of the day, the
evaluations conducted by the students and the teachers are collected and the profile that best fits
in the HTH environment is selected. Teacher 4 described the process:
So a fifty-five-minute lesson, being interviewed by the kids, being interviewed by the
teachers, being interviewed by the director, having a discussion about a reading on
progressive education, and all those things are taken into account. Now being on the other
side. I know that what happens after is that all the teachers get together that interviewed
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and they take the feedback that the students in the class after the lesson is done, and you
leave. The students get a questionnaire and fill it out, and that questionnaire goes straight
to the director, who looks at all the feedback and all the evaluations. The teachers that
interviewed you during lunch, they give you an evaluation, the students that interviewed
you, they give you an evaluation and the director takes all that information and along
with the one on one, and the reading discussion.
The Odyssey program is mainly, but not exclusively, for the new teachers. The program
starts three weeks before the school year begins, and it is overseen by The Graduate School of
Education. The goal is that teachers understand HTH’s philosophy and the pedagogical model,
especially PBL. The first activity of the Odyssey program is a two-day project slice experience,
in which, according to Teacher 1: “They get to experience all project design aspects from its
launch to inquiring about what they’re pursuing through the project-typically a field experience
where they get into the community-, and then there is a process where they develop a final
product that represents their learning, receive critique and go through the revision of that project,
and then exhibit the work.” Teacher 2 added: “So those teachers come back and teach the adults
and go through it with, so I would say some professional development that still needs to happen
is-goes back to one of the challenges that I listed that like teachers, designing these amazing
projects, but also making sure that like, the standards are interconnected.” Teacher 6 also
discussed the experience: “And in that, in that week, you’re very much a student at High Tech
High where veteran teachers have different parts of the projects, and you’re randomly allocated
to one and, for example, the project that I was assigned to was looking at refugees and
conducting actual interviews with them and, and creating a podcast with their story.”
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The significance of this newly identified asset is in how HTH implements the PBL
model. The first program, the Bonanza program, is focused on selecting the teachers, attempting
to select a teacher who feels comfortable teaching under the PBL model. The second one, the
Odyssey program, is responsible for guaranteeing teachers understand the PBL model, so that
they can apply it in their classes. These are important assets in understanding the HTH model as
a promising practice.
Lessons in Building a New School
The conversation with the senior leader of the school was focused on ideas or
recommendations for creating a new school using a PBL model. The senior leader had taught the
course on how to create a new school in the HTH graduate school. This course was based on
answering five question. The first question was, Where is the school? To answer this question,
the senior leader mentioned the importance of understanding the city, the economy, the
interaction with the community, and the needs of the place where the school will be located. The
second question was about physical structure: Do you have to have a building? The second
question refers more to the infrastructure the school will have. The concept here is that there are
three essential elements for creating a pleasant school environment: first, preferable natural light
that is reflected in the windows and the orientation of the buildings; second, the height of the
building to control the temperature; and third, glass to project a transparent culture. The third
question is, How do you select the teachers? The senior leader believed the director is the most
critical person in the school, because having a great director allows a school to have excellent
teachers. The superb director will select, train, encourage, and support great teachers, and
dismiss those that are not. The fourth question was, How do you select the students? The leader
discussed how this will depend on the type of school and the regulations in the area where the
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school will be located. The fifth question was, What are you going to do? About this, the senior
leader discussed the importance of the interaction between teachers, students and the community
that will determine the problems the school will address.
The senior leader discussed the important role of teacher development and suggested that
an effective strategy is to promote that teachers work with their colleagues. Another topic
discussed with the senior leader, who had visited Colombia in the past, and intend to visit again
in 2020, was What will be the biggest challenge in adopting a PBL model in Colombia? The
senior leader suggested that the biggest problem will be the impatience of the project leaders to
create the new school in Colombia, and that they are going to struggle with legislators, families
and other authorities in the creation of this new model. The recommendation offered to address
this was to not stop, to persevere until the project starts, and to continue working with the
original idea.
Summary of Organizational Assets
As seen in Table 3, there were four assumed organizational assets. The data validated
three of the four assumed assets through triangulation of interview data and document analysis.
The identified assumed assets were a culture of collaboration around the PBL model, a strategic
platform to support students for postsecondary success and productive citizenship, and structures
and processes to implement the PBL model. Clear goals and accountability for PBL was an
assumed asset constituting a continuing need. Two newly identified assets in this model of PBL
emerged in the interview process: teacher selection and training and lessons in building a new
school.
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Conclusion
The data analyzed for this study, as discussed in this chapter, revealed teacher
knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets in their implementation of the PBL model at
HTH. Most assumed assets were validated, and two additional assets were discovered. The
findings presented in this chapter suggest that many of the knowledge, motivational and
organizational assets of teachers at HTH are developed through teacher development in the
Intern Program and the Odyssey program, and in the spaces created for teachers to collaborate.
The knowledge findings suggest that for the implementation of a PBL model in a school,
it is important that teachers have mastery of the key concepts and benefits of PBL , know how to
design projects, and know how different academic areas can be integrated into a single project.
The importance of self-reflection on teaching practice under PBL was also evidenced in this
research. For teachers, mastery in the PBL teaching model is essential for them to implement
learning-by-doing projects.
The motivational findings suggest that teacher perceptions of PBL impacted their
confidence in PBL being an effective approach to supporting students’ achievement. Teacher
self-efficacy allowed the teachers to design and implement better projects. Further, previous
experience had an impact on teacher mastery which motivated them to further engage in PBL.
The organizational findings highlight the importance of the culture of collaboration
around the PBL model, a strategic platform to support students for postsecondary success and
productive citizenship, and structures and processes to implement the PBL model. Two newly
identified assets in this model of PBL emerged in the interview process: teacher selection and
training and lessons in building a new school.
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Chapter 5 will analyze what knowledge, motivation, and organizational assets could be
transferable to other institutional contexts. The purpose of this dissertation study was based on
the assets learned from HTH teachers to establish a new school with an emphasis on developing
21
st
-century skills for students in Colombia. Chapter Five will also propose solutions to address
teacher development and a collaborative culture at the new school.
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CHAPTER FIVE: TRANSFERABLE PRACTICE AND PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
Clark and Estes (2008) gap analysis process model was used to examine a promising
practice that successfully prepares students’ 21
st
-century skill development. The data collected
for this dissertation sought to understand teachers’ knowledge, motivation, and organizational
assets at an established network of charter schools in San Diego, California, HTH, that has
enabled them to effectively implement a PBL model. The teacher assets explored throughout
this research are shown in Table 5. These considered assets were initially identified based on
research into the capabilities that teachers must develop to teach under a PBL model and were
then validated through the data collected. Based on the findings presented in Chapter Four,
Chapter Five responds to the third research question guiding this study, “What practices related
to the areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources may be transferable to other
organizations looking to incorporate a project-based learning model of instruction?”
The asset findings in the knowledge and motivation areas determined the importance of
teacher development. In the case of HTH, the two main teacher development programs are the
Odyssey program and the intern program. The two programs serve as a base to design the
recommended solutions to create a new school incorporating a PBL model, specifically in
Colombia. In the same way, the organizational findings will help develop recommendations
related to the new school’s culture.
This chapter contains two sections. The first section presents the recommendation for
transferable practices in Colombia, and for each solution proposed, an implementation plan and
an evaluation plan are offered. The second section discusses future research and the conclusion
of this dissertation project.
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Table 10
Validated Teacher Assets and Newly Identified Assets
Knowledge Motivation Organization
Validated
Assets
Knowledge of PBL key
features. Knowledge of
PBL key benefits when
compared to traditional
curriculum.
Knowledge of how to
implement PBL in a
curriculum.
Knowledge of how to
design projects that
integrate the different
areas of the curriculum.
Knowledge of how to
reflect on their own
effectiveness in
implementing PBL.
Teacher perception of
PBL as an effective
approach to supporting
student achievement.
Teacher self-efficacy
about implementing
PBL.
Teacher mastery
orientation about
implementing PBL.
A culture of
collaboration around the
PBL model.
A strategic platform
(vision, mission, values)
to support their students
for postsecondary
success and productive
citizenship.
Structures and processes
to implement the PBL
model.

Newly
identified
Asset
Selection and training of
teachers
Lessons for Building a
New School

Recommendations for Practice Transferability to Colombia
To answer the third question of this promising practice study about what practices related
to the areas of knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources may be transferable to other
organizations looking to incorporate a PBL model of instruction, this chapter turns to the five
questions proposed by the HTH senior leader as were presented in Chapter 4. The senior leader
proposed asking five questions to guide recommendations related to the creation of a new PBL
school. These five questions provide a context for the recommended solutions.
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The first question was, Where is the school? The new school will be located in the
metropolitan area of Medellin, Colombia. Medellin is the second-largest city in the country, after
Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. The metropolitan area includes nine
other cities and it is the second-largest urban agglomeration in terms of population and economy,
with more than 3.7 million people. The Medellin Metropolitan area produces 67% of the
Department of Antioquia’s GDP and 11% of the economy of Colombia. Medellin is essential to
the region for its universities, academies, commerce, industry, science, health services, flower-
growing, and festivals. The people of Medellin are well known for entrepreneurial and
innovation capacity.
The second question about the infrastructure of a new school and the design of the future
building, will follow the senior leader’s suggestion to use glass. The plan is to manage
temperature through the use of natural light and height. The school’s design will allow for the
interaction of the community and the school will be divided into sections including elementary,
middle, and high school, none of them exceeding 400 students. The new building has to include
individual rooms for labs, art performances, carpentry, makerspace, and gardening.
The third question of how to select the teachers is essential in the Colombian context and
includes topics such as teacher development programs, evaluation, and dismissing those teachers
who cannot become great. HTH provided an example of excellent practices: the Bonanza
program for teacher selection; the Odyssey program for welcoming new teachers: and the intern
program to qualified teachers to obtain the state credential, as well as a Master’s program in the
Graduate School of Education. According to the findings presented in Chapter Four, teachers’
development is one of the crucial aspects to implementing the PBL model. The teachers’
development programs are a promising practice on which the recommended solutions will focus.
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Even though HTH has an excellent method for selecting and evaluating teachers, they are not
readily transferable to the Colombia context because of current legislative laws and the culture.
Teacher training is a key area of focus for solutions in the Columbian context.
The fourth question was, How does the school select the students? HTH experience in
this area is not transferable to Colombia because, in the country, there are neither charter schools
nor there is a lottery system in the latter. The new school embedding a PBL model will need to
be a private school, focusing on selecting those families searching for a new model were 21st-
century skills are prioritized over the traditional-routed memorization model.
The fifth question proposed by the senior leader was, What are you going to do? This is a
broad question that may be approached from multiple perspectives. One perspective is concerned
with what the interaction between the teachers, students, and the community will be; while
another approach could determine how the culture of the school will be established. For this
dissertation project, the second focus will be used when proposing the recommended solutions.
Based on the findings presented in Chapter Four, two broad recommended solutions will
be described in the next section. The first recommended solution will focus on teachers’
development. This recommendation includes two programs for preparing the teachers who will
work in the new PBL school. The first program will be a master’s program, and the second a
certified program for more experienced teachers who want to adopt PBL in their practice. The
second recommended solution will focus on the new school’s culture and the building of a
collaboration environment.
Both the significance and the basis for each one of the recommended solutions will be
provided, as well as an implementation plan and an evaluation plan. According to Rueda (2011),
it is crucial to evaluate the outcome of the solutions to determine if the initial gap is closed.
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Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2007) propose a framework of a sequence of four levels as a way to
evaluate programs. As you move from one level to the next, the process becomes more difficult
and time-consuming, but it provides more valuable information (D. L. Kirkpatrick &
Kirkpatrick, 2007). Level one, Reaction, measures stakeholders’ satisfaction with the proposed
solution. Level 2, Learning, looks at participants’ changes in attitudes, knowledge, and skills as a
result of participating in an intervention. Level three, Behavior, examines whether participants
use the new practices effectively when they go back to their jobs. Finally, Level 4, Results, can
be defined as the final outcomes resulting from participation in the intervention.
Recommendations for Teacher Development
As stated in the McKinsey Report (2014), “The quality of the education system cannot
exceed the quality of its teachers” (p. 15). Kai Chu et al. (2017) highlight that teachers are
generally educated and trained under traditional teaching models from past decades and are
neither adequately aware nor ready to create 21
st
-century skills (Kai Chu et al., 2017). Most
teachers in current education systems were exposed to a traditional teaching model as children in
their learning methods. They were taught under a teacher-directed model, as opposed to student-
directed instruction in their teacher training programs. This can lead to challenges in moving
from a more traditional teaching model into a PBL curricular approach (Barab & Luehmann,
2003). This is especially true in Colombia where further efforts are needed to build a new vision
for the professionalization of teaching (García et al., 2014). According to Forero and Saavedra
(2019), there are concerns that teacher education does not adequately prepare and support
teachers in their work. The quality of initial teacher education offered by faculties of education is
considered to vary considerably (Radingeri et al., 2018). Additionally, the traditional teaching
methodology seeks to strengthen knowledge learning, without addressing the training of
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student’s socioemotional skills, which are also strongly associated with student motivation
(Forero & Saavedra, 2019).
According to Blackbourn et al. (2011), for PBL to work, teachers have to become self-
directed in their learning, and the pedagogical style must be student-centered with faculty
facilitation. Larmer et al. (2015) argue planning a project takes more time and more thought
about how all the parts connect; it is not a straightforward process so it can challenge teachers.
The findings presented in Chapter Four suggest the importance for teachers to have access to
different models of teacher development.
HTH has developed different alternatives for teacher development, and two, in particular,
have transferable practices to Colombia with the necessary adjustments: the Master’s in
Educational Leadership program and the HTH District Intern Program. HTH describes the
Master’s in Educational Leadership program as being designed for aspiring teacher leaders and
school leaders who are passionate about reimagining education. With a focus on equity, deeper
learning, and shared leadership, candidates “learn by doing” through personalized projects that
integrate theory and practice, providing authentic opportunities to practice and reflect on
leadership in their settings (G. S. o. Education, 2008). The HTH District Intern Program is a job-
embedded teacher preparation program authorized by the California Commission on Teacher
Credentialing. The HTH District Intern Program is guided by four principles – equity,
personalization, authentic work, and collaborative design – that set aspirational goals and create
a foundation for understanding the HTH approach.
Recommendation One: Master’s Program in Development of 21
st
Century Skills
The first development program proposed for supporting the establishment of a new PBL
school in Colombia is a graduate-level master’s’ degree focusing on the development of 21
st
-
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century skills. This program would be focused on teachers who want to improve their teaching
skills and transform the classroom into an active learning environment. This program could also
help public school teachers obtain the number of points necessary to change their status in the
national ranking, which determines teachers’ salaries.
To understand the importance of creating a new master’s program for teacher
development, as proposed, it is essential to understand current teacher development programs in
Colombia. According to the National Information System for Higher Education (SNIES for its
name in Spanish) of the Ministry of Education in Colombia, there are 274 registered master’s
programs in education (Data collected May 17, 2020). They include 213 programs delivered
face-to-face, 41 online, and 20 programs via traditional distance learning(in Colombia,
traditional distance learning is based on modules produced by teachers and occasional face-to-
face meetings). Accordingly, there are 191 master’s programs that focus on general education
while 44 programs focus on teacher development. The remainder of the programs have a
different emphasis on biology, language, management, arts, environmental science, music,
mathematics, literacy and linguistics, and sociology. The data provided from the SNIES show the
importance of proposing a program focused specifically on teacher development in deep
learning.
The goal of this master’s in development of 21st century skills is to train teachers that are
passionate about reimagining education, with a focus on deeper learning and shared leadership,
and learning by doing through personalized projects that integrate theory and practice. This
program has to be offered by higher education institutions established and authorized in
Colombia. CEIPA is a higher education institution that adopted problem-based learning as a
pedagogical model 20 years ago. In the first 20 years of operation, CEIPA had the School of
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Education and School of Business. CEIPA closed the School of Education 26 years ago, due to
changes in legislation then. One of the goals of CEIPA’s strategic plan is to open new programs
in Social Sciences, including education programs. Moreover, CEIPA is well recognized in
Colombia for its leadership in educational innovation. CEIPA can offer the master’s program to
prepare teachers for a new PBL school and other schools in Colombia.
Implementation Plan
The implementation and evaluation plan proposed for this new masters’ program in
development of 21
st
-century skills will focus on the first phase: internal approval to get the
authorization from the National Ministry of Education (MEN for its name in Spanish), and then
the commercialization of the program. The second phase of the project would begin once the first
cohort of students enrolls in the program all the way through to graduation day. The first phase
of the program could take approximately one year; although given the current COVID-19
conditions, there is uncertainty over when CEIPA could start new projects; for that reason, the
evaluation plan only covers the first phase. The process for approval of a new program includes
the following steps: internal support, creation of the program proposal for the MEN,
consolidation of the information, registration of the information in the MEN information system,
peer review assigned by MEN, report of the peer review for CEIPA comments, and final
decision by the MEN. The creation of the proposal for the MEN includes: justification of the
program, market analysis, objectives of the program, outcome profile, curriculum, faculty,
admission process, research options, students support services, alumni programs, and financial
resources. Once the MEN approves the program, CEIPA can start the student enrollment
process.
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Phase two is the implementation of the master’s program in the development of 21
st
-
century skills, which is out of the scope of this dissertation in terms of implementation planning.
As an illustration of some of the activities that CEIPA would need to do once the program is
approved by MEN and students are enrolled, CEIPA would need to identify and train faculty to
teach in the new master’s program. Even though CEIPA may have some faculty who could teach
in the program, they would need to be trained since their specialty is teaching PBL for adults in
business areas. Therefore, the faculty selected from CEIPA would need to be prepared to teach
K-12 school teachers. CEIPA also would need to select teachers from K-12 schools or other
universities that meet the teaching requirements. To guarantee excellence in the program, the
new faculty would need to attend workshops with experts in different topics. The faculty of the
program would have to develop a study plan, select the readings, and prepare the materials.
Table 11

Phase 1 Implementation Plan for the Creation of a Master’s Program in Development of 21st
Century Skills

Action Steps Capacity & Resource
Requirements
Time frame Indicators & Measures
Creation of the
proposal for the
Ministry of
Education
Human talent
(Program Director,
assistant, support
team, peer review)
Financial resources
Six months Internal approval by
Academic Board and
Board of Trustees
Registration in
the Ministry of
Education
platform
Human talent
(specialist in
managing the Ministry
of Education (MEN)
platform)
Financial resources
(MEN fees)
One week Code assigned by the
platform
Attending to the
visits of
academic peers
Human Talent
(Program Director,
teachers, support from
other departments in
the Institution)
Three days
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Financial Resources
Logistic
(confirmations of
participants, rooms,
coffee breaks, lunch,
etc.)
Answering the
comments of
academic peers
Human talent
(Program Director,
Secretary General,
President)
One week Authorization of MEN
by assigning a Code in
the SNIES
Promotion of the
program
Human Talent
(Program Director,
communications team,
commercial team)
Financial resources
Technological
resources
Four months Number of applicants
Selection of
students
Human Talent
(Program Director)
Three months Number of students
enrolled
Selection and
training of the
faculty
Human talent
(Program Director)
Three months (and
ongoing)

Evaluation Plan
The evaluation plan described below is designed for the first phase which covers only the
process of obtaining the approval for the master’s program from the MEN. For the second phase,
once the program is approved, it will be necessary to establish an additional implementation and
evaluation plan. According to Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick (2007), the evaluation model was
developed initially to assess the effectiveness of corporate-style professional development
training. However, it can be expanded to other forms of educational and academic training. The
importance of designing an evaluation plan for this recommendation is that the new master’s
program in development of 21
st
-century skills can be denied by the MEN in any of the steps of
the project. Although this implementation plan does not focus on a student or participant training
process, the researcher considers it relevant to use the Kirkpatrick model in order to control each
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step of the implementation process. The Kirkpatrick model Level 1, Reaction, will measure the
acceptance of the program in the internal community. Level 2, Learning, will focus on the
evaluation of the program by academic peers. Level 3, Behavior, will define if the program is
approved by the MEN and whether it has applicants. Level 4, Results, will focus on the number
of students that enroll in the program.
Table 12
Evaluation of the Creation of the Master’s Program in Development of 21
st
Century Skills
Reaction
(Level 1)
Learning
(Level 2)
Behavior
(Level 3)
Results
(Level 4)
Internal approval
Acceptance of
registration of the
program from
MEN
Peer review report Resolution of
approval of the
program from MEN
Number of
applicants
Number of students
enrolled to start the
program

Recommendation Two: Teacher Certificate Program
The Certificate Program recommendation is inspired by the HTH Intern Program and will
follow the same purpose of certifying teachers to teach under the PBL model. Similar to the
HTH Intern Program, the primary aims will be connecting theory and practice, modeling
teaching strategies, and promoting student’s’ voice. The program is structured in seven modules:
Educational trends, Classroom structure, Fundamentals of project management, Teaching and
learning, Design for deeper learning, Authentic assessment, and Intern fieldwork. As a master’s
program, a similar program will be offered by CEIPA, or a similar institution, as continuing
education. This type of program would need the approval of the academic board of CEIPA and
could be registered in the Secretariat of Education of Antioquia, to allow public school teachers
to obtain some credits for the public teachers’ national ranking. The main purpose of this
program is to prepare teachers for the new K-12 school in Colombia. CEIPA will also benefit
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from this program as an alternative to train their teachers. This program can also be offered to
teachers in other schools for private training or open to the general public. In general, these two
recommended programs can serve as drivers for changing teaching in Colombia in order to
educate citizens with 21st-century skills and competencies to meet labor market needs and allow
students to thrive.
Implementation Plan
The implementation plan for this recommended solution is internal to CEIPA and does
not require any government agency or committee approval. Only in the event the program is
offered to teachers who work in public schools will it be mandatory to register the program at the
Antioquia State Secretariat of Education so that credits may be certified to the teachers. The plan
presented below compiles the activities from design to the end stages of the first student cohort.
Table 13
Implementation Plan for the Creation of the Certified Program
Action Steps Capacity &
Resource
Requirements
Time frame Indicators &
Measures
Designing the
program
Human talent
(Program Director,
assistant, support
team, peer review)
Two months Internally approved
by Academic Board
and Board of
Trustees
Search for possible
academic
agreements
Human talent
(Program Director)
Financial
resources

Selecting and
training the faculty
Human talent
(Program Director)

Two months Roaster of faculty
Creation of
materials and
educational
resources
Human talent
(Program Director,
teachers, support
team)
Financial
resources
Two months All courses created
in the LMS with
direct access to the
educational
resources
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Educational
resources (Books,
DataBase, web
material)
Starting the
promotion of the
program
Human talent
(Program Director,
Communications
team, commercial
team)
Financial
resources
Technological
resources
Two months Number of
applicants
Selecting students
Human talent
(Program Director)
One month Number of students
enrolled
First cohort
Human talent
(Program Director,
teachers, support
team)
Financial
resources
Educational
resources (Books,
DataBase, web
material)
Six months in total.
The program
combines two on-
campus residential
sessions and four
synchronous
sessions of 2 hours
each per module
and independent
work.
Number of graduate
students
Academic
assessment

Evaluation Plan
For this recommended solution, the Kirkpatrick and Kirkpatrick model of evaluation
(2007) is used. The first three levels focus on the teachers that attend the certification program.
Level 1, Reaction, measures the participants’ perception of each module. Level 2, Learning, will
focus on the improvement of participants’ knowledge. Level 3, Behavior, will focus on the
change in behavior of the participants through the evaluation of mini-projects. Level 4 will focus
on results, specifically, the projects of the program’s graduate students.

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Table 14
Evaluation Plan Recommendation for Teacher Certificate Program
Reaction (Level 1) Learning (Level 2) Behavior (Level 3) Results (Level 4)
Use “smile” sheets
at the end of each
course
Monitor attendance
and completion rates

Pre/post-test on the
content
Final program
survey assessing
confidence and
commitment to the
change
Evaluation of
student’s learning
artifacts, for
example, student
portfolios
Results of mini
project
Evaluation by
external experts of
the project
developed by the
program’s graduate
students.
Focus groups with
the employers of the
alumni

Culture of Collaboration
According to Weare, Lichterman, and Esparza (2014), the institutions that individuals
create and within which they are embedded create constraints and opportunities that generate and
reproduce particular norms, attitudes, and behaviors that we identify with the term culture
(Weare, Lichterman, & Esparza, 2014). As presented by Camacho et al. (2018), several
theoretical and empirical contributions have concluded that organizational culture plays a
significant role in the successful implementation of PBL. According to Weare et al. (2014),
rather than a binding constraint on interests and rationality, culture is constitutive of
organizational action since it shapes actors’ interests and alternative courses of action. A
common aspect of PBL models is the interaction between the pedagogy and change-management
layers, which thus connect micro-level activities with macro-level structure (Camacho et al.,
2018). Camacho et al. (2018) propose a corporate model focusing on the organizational level
involving four aspects: curriculum, organizational structure and regulation, infrastructure and
resources, and organizational culture.
123
Camacho et al. (2018) suggest that implementation of the PBL model needs the
construction of a new form of interaction and creation of knowledge, joint work, and meaning-
making. In other words, the organization must go through a process of redefining values, beliefs,
and assumptions into a new organizational practice. Camacho et al. (2018) present the six traits
of culture that are important in the establishment of the school: shared patterns associated with a
shared vision, collaboration, tradition, shared decision making, communication, and innovation.
Based on the findings presented in Chapter Four, this recommendation is to focus on the
culture of the new school around collaboration and adopt the promises practices learned from
HTH in teacher collaboration, including significant time set aside for teacher collaboration,
cross-disciplinary teams, coffee mornings, pizza lunches, and crazy Fridays. The development of
the new school in Colombia should focus on aligning the philosophy, values, structures, and
policies to ensure a culture of collaboration. Using Camacho et al.’s (2018) definition, shared
vision must reflect the shared meaning representing the values, educational model, and the
purpose of the institution. Traditions are the actions, metaphors, symbols, and ceremonies that
make values and assumptions visible. Collaboration considers the stated and implicit
expectations of group behavior and work. Shared decision making and how a group makes
decisions show the values of the group. Innovation includes dealing with changes that challenge
existing assumptions and cultural beliefs. Communication is the way the group expresses itself,
including the emotions of its members. With this in mind, the new institution must align all
people management strategies with the selection of the team, the onboarding program, teacher
development, incentives, and the evaluation of the team and corporate communication based on
the six traits made for the new school. The recommendations related to the Teacher Certificate
Program and the Master’s Program in Development of 21
st
Century Skills are interrelated with
124
this recommendation as these teacher education programs will help instill collaborative practices
through teacher education to help build cultures of collaboration in schools.
Implementation Plan
According to the six traits proposed by Camacho et al. (2018), the new school must
clearly define what the vision, traditions, and innovation process will be. It also has to set
policies for shared decision making, communication, and collaboration. The implementation plan
process to create a culture of collaboration must begin with the definition of the six traits, the
design of the administrative process, and the establishment of school policies by the new
school’s founders. Also, special care will be needed in terms of designing the buildings of the
new school, such as to include the recommendations made by the senior leader and Teacher 3 of
using glass to make the space welcoming, height to control the temperature, and the size of the
school. The implementation plan will cover from the initial stages of the new school
development all the way through to the authorization by the Secretariat of Education or the
Institution that approves new schools. The evaluation plan will be developed later based on the
strategic plan and academic proposal for the new school and the start of operations.
Table 15
Implementation Plan: Culture of Collaboration
Action Steps Capacity & Resource
Requirements
Time frame
Definition of the new school’s
vision
Human talent (Founders,
Consultant, Principal)

Definition of the new school’s
values
Human talent (Founders,
Consultant, Principal)
Definition of the new school’s
educational model
Human talent (Principal,
Teachers, Consultant)
Definition of the new school’s
traditions and symbols
Human talent (Founders,
Consultant, Principal)
Market Study Human talent (Principal,
Consultant)
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Construction of strategic plan
for the new school
Human talent (Founders,
Consultant, Principal)
One year
Construction of the academic
proposal
Human talent (Founders,
Consultant, Principal)
Submission of the proposal to
the government agency
Human talent (Principal)
Answering to government
requirements
Human talent (Principal)

Future Research
This initial study sought to understand a promising practice in PBL in order to draw
lessons for students’ 21
st
century skills development in Colombia. Several follow-up studies
could be conducted related to this initial case study. Targeted studies using Clark and Estes
(2008) gap analysis at particular schools that use the PBL model could be enlightening, with
examinations from multiple stakeholder groups, particularly students and parents, to yield
insights for improving these programs. Another possible area for future research would be to
make comparisons across different schools that have adopted PBL to get more robust findings
for the promising practices transferable to Colombia. Another avenue for further research would
study the organizational model to implement PBL. In the same direction, further research could
be conducted on the organizational culture that corresponds to the values and beliefs underlying
PBL. Another future area of research could examine the resource needed to implement the PBL
model versus traditional schools under different perspectives and costs. Finally, further research
is needed on how to transform a conventional school based on routine memorization to a PBL
model to develop 21
st
-century skills.
Conclusion
This study sought to identify and understand teacher knowledge, motivation, and
organizational assets needed to incorporate a PBL model and develop students’ 21
st
-century
126
skills. Studying promising practices in school models, such as PBL that is preparing students
with 21
st
-century skills, can help create new schooling models globally and in Colombia, where
there is a great interest in improving education and supporting new models. Colombia has made
considerable efforts to expand access to education, increasing enrollment rates at both the
secondary level and in general vocation education and widening access to early childhood
thorough childcare centers as well as broadening access to tertiary education. Gaps in enrollment
rates still persist between urban and rural areas, particularly in pre-primary and upper secondary
education, and the country still needs to make additional efforts to increase coverage and keep
students in school (Forero & Saavedra, 2019).
Increased globalization, rapid technological change, and demographic migration are
creating new VUCA environments with a mismatch between skills development and the labor
market skills demanded. With the changing global labor markets, it is essential to understand
what competencies are required by the labor market and their impact on the educational world.
21
st
-century skills affect all levels of educational systems and how they will help develop the
needed skills and competencies. Some education systems have moved ahead with transforming
themselves to meet the new skills demands, while others have not made similar progress.
Colombia has made considerable efforts to expand access to education, but additional work
needs to be done in increasing the quality of education and developing the required mindsets,
skills, and attributes among students.
This work will call on further development of and investment in teachers in Colombia.
As such, this study examined teachers’ assets in a promising practice model, and recommended
solutions for the development of new teacher training models for the creation of a new school in
Colombia that incorporates a PBL model to develop 21
st
century skills.
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136
APPENDIX A
INTERVIEW PROTOCOL
Introductory Protocol
The purpose of our conversation today will be for me to explore your ideas about project-
based learning in HTH. In order to assist note-taking during the interview, I would like to make
an audio recording of our conversation. This recording will be transcribed and destroyed after the
interview, with no identifying information attached to the transcription. Only I will have access
to original recordings and transcriptions. This information will not be passed onto any HTH
employees, and only my dissertation professor and committee, who are all USC professors and
unaffiliated to HTH, will have access to the transcription, if needed. Is it ok if I record our
conversation?
Please be aware that all information I collect, including any notes, transcriptions, or audio
feed, will be held as strictly confidential. Your participation in this study is voluntary, which
means that you may withdraw from the study should you feel uncomfortable at any time. The
study intends to identify HTH’s assets in PBL in order to create a new school in Colombia, South
America based on the information gathered. No harm is intended as a result of this study. Thank
you for your participation in the study and for taking the time to speak with me today. I value
your voice, experience, and suggestions so that we can work together to bring the PBL
educational model to Colombia. You have been selected randomly among the teachers who have
been teaching for more than five years and have taught for more than three years at HTH. I am
not interested in evaluating teachers, but in learning from them.
Demographic Information
Gender:
137
Grades(s) taught:
Total years of experience:
Total years of experience at HTH:
Questions
Suppose I am a new teacher interested in working at HTH,
1. (if the teacher has taught at another school). As a teacher, can you illustrate the
difference between what you are doing here at HTH and what you did in other
schools?
2. What do you think are the key benefits of PBL, if any?
Probe: Please discuss some of the reason for teachers to engage in PBL.
3. Thank you for telling me of the benefits. Now, I would like to hear what some of the
challenges of PBL are?
4. What kind of training have you received either outside or inside of HTH to help you
to teach under the PBL model, if any. What in this training was particularly helpful to
you?
Probe: Can you tell me more specifically about any training or professional
development that you have engaged in through HTH?
5. Was any training less helpful for you or is there any additional training you have felt
like you needed?
6. As someone looking to develop teacher training in PBL in Colombia, what will be
essential to include in this training?
7. Can you walk me through the process of project design?
8. Please give me an example of a project that integrates different academic areas.
138
9. Tell me about how you reflect on what works, or does not work, in a project you
propose to the students.
Probe: How often do you engage in reflection? Can you give me an example of
the last project you reflected on and the changes you made based on that reflection?
10. Please provide an example of a time when you felt you did a significant project
successfully. How did this success influence your confidence in teaching under the
PBL model, if at all?
Probe: Would you describe an example of one project in which you felt
challenged? And how did you face this situation?
11. How often would you say you feel success?
12. Tell me about your goals for teaching in HTH? Alternatively, what are your teaching
goals under the PBL model?
13. How often do you collaborate with other teachers, if at all? Can you give me some
examples?
Probe: How important is it for the school that the teachers collaborate with each
other? Do you feel the school values your collaboration?
14. What are the main strategies or actions that HTH has implemented to support
student’s’ success in entering postsecondary education?
15. Now, can you describe the main strategies or actions that HTH has implemented to
support student’s’ success in productive citizenship?
16. How would you say the school measures the success of implementing PBL?
17. How does the school hold itself accountable for achieving that success?
139
18. Compared to other schools in which you have worked, how different are the
administrative processes and training available to you at HTH?
19. Is there anything else you want to tell me about teaching at HTH or the training
available to you to be effective in your job?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Studying promising practices in school models, such as project-based learning, that are developing students with 21st-century skills can help to create new models of schooling globally and in Colombia, where there is a great interest in improving education and supporting new models. The purpose of this project is to study High Tech High’s performance relating to a more significant problem of practice, the lack of school focus on students’ 21st-century skills development in Colombia. Clark and Estes (2008) identified that organizations can bridge the gap between actual and desired performance by identifying the knowledge, motivation, and organizational resources people need to have. Assumed knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences on assets that may contribute to the success of High Tech High (HTH) teachers in developing students with 21st-century skills were formulated through the review of published literature. Data collection was primarily focused on informal interviews with seven participants, the review of course syllabi, and the reflection portfolio of one of the teachers. This study examined 11 assumed assets of teachers of HTH. It was found that 10 of them were validated to be assets, and two more emerged as new assets. The two new assets are transferable to other contexts with a necessary adjustment. Two recommendation solutions are proposed for the creation of the new school in Colombia that incorporates a project-based learning model to develop 1st-century skills.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Mazo Cuervo, Diego Mauricio (author)

Core Title Building 21st century skills for school-age children in Colombia: lessons from a promising practice

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Global Executive

Publication Date 07/25/2020

Defense Date 07/07/2020

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag 21st-century skills,High Tech High,OAI-PMH Harvest,project-based learning,teacher development

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Krop, Cathy Sloane (committee chair), Picus, Lawrence O. (committee member), Seli, Helena (committee member)

Creator Email diego.mazo@icloud.com,mazo@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-343039

Unique identifier UC11663792

Identifier etd-MazoCuervo-8748.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-343039 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-MazoCuervo-8748.pdf

Dmrecord 343039

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Mazo Cuervo, Diego Mauricio

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA