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Chapter 1: Challenge-based learning

What the Heck is Challenge-Based Learning: An Internal Dialogue with An Educator

By Sophia Baez

When I first heard the term Challenge-Based Learning (CBL), I honestly thought, “here we go, yet another flashy pedagogical approach in education that is going to inject rigor in classrooms. To have students and educators work, ‘harder, better, faster, stronger’ in the words of Daft Punk. Is there going to be another wave of rigor crashing down on classrooms all over the country, especially in this ‘Post-Pandemic World’...whatever that means…”

Well, I know what it means. It means chronic absenteeism on the rise(1), teachers leaving the classroom at alarming rates(2), and of course students with tremendous learning loss(3). So when it came to my initial impulse on the term CBL I [internally] screamed, “isn’t learning challenging enough?”  

Well, luckily, after some reading, listening, and understanding it was made clear the CBL is not centered around arbitrarily infusing challenging materials into an existing curriculum. In fact, the core of CBL has students addressing issues within their community with a design thinking approach. “Oh no, not another concept. These concepts were thrown around in the ivory towers of my graduate school, but can they really work in classrooms?”  The reality is, for many educators and students, the schools have changed—I mean for goodnesssakes when I first started teaching Airpods did not exist. And for many in the classroom, social media was an idea fit for the sci-fi section of Blockbuster. 

“Fair point,” I countered to myself. So here is what I discovered: 

The process of CBL is as follows: 

  • Community, Empathy, and Student Voice: The heart of CBL. “Wow, student voice at the center?” During my decade in classrooms, I found student voices were stifled, silenced, and separated from their own experiences. Because the reality is while some of the challenges have stayed the same [“Yes, high school students still have test anxiety”], many have changed. So we need to hear from students the challenges that they see and face. 

  • Challenge Prompt:   Think of this as the quest, students are about to embark on. But unlike in the Hero’s Journey where a wise mage bestows the challenge from some prophecy, in Challenge-Based learning, the students are listening to key stake-holders to co-create the prompt, which is key in the design thinking process. Prompts are derived from industry, non-profit, and content standards, rooted in student interest. Having student involvement in this process grants them agency and self-confidence to tackle the world. We know students are facing challenges, why not start with those in their own backyards? “Now I want to have a Lord of the Rings Marathon.” 

  • Ideation: The brainstorm session, assuming resources and time are unlimited. “Unlimited?” Now, I was getting excited. I found that the limitations have taken up real estate in my classroom–not enough time, family buy-in, money, or whatever it is. But even if the final product was not limitless, why does that have to stop the brainstorming process? It’s like cancelling the soccer game at the sight of a rain cloud. “Let the kids play!”

  • Prototype: Begins with low-fidelity solutions while also assessing feasibility, viability, and desirability. “It feels like I am in Spy Kids or something!”  Wrong demographic? My apologies. Having students not only have to think and reflect if their concept would actually address their needs and the needs of their community are questions engineers, politicians, consultants chew on in offices and universities across the world. Students are having multiple rounds of this way of thinking even a semester. 

  • Iteration: Where students engage with stakeholders and users to gather insight. Does the solution work or not? A key aspect of CBL is having students speak to industry leaders. “Students talking to industry leaders. That is pretty cool.” I thought so too. 

While my first thoughts about CBL were suspicious…and maybe a little bit snarky. “Hey!” I really started to see the vision and the value of this learning model. The names and faces of dozens of students flashed that would have benefited from learning with a CBL lens–asking questions upon questions without thinking of the exam, addressing challenges that hit close to home, and dreaming without limitation. Imagine, even if for a moment, that classrooms were hubs of students' creation and discovery instead of filling stations of teacher knowledge. What would that look like? Sound like? Feel like? “Seems, sounds, and feels pretty incredible to me.” I agree, internal dialogue, I agree.

Sophia Baez M.Ed, is the Innovation Coach for the Iovine Young Center in Miami Dade County, where she draws on her experience as a teacher, Associate Dean of Students, and Associate Director of Multicultural Affairs. She is passionate about collaborating with educators to foster supportive and data-driven educational environments, recognizing that a positive teacher experience is crucial for student success. Sophia received her Bachelors degree  from Brandeis University and her Masters degree in Educational Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.