1. Provide Case Scenarios
Ask the kids to write a one-page explanation or narrative of what they might do to solve a realistic problem or sticky situation that students may relate to. Have them do it in one class sitting, and make sure you tell them it's low stakes. The results will tell you a lot -- yes, their writing skills and their understanding of narrative structure -- but it will also provide some insights into their reasoning, logic, and maturity level. What you glean from the results of these case scenarios will help you as you design problem-based learning in the future and scaffold for specific students, and give you plenty of student examples to use during instruction.