Project Based Learning

Engaging Students in the 21st Century

Why PBL Works

• Overcomes the dichotomy between knowledge and thinking, helping students to both “know” and “do.”

• Assesses performance on content and skills using criteria similar to those in the work world, thus encouraging accountability, goal setting, and improved performance.

• Meets the needs of learners with varying skill levels and learning styles.

• Engages and motivates bored or indifferent students.

Project Based Learning Explained

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMCZvGesRz8

8 Essentials for Project-Based Learning

• 1. Significant Content

• 2. A Need to Know

• 3. A Driving Question

• 4. Student Voice and Choice

• 5. 21st Century Skills

• 6. Inquiry and Innovation

• 7. Feedback and Revision

• 8. Publically Presented Content

• Read the article and discuss.

BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

First Steps

1. DEVELOP A PROJECT IDEA

• Work backward from a topic

• Use your Standards

• Find projects and ideas on the Web

• Map your community

• Match what people do in their daily work

• Tie the project to local and national events

• Focus on community service

2. DECIDE THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

• Duration• Breadth

• Technology• Outreach• Partnership• Audience

SMALL PROJECT

• 5 to 10 days• One Topic/standard

• Limited• Classroom-based• One Teacher• Classroom/School

AMBITIOUS PROJECT

• Most of semester• Multiple

• Extensive• Community-based• Multiple • Expert panel

Student Autonomy

PROJECT DESIGN AND THE STUDENTS’ ROLE

Limited Student Input

Maximum Student Input

Teacher selects topic Teacher solicits student input

Students select topic

Teacher defines learning outcomes

Teacher and students negotiate learning

outcomes

Students define learning outcomes

Student Autonomy (cont.)

PROJECT ACTIVITIES AND THE STUDENTS’ ROLE

Limited Student Autonomy

Maximum Student Autonomy

Teacher defines products and

activities Teacher solicits student input

Students define products and

activities

Teacher controls timeline and pace of

project

Students determine timeline and pace of

project

3. SELECT STANDARDS

• Key questions: “What do you want your students to know and be able to do?” or “What topics would you be embarrassed about if your students couldn’t discuss them intelligently at the end of the project?”

• Be selective: do not try to meet too many standards in a short project. Three or less is best.

• Literacy as a core standard: Include at least one literacy outcome in your project-along with a major product (writing, speaking).

4. INCORPORATE SIMULTANEOUS OUTCOMES

Work together in teams to discover projects to incorporate across the curriculum.

How can “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” produce simultaneous outcomes at Bertie Academy?

“CRITICAL FRIENDS” ACTIVITY

• Watch the following YouTube clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZZguTrqqo

• Discuss in groups of 2-3, how this issue can produce simultaneous outcomes in your school.

• Use chart paper to write your ideas, post.

• Gallery Walk

GALLERY WALK PROTOCOL

• Visit each posting. You are now “critical friends.”

• Using Post it notes, leave feedback with statements that begin with “I like…” to express the things you like about the idea, and “I wonder” for things you have questions about or things you think can be done differently or better.

Skills

• Communication

• Technology

• Group Process

• Design

• Problem Solving and Critical Thinking

• Task- and Self-Management

• Workplace Skills

• 21st Century Skills

5. WORK FROM PROJECT DESIGN CRITERIA

• Does your project…• Meet standards?• Engage students?• Focus on essential understanding?• Encourage higher-level thinking?• Teacher literacy and reinforce basic skills?• Allow all students to succeed?• Use clear, precise assessments?• Require the sensible use of technology?• Address authentic issues?

6. CREATE THE OPTIMAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

• Give your project one or more connections beyond the classroom.

• Alter your classroom’s look and feel.

• See the whole before practicing the parts.

• Study content and apply it to authentic problems.

• Make schoolwork more like real work.

PLANNING A PBL PROJECT

THE BIG PICTURE

PLANNING: The Gender Project

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y8_UxQnuHc&list=PL3AA6ADD734414F11

• What did you notice about the diversity of the student population?

• What did you notice about the professionals who collaborated on the project design?

• How do those entities compare with those of Bertie Academy?

Planning Steps

• Select significant content for your project

• Develop a project idea

• Decide on major student products

• Involve a public audience

• Write a driving question

PLANNING PRACTICE

• Go to www.bie.org and use the Project Search feature, or use one the examples provided. Choose two projects that might be of interest to you and complete the form.

• Brainstorm about potential project ideas for your content area.

• Select significant content for your project. List the general topics you plan to teach for the semester and circle content that jumps out as potential starting points for project ideas.

• Think about which standards are the most important in the academic content areas you teach.

• Decide the major products (Written, Presentations, Media and Technology, Models, Planning).

• Decide on the public audience for your project.

Crafting the Driving Question

• Driving Questions Are:• Provocative and engaging• Open-ended• Go to the heart of a discipline or topic• Challenging• Generated from real-world dilemmas that

students find interesting• Consistent with curricular standards and

frameworks

Refining the Driving Question

GOOD DQ BETTER DQ

Was Truman’s decision to drop the bomb justified?

Can the use of nuclear weapons be justified?

What is global warming? Should we be worried about global warming in our town?

What have been the most popular novels among teenagers in the last 30 years?

How has reading changed for teenagers over the last 30 years?

Activity: Refine the DQs. Share (p. 23 PBL 101)

PBL Project Planner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWh0act_9HE&list=PLjPPY3iAAnI6GylOwWQLqdrnxONc1cwbW

RESOURCES

• www.bie.org

• www.edutopia.org

• http://www.youtube.com/user/BIEPBL?feature=g-high-crv