Clarification of title: Project Based Learning, Problem Based Learning, and other names which sound about like this including constructivist learning. Focus on the general concept, not the specific name.
New Skills for a New Century -- Edutopia article
Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy site
Gentlemen, divide and conquer: pick one to read and post your summary comments and reactions below. First come, first served...so post your intent to read first; react later.
6 comments:
Just got off the phone with Chris. The top and bottom ones are taken.
New Skills for a New Century -- Edutopia article
This thought-provoking article champions Project Based Learning as a savior for the American economy in its struggle against increasing competition from the world. It even invokes a line from Thomas L. Friedman’s The World is Flat: "Finish your homework. People in India and China are starving for your job."
The criticisms about NCLB and standardized testing are as predictable as Rosie O'Donnell interrupting Barbara Walters, but the stories about the New Technology High School, in Napa, California make this a good read. The whole school uses PBL in every course. Students are expected to collaborate on projects and given ‘grades’ that make an elementary school report card look brief: “…the grade report shows separate grades for content, critical thinking, written communication, oral communication, technology literacy, and any of the other Learning Outcomes appropriate for the course.” Student evaluations are stored online and may be retrieved so a student understands how they have progressed or regressed in a given skill over their school career.
The school’s strategy has been successful since its inception in 1996:
“To learn collaboration, work in teams.
To learn critical thinking, take on complex problems.
To learn oral communication, present.
To learn written communication, write.
To learn technology, use technology.
To develop citizenship, take on civic and global issues.
To learn about careers, do internships.
To learn content, research and do all of the above.”
What is project based lesson?
Project-based learning, problem-based learning, and inquiry-based learning all three closely relate to the information processing approach. They all fit well with technology-rich learning environments where the focus is not on the hardware and software, but on the learning experience.
In each case, technology is used to facilitate learning. It may be a tool to organize ideas (such as Inspiration), search for current information (such as an online news source), or present ideas (such as PowerPoint presentations). However the focus of learning environment is the student's excitement about solving a problem or addressing an issue they find meaningful.
How the lesson is structured?
Project-based learning, as with all lessons, requires much preparation and planning.
When designing the project and the student question that will launch the project, it is essential that you have in mind exactly which content standards will be addressed.
Once these standards are in mind, then devise a plan that will integrate as many subjects as possible and appropriate into the project. Have in mind what materials and resources will be accessible to the students to assist them.
Next, what time allotment will be given to the project? Will this project be conducted during the entire school day or during dedicated blocks of time? How many days will be devoted to the project?
Students will need to be given direction for managing their time, a definite life skill.
Finally, have a means for assessing your students' completion of the project. Did the students master the content? Were they able to apply their new knowledge and skills?
The question that launches your project-based learning lesson must be one that engages the students. It will pose a problem or a situation that the students can tackle knowing that there is no ONE answer or solution.
Research question
The question that launches your project-based learning lesson must be engaging to the students.
It is greater than the task at hand. It will pose a problem or a situation that the students can tackle knowing that there is no one answer or solution.
Base your question on a situation or topic that is authentic. What is happening in your classroom? In your community?
Make it one that students can feel that they are making an impact by answering the question or solving the problem.
The question should be a now question -- a question that has meaning for the students in their lives at this moment in time.
Why Project based learning?
Project-based learning helps students develop skills for living in a knowledge-based, highly technological society.
The old-school model of passively learning facts and reciting them out of context is no longer sufficient to prepare students to survive in today's world.
Future of Project based learning?
The future of project based learning will include thinkQuest. A thinkQuest inspires students to think, connect, create, and share. Students work in teams to build innovative and educational websites to share with the world. Along the way, they learn research, writing, teamwork, and technology skills.
It would seems that the 21st century will required that our students are both good communicators and collaborators. Emphasis will be on responsibility and interpersonal skills. Project based learning will help to foster these skills.
Samford University site
(note: all quotes that follow are cited from the PBL section of the Samford University site -- http://www.samford.edu/ctls/problem_based_learning.html)
"PBL is both a curriculum and a process. The curriculum consists of carefully selected and designed problems that demand from the learner acquisition of critical knowledge, problem solving proficiency, self-directed learning strategies, and team participation skills. The process replicates the commonly used systemic approach to resolving problems or meeting challenges that are encountered in life and career (Barrows & Kelson)."
Problem-based Learning (PBL) was first implemented over 30 years ago at McMaster University in Canada. The purpose behind its implementation was to shift the focus of the classroom setting from the teacher to the student . . . better known to us as "student-centered". This new approach was met with great success because it allowed for hands on experience, individual creativity, and group collaboration -- all qualities which prove very beneficial in any professional ("real world") setting. It seems the underlying philosophy behind the PBL approach is "learning it by DOING it" (I believe Tom summarized the approach more eloquently on his 1/27/07 posting at 10:25).
I believe the biggest challenge for the instructor of the PBL approach is to come up with well-thought-out and designed problems that the students need to solve. These problems must relate to real-life, content-relevant situations and must require critical thinking, individual requirements, active research, and group collaboration and cooperation. Coming up with problems that require such an active solution is no easy task. Teachers using this method often derive their proposed problems based on student feedback and concerns which are relevent to contemporary issues, and of course the content area. However, once the problems are derived, the rest is up to the students. The result is an experience in which students were required to take responsibility for their learning. The PBL approach does not allow for passivity . . . it requires action. The experience can be further edified through presentation(s) of the final product. So much learning takes place through the active process required in PBL and its retention is further grounded through the teaching of the material. To add, the rest of the class, as well the instructor, benefits from the presentation(s).
After reading the history and implementation of PBL on this web site I was struck by how practical its use is in preparing students for the "real world". I cannot think of any professional career in which you do not need both critical thinking (problem-solving)and interpersonal skills. In fact, many businesses suffer due to employees that lack these skills. Picture being operated on in a setting where the surgeon and his/her assistants could not communicate with each other, or deriving a business plan for sales with a project team that did not speak your language. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed that the professional careers in the U.S. require skills that are directly nourished through Problem-based Learning. It's almost as if the professions of America are all PBL classes each dealing with different content, except we receive money for our efforts in place of grades.
** For more practical information on the structure of PBL lessons, see mr.burnside's comments from 1/27/07 (10:45p)
Great post, Rob.
One of the enduring understandings I get from PBL echoes your thoughts: the teacher doesn't teach, he/she coaches. It is not easy to create a PBL approach to lesson delivery, but when you do, it is amazing. It is such a great contrast from the traditional 'Chalk & Talk' that bores so many students.
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