Monday, March 10, 2014
Discussion 1.2 PBL - Project Based Learning
Project based learning (PBL) is a hot topic in teaching. PBL builds 21st century thinkers by giving them driving questions to solve. “But it is the process of students’ learning and the depth of their cognitive engagement – rather than the resulting product – that distinguishes projects from busywork.”(Dickenson) PBL is not a project, but it is the process of learning. “PBL emphasizes in-depth inquiry over coverage.” I have not actively done any Project based learning in my class because I really don’t know where to start. What driving question do I want the students to be able to solve? When we read literature I know the path we will take and how we will dive into the text and analyze several components of it. I guess one question would be to solve the problem of discrimination in society. The 6th grade class reads Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. During the reading the students are appalled at the segregation and prejudice that dominated Alabama. We could focus the PBL on current prejudice and segregation and how they could change it.
One of the first steps of PBL is to create groups that work well together.“One of the hallmarks of high-quality PBL is an emphasis on collaboration and shared responsibility. This is not easy for teachers to do when we are confronted with the reality of students' time commitments and differing levels of interest in the project.”(Baron) The advice when making groups is to keep them at a maximum of three individuals per group. According to Adrienne Dickenson everyone matters and has a specific role in the group to make it successful. “in PBL you are teaching through the project, not teaching and then doing the project. If you want a quick way to see if you're meeting the essential elements of PBL, I highly recommend the Buck Institute for Education's PBL Project Checklist.”(Miller) When looking to implement this for the first time in my classroom I hope that I can have a mentor walk me through the process and guide me along the way.
Baron, Kathy. "Six Steps for Planning a Successful Project." Edutopia, 15 03 2010. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. .
Dickinson, Adrienne. "Practical PBL: Four Tips for Better Implementation." Adrienne Curtis...D's. Edutopia, 18 09 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. .
Miller, Andrew. "Integration Strategies for PBL." Edutopia, 29 11 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. .
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Hi Alyx,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post and loved your topic of choice. Project Based Learning, in fact, is a very important aspect of the teaching-learning process. Like you, I truly believe in collaboration and I think developing this skill helps students not just learn better in school but also be successful and well-rounded individuals. Almost every job requires this skill. Also, I agree with the fact that it is challenging for teachers to adapt projects to students’ motivation and different levels of interest. Whenever I implement an activity in my class I try to assign everyone a role. However, it is not easy and, even more challenging, it is to grade a project acknowledging that students had different role in it. It is almost like having a different rubric per each role. However, if I keep the focus on the learning rather than on the grading, project based learning is a powerful tool. Thanks for sharing!
I agree that the grading is one of the difficult parts of the project. I was thinking that I could just use a complete/incomplete standard instead of a traditional grade, but I will have to experiment with that. Thank you
ReplyDeleteProject Based Learning is an excellent topic choice. I hope to begin to incorporate this learning style into my classroom as well, and like you, am struggling with where to start. To integrate PBL I feel it takes a lot of time and forethought on the teachers side to create and outline the projects, and a lot of pre-teaching to get students to where they can accomplish these assignments on their own. Collaboration being a main component, creates a challenge in itself because students have to be taught how to work together and collaborate for the common goal. I struggle with this in 5th grade but I know it is possible. It is one of my goals this summer to create a few projects that align with my curriculum, now that I am familiar with it.
ReplyDeleteAlyx,
ReplyDeleteI agree that one of the benefits of Project Based Learning is that students learn to collaborate. It will be interesting to explore how technology integration can help one to design Project Based Learning that emphasizes not only on the process of collaboration but also a tangible product. Many different presentation tools, for example, can allow groups to take pride in a tangible product. Also, these products can be put together by students with different kinds of talents and learning styles.
Yes, there is a PBL lab at Stanford that explores both of those things together. It is really quite remarkable what can be accomplished with brainpower, marketing, time, and funding.
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