Blog Assignment #9

What can Teachers and Students Teach us about Project Based Learning?

   Project-based learning, as we have discovered throughout this course, is about allowing students to take hold of their education, and let them control the method in which they learn course material. It is done in large by students harnessing their technological abilities and diving in to the wide world of information and creativity. The articles and videos that were referenced in this blog post are all about project-based learning.

   The first source we were assigned to review was an article called Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning by John Larmer and John R. Mergendoller. They begin the article by explaining the difference between busy work and project-based learning. They describe a typical science project where the teacher gives specific details and items for the students to use, such as specific books, websites, and project details. In the end, the students are all doing the exact same thing with no ambition to go out and learn more about their subject. Larmer and Mergendoller give seven key ingredients to effective project-based assignments. You should always give students "A Need to Know", "A Driving Question", and a "Student Voice and Choice". These give the students initiative and engage them in the material that they will be learning. In the article, the writers say, "They [the students] are unmotivated by a teacher's suggestion that they should learn something because they'll need it later in life, for the next course, or simply because "it's going to be on the test." With a compelling student project, the reason for learning relevant material becomes clear: I need to know this to meet the challenge I've accepted." This is the point of giving students "A Need to Know". Another point made that stood out to me was, "A project without a driving question is like an essay without a thesis. Without a thesis statement, a reader might be able to pick out the main point a writer is trying to make; but with a thesis statement, the main point is unmistakable. Without a driving question, students may not understand why they are undertaking a project. They know that the series of assigned activities has some connection with a time period, a place, or a concept. But if you asked, "What is the point of all these activities?" they might only be able to offer, 'Because we're making a poster.'" This is why we give students "A Driving Question" and "Student Voice and Choice".
   More things that should be included in project-based learning is "21st Century Skills", "Inquiry and Information", "Feedback and Revision", and "A Publicly Presented Product". The writers state, "A project should give students opportunities to build such 21st century skills as collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and the use of technology, which will serve them well in the workplace and life. This exposure to authentic skills meets the second criterion for meaningful work—an important purpose". These skills are indeed important. Through project-based learning, students develop these skills through group collaboration and presenting their learned material. "Inquiry and Information" allows students to do more than just search websites and books for information. Instead, they allow students to create their own web of questions they come up with themselves, and go out in search of answers to these questions. All of this is student generated learning. "Feedback and Revision" is a way for the teacher to teach students how to use rubrics, and to help students to see that everyone's work is not perfect before the final presentation. It shows that there is always room for improvement in everyone's work. Lastly, "A Publicly Presented Product" motivates the students to work harder on their project. Instead of just the teacher seeing it, other students and sometimes other people they don't know on the internet, depending on how the project is presented, will be viewing their work, which makes them want to do top notch quality work.

   The second source that we looked at was the video Project-Based Learning for Teachers by Tony Vincent. For the most part, it seems to be an introductory video for a seminar of some sorts. It did give a great three minute summary of what project-based learning is. According to this video, project-based learning is this:

   The third source that I chose to review was High School Teachers Meet the Challenges of PBL Implementation by Edutopia. The video begins with a teacher's opinion of how she would go about creating a school from scratch if she had to. The first thing she asked herself "What kind of world will the students be going into?" and "How will they need to be prepared?". This video is about Sammamish High School, in Bellevue, Washington, which is a high school that is in its third year of a five year transition into a school wide project-based (or problem-based) learning approach. They are currently rearranging 30 courses, changing the teaching styles of over 75 teachers. The people in the video noted that by putting the choice in the teachers' hands, and allowing them to choose their own curriculum to create project-based learning assignments made it easier for teachers to adapt to the new learning style. A teacher stated that English and Math are difficult subjects to approach in a project-based manner. An example of what is being done in their English classes though is the reading of Elie Wiesel's Holocaust memoir Night, and comparing the silence the Jewish people faced to the silence other social groups in the world face today. It is an engaging, real-world application that keeps the students wanting to learn more. All of the teachers enjoy how excited and engaged their students are in project-based learning. The teachers involved in this shift of learning are constantly collaborating with one another, and with people that are more experienced with project-based learning. It involves a week of summer training, along with faculty meetings and even a class period every day of them working together to create the best assignments for their students. The students are also seeing the advantages of project-based learning. Students were interviewed and they shared how with project-based learning, they are able to see the big picture of how what they are learning applies to their future and everyday lives.

   The fourth source I chose was "Project Based Learning PE" by a blogger that goes by the name Pflug. This blog describes a Project-based learning assignment that was created for high school students that has them create a PE lesson for middle school students. The lesson, which applies to the high school students as well as the middle school students, has the students use the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) standards for current physical education. The project addresses the importance of being healthy and physically fit, but also allows students to work with younger students and develop team work skills.

   The last source I chose was "Two Students Solve the Case of the Watery Ketchup by Designing a New Cap" by Lindsey Float, which is a report that was done by PBS Newshour. This is an example of project-based learning that reached the media's attention. It's pretty amazing that the level of work being done by students through project-based learning is reaching new audiences. The two students, Tyler Richards and Jonathan Thompson, are a part of Project Lead the Way at their school North Liberty High School, in Liberty, Missouri. The question that brought this project to life was to finish the sentence, "It really bugs me when...". The students then took the answer to that questions, and did research on something that was relevant to them. Richards and Thompson just so happened to choose wet bread from water being in the ketchup bottle. The students searched through patents and discovered that they had an idea they could work with. Using 3D printing and other engineering technology, they created a ketchup cap that caught the attention of not only their skeptical teacher, but the news! That is so exciting! The work students are doing in high school classrooms is being recognized in the general public.

   Teachers and students can teach us many things about project-based learning, especially since they are using it more often than we are. The most important thing I have gotten out of all of these sources that they can teach us is the importance of project-based learning and the impact that it has on students' lives. They are learning. They are excited about learning. They are reaching new depths in their learning that I never did as a high school student. They are taking their learning beyond the reach and beliefs of their teachers. It is a phenomenal thing to see!