What is PBL? To help teachers do PBL well, we created a comprehensive, research-based model for PBL — a "gold standard" to help teachers, schools, and organizations to measure, calibrate, and improve their practice. In Gold Standard PBL, projects are focused on student learning goals and include Essential Project Design Elements: Www.innovationunit.org/sites/default/files/Teacher%27s Guide to Project-based Learning.pdf. Video Library. 9 PBL On-line Resources That Put Students At The Center… Voice, Input, Contribution.
Welcome to the fifth in a series of PBL Mania Posts . For the last few weeks I am celebrating Project Based Learning. In this post I will introduce you to some outstanding online tools found on the web that will put kids in the center of PBL. Before reading please take a moment to subscribe to this 21centuryedtech Blog by email or RSS and also give me a follow on Twitter at mjgormans. You will not want to miss this series or future posts involving STEM, Flipping the Classroom, Technology Integration, Common Core, and 21st Century Skills, So Sign Up Now!
In this post I am going to introduce you to some resources that can clearly put students at the center of their own education. Socrative – This is an amazing online tool that promises to engage the class using any device. Remind101 – Now you can manage your class and ongoing PBL projects.Remind101 is a safe/free way for teachers to text message students and stay in touch with parents. Like this: Like Loading... PBL: Empowering Students. Project Based Learning Checklists. Math Projects. About Project-Based Learning Projects help students personalize their learning and are ideal for gaining key knowledge and understanding of content and answering the question: Where am I ever going to use this? " Among the greatest benefits of project-based learning (PBL) are gains in students' critical-thinking skills and development of their interpersonal and intrapersonal skills.
PBL is also an ideal way to help learners gain speaking and presentation skills indentified in the Common Core Standards. PBL in mathematics, particularly when completed in teams, helps learners "model with mathematics" as they "apply the mathematics they know to solve problems arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace," "use tools strategically," and "construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others," as noted in the Common Core Standards (2010) for Mathematical Practice. Finally, projects should include the element of reflection.
What do we mean by building 21st century skills? Dr. 30 Online Multimedia Resources for PBL and Flipped Classrooms. Project-Based Learning. Project Based Learning Resources. (image from education-world.com) Project Based Learning (PBL) is a great way to teach students content, 21st century skills, and engage them in something fun and educational. I spoke more about PBL in an earlier blog ( and we had some great reader comments (Tech&Learning, May 2009, page 14). Today I'd like to give some tips and ideas on how to get started with PBL in your classroom.
First of all, PBL can be used in any classroom, in any subject, at any grade level. Projects can be one class period, or take weeks to complete. Projects can address one curriculum item, or many. PBL does take planning. For instance, I teach physics and developed a project for my classes on structures and stress and strain. Another example of PBL is having the students research a topic and present it to the rest of the class through a multimedia presentation, website, or poster. Start small. Some web resources to get you started:
Opportunities Abound. Capitalize on the talents of special needs students The team of four fifth-grade teachers sat around the table at Applewood Intermediate School planning an upcoming science project. How could their students help the community become better recyclers? “This should be fun,” said Rosa Rodriguez, the project chair. “Kids will be interested and they can be creative, artistic, and learn environmental science concepts, too.” “Something for everyone,” Bob Baxter said. “What do you mean?” “We aren’t leaving anyone out, but I’m not sure how well we’re including our special needs kids,” he replied. “Yes,” Mary Darnella chimed in. “That’s cool,” Chi Wong said. The team looked at her, perplexed. Rosa spoke up. “And we have to abide by their plans - accommodate for some with computers, large print books, and other gizmos and gadgets,” Bob lamented.
“And modify programs for others,” Mary added. “Hey, is this glass half full or half empty?” The team again looked at her in silence. “What about Sally?” It’s the Process, Not the Product. Steps to implement successful student technology projects The learning that takes place during the process of completing a technology project is just as, if not more, important than the presentation of the final product. As educators, we know that “it’s the process, not the product,” but showing and sharing their final product with the audience is often what engages students the most. Completing successful projects with students follows several basic steps, many of which you probably already use. Implementing each of these steps with students helps to ensure successful student technology projects.
You can use these guidelines to help you and your students through the process. Step 1: Create Foundations Technology project work does not replace classroom content; rather, it extends your curriculum by helping you assess student understanding as they apply knowledge in new situations. Step 2: Set Expectations Step 3: Form Teams Remember trying collaborative group work in your classroom? More Than Just a Writing Prompt. Using multimedia as a writing prompt can engage students and encourage critical thinking. A few years ago, I heard a presenter at a conference proclaim, “If your students are not participating in meaningful, structured writing time every day, you DON’T have a writing program!” What?!? I don’t? The comment made a significant impression on me, and though the presenter’s comment was laced with hyperbole, I took the message to heart.
We’ve all been there… the complacency zone… where we require students to have a spiral notebook, read a prompt off the board, and write in their journals. “…I tried meeting my students where they already were — in the land of MP3s and YouTube — and my classroom was forever changed.” I decided that I was done with “old-school” journaling that wasn’t making anyone happy or meeting anyone’s needs. I started by using a song from a popular contemporary band. My next experiment was with a photograph. When I did my first round of grading, I noticed two things. 1. 2. 3.
Write a Great Authentic Task. Project-based Learning engages students in projects that allow them to construct their own knowledge and develop authentic products while dealing with real-world issues. In order to challenge students on this level, it is helpful to frame their work with an authentic task. Authentic tasks require students to demonstrate proficiency by applying existing knowledge to solve a real-world problem.
Authentic tasks create a bridge between what is learned in the classroom and why this knowledge is important to the world outside of the classroom. Authentic tasks are not meant to replace current classroom practice, but to provide another strategy to meet learning goals and measure student understanding. What does an authentic task look like? Consider immigration. An authentic task that addresses the essential question – “What factors contribute to successful relocation of new immigrants?” Immigration Station In the past four years, your city has had an influx of over 10,000 immigrants. Products. Tech4Learning - Tools to create, engage, and share. | Tech4Learning.
Curriculum Connection. Students create a counting book to build foundation curriculum and technology skills at the beginning of the school year. Working with students in the computer lab can be a challenge, especially at the beginning of the school year. Some students are very good with a mouse, and other have no computer experience. So to teach mouse control to these students at St. Mary of the Mills School, I decided to use the counting activity templates as a first project. The students learned to drag-and-drop and resize objects, as well as open activity pages.
Using Pixie allows me to cover many skills with the kindergarten class; at the end of the project all of the students are proficient with using the mouse, resizing objects, opening new activities and even saving their work! Popular Topics Advertisement Getting Chromebooks? Stay creative with Wixie! Project-Based Learning. Project Based Learning. What's the Difference Between "Doing Projects" and "Project Based Learning"?
Center for Digital Storytelling - Home. PBL DO-IT-YOURSELF : Guidance, Tools and Tips for Your Projects | Buck Institute for Education. FreeBIEs. FreeBIEs. Www.bie.org/images/uploads/useful_stuff/Essential_Elements. Project Essentials Checklist | FreeBIEs | Tools. Getting Started with Project-Based Learning (Hint: Don't Go Crazy) Before the start of the school year, many of us want to use the remaining weeks of summer to learn some new skills -- such as project-based learning (PBL). One of the things we stress for new PBL practitioners is, as I say, "don't go crazy. " It's easy to go "too big" when you first start PBL. I have heard from many teachers new to PBL that a large, eight-week integrated project was a mistake.
So how do you start PBL in ways that will ensure your success as a learner and teacher? Here are a few tips to consider. Start Small As I said, "Don't go crazy! " Plan Now One of the challenges of PBL, but also one of the joys, is the planning process. Limited Technology We love technology, but sometimes we get too "tech happy. " Know the Difference Between PBL and Projects This is the big one! We are all learners, and when we start something new, we start small. Photo credit: wwworks via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) Integration Strategies for PBL. This series is about taking your PBL projects "up a notch. " I wrote a blog about how to get started, but after you get started and are familiar with the benefits of keeping it small and focused, what are some of your next steps?
One area where I see teachers taking their PBL projects up a notch is through integration. However, integration is actually quite complicated and includes many levels of implementation. Here are some tips to consider for integrating content areas into your next PBL project. Know Your Level of Integration When you plan your integrated PBL project, consider the following definitions and levels of integration articulated in Integrated Curriculum, an ASCD book edited by Heidi Hayes Jacob. When you examine these definitions, you'll realize there are many ways to integrate. Know Content that Isn't Your Own Teachers of the Blood Project at High Tech High really articulate this well. It's Gotta Fit This one is crucial. Limit Products to Target ALL Content Standards. Integrated Projects = Deeper Learning.
Here's how one school designs rigorous projects that blend STEM with other core subjects. See how this strategy might work for you. MC2 STEM High School has fabrication laboratories ("fab labs") where students learn to use advanced equipment such as the "shop-bot" (left) that they can use for their interdisciplinary project-based-learning assignments.
Credit: Zachary Fink MC2 (Metropolitan Cleveland Consortium) STEM High School is a year-round public school in Cleveland, Ohio. The MC2 STEM curriculum was designed to meet three important criteria: aligned with Ohio Academic Content Standards connected to higher-education courses relevant and responsive to industry needs What is Transdisciplinary Project-Based Learning? The PBL instruction (PDF) at MC2 STEM is built on rigorous ten-week projects called capstones (PDF). Importantly, all capstones have real-world relevance (PDF). How To Design Integrated Projects What do you think about this Schools That Work story? Re-Imagining the Comprehensive High School. Students at Sammamish High School. Photo credit: Gabriel Miller Sammamish High School is a comprehensive high school that is on the cutting edge of public education. Like many schools, we serve a diverse student body, with 45% of our students receiving free and reduced lunch support.
We also serve a high percentage of special education students relative to other district schools, and currently house the district-wide program for beginning and intermediate English language learners. We have had good success with college matriculation rates, but as a community, we saw an opportunity to better serve our students and foster in them the skills and habits of mind that will make them competitive in the new economy. In 2010, we applied for and received an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the Department of Education that allowed us to embark on an ambitious project to fundamentally shift the learning experience in our school. STEM and PBL The Seven Key Elements Professional Learning.
Defining Authenticity in Historical Problem Solving. Representing historical actors, students vote on what should happen to the land under Germany's control in China after World War I. Photo credit: Adrienne Curtis Dickinson At Sammamish High School, we've identified seven key elements of problem-based learning, an approach that drives our comprehensive curriculum. I teach tenth grade history, which puts me in a unique position to describe the key element of authentic problems. What is an authentic problem in world history? My colleagues and I grappled with this question when we set about to design a problem-based learning (PBL) class for AP World History. We looked enviously at some of our peer disciplines such as biology which we imagined having clear problems for students to work on (they didn't, but that is another blog post).
We consulted a number of sources in research. We arrived at two ways to think about authentic problems. Living the Decisions Challenge Cycles What did this look like in World History? Diplomats and Historians. Authentic Assessment in Action. At Sammamish High School, our staff has dedicated our professional development to building expertise in the key elements of problem-based learning. Previous blog entries by my colleagues have given an overview of this process, as well as exploring how we include student voice and work with authentic problems. Another crucial element of successful problem-based learning is using authentic assessment throughout all stages of a unit to constantly evaluate and improve student learning.
What is Authentic Assessment? So what then makes an assessment "authentic" (or not)? Something is considered authentic if it is a believable replica of something else with significant value. You're not eating at an authentic ethnic restaurant if the food doesn't accurately represent the culture it is modeling. In our classrooms, this translates into creating tasks, projects, structures and learning environments that mirror those seen in the real-life problems our disciplines address. Project-Based Learning as a Context for Arts Integration.