PBL – the best teaching method in the 21st century instruction Let me start this article with what Obama says in a speech at the Center for American Progress : “ Let’s be clear — we are failing too many of our children. We’re sending them out into a 21st century economy by sending them through the doors of 20th century schools.” This is a true statement issued from the lips of a political person rather than an educator. There is a profound disconnect between what students are being taught and what the actual world is demanding of them as adults. There is a huge need for a total reformation of school systems and curriculums to better fit in the 21st century education. Today, however, I am introducing you to a teaching ,or better say, instructional method that is called Project Based Learning. Project Based Learning or PBL in short is “ an instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation. Projects and activities are the keys to a better understanding of PBL. Some features of PBL
Don’t do inquiry No, I’m not trying reverse psychology here. I really don’t want you to do inquiry in your classroom. Seriously. 10. Inquiry is too loud and too messy 9. You’ll get no argument from me here. 8. Then again, they just might… Billy’s in the back of the room on the brink of drowning in his own drool puddle. 7. Neither is America. 6. Drill and kill, worksheets, videos on Friday, giving the same lecture every year, textbooks, pacing guides, etc. are all much easier to do. 5. You’ve got me there! 4. Maybe that says more about college than it does about kids and how they learn? 3. Nope. 2. Can you lose something you never really had in the first place? 1. Neither is work… I must not be doing it right, then. Do inquiry because you want to love teaching. Don’t do it because somebody with a blog said to. Note: this was previously published on my other blog – Wisdom Begins with Wonder Like this: Like Loading...
Flipped learning: A response to five common criticisms One of the reasons this debate exists is because there is no true definition of what “flipped learning” is. Over the past few years, the Flipped Learning method has created quite a stir. Some argue that this teaching method will completely transform education, while others say it is simply an opportunity for boring lectures to be viewed in new locations. While the debate goes on, the concept of Flipped Learning is not entirely new. Dr. Eric Mazur of Harvard University has been researching this type of learning since the early ’90s, and other educators have been applying pieces of the Flipped Learning method for even longer. It’s our opinion that one of the reasons this debate exists is because there is no true definition of what Flipped Learning is. Dr.
How Does Project-Based Learning Work? Tools for understanding the process of planning and building projects. Project-based learning, as with all lessons, requires much preparation and planning. It begins with an idea and an essential question. When you are designing the project and the essential question that will launch the activities, it is important to remember that many content standards will be addressed. With these standards in mind, devise a plan that will integrate as many subjects as possible into the project. Have in mind what materials and resources will be accessible to the students. Teacher Eeva Reeder developed and implemented an architecture project for her geometry students. Here are steps for implementing PBL, which are detailed below: Start with the Essential Question The question that will launch a PBL lesson must be one that will engage your students. "Questions may be the most powerful technology we have ever created. Take a real-world topic and begin an in-depth investigation. Design a Plan for the Project
Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the inquiry cycle The review of the 32 articles allowed us to generate an initial overview of the common phases across the articles and was the basis for proposing a comprehensive inquiry-based learning framework. It was decided that this synthesis would be limited to the articles found by the systematic search in order to avoid unsystematic collection of articles that would decrease the reliability of the study. First, we describe how we merged the variety of terms that were used to describe inquiry phases in the articles analyzed in this study. 3.1. The review process resulted in a list of 109 different terms for inquiry phases (see Appendix A). Download : Download full-size image Fig. 2. Six out of the 32 articles initiated the inquiry cycle with ‘orientation’, ‘introducing a topic’ or ‘theory’ (group 1 in Fig. 2), followed up by ‘learning challenge’, ‘anchor’, ‘find my topic’, ‘engage’, ‘learner investigates scientifically oriented questions’ (group 3). 3.2. Table 1. 3.3. Fig. 3. (a) (b) (c)
Flipped Classroom How flipping works for you Save time; stop repeating yourself Record re-usable video lessons, so you don't have to do it again next year. It's easy to make minor updates to perfect lessons over time once the initial recording is done. Let students take control of their learning Not all students learn at the same pace. Spend more time with students Build stronger student-teacher relationships, and promote higher level thinking. Other teachers are doing it, you can too Stacey Roshan found that the traditional classroom model wasn't cutting it for her AP students, so she flipped her class. Watch Stacey's Story Crystal Kirch started using videos as instructional tools in her class but soon realized the real value of flipping lectures was being able to spend more face-to-face time with students. Read Crystal's Story Tools You Can Use
21 st Century Educational Technology and Learning | K12 educational transformation through technology Inquiry-based Learning: Explanation What is inquiry-based learning? An old adage states: "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand." The last part of this statement is the essence of inquiry-based learning, says our workshop author Joe Exline 1. Inquiry implies involvement that leads to understanding. Furthermore, involvement in learning implies possessing skills and attitudes that permit you to seek resolutions to questions and issues while you construct new knowledge. "Inquiry" is defined as "a seeking for truth, information, or knowledge -- seeking information by questioning." A Context for Inquiry Unfortunately, our traditional educational system has worked in a way that discourages the natural process of inquiry. Some of the discouragement of our natural inquiry process may come from a lack of understanding about the deeper nature of inquiry-based learning. Importance of Inquiry Memorizing facts and information is not the most important skill in today's world. The Application of Inquiry
Five Best Practices for the Flipped Classroom Ok, I'll be honest. I get very nervous when I hear education reformists and politicians tout how "incredible" the flipped-classroom model, or how it will "solve" many of the problems of education. It doesn't solve anything. It is a great first step in reframing the role of the teacher in the classroom. It fosters the "guide on the side" mentality and role, rather than that of the "sage of the stage." It helps move a classroom culture towards student construction of knowledge rather than the teacher having to tell the knowledge to students. It also creates the opportunity for differentiated roles to meet the needs of students through a variety of instructional activities. 1) Need to Know How are you creating a need to know the content that is recorded? 2) Engaging Models One of the best way to create the "need to know" is to use a pedagogical model that demands this. 3) Technology What technology do you have to support the flipped classroom? 4) Reflection 5) Time and Place
Instructional Strategies Online "What children learn depends not only on what they are taught but also how they are taught, their development level, and their interests and experiences.... These beliefs require that much closer attention be paid to the methods chosen for presenting material..." Understanding the Common Essential Learnings, Saskatchewan Education, 1988. (p.10) "The last decades of research in human learning have presented new insights into the ways that learners are active in constructing their own understanding.
Guided Inquiry Process The guided inquiry process puts the emphasis on scientist in “student-scientist.” The primary objective of guided inquiry is to promote learning through student investigation. This material is designed to assist teachers in targeting higher-level thinking and science process skills for their students. Teaching Methods Inquiry, a process important at all grade levels requires students to engage in higher-level thinking skills of summarizing, analyzing, and evaluating. The Guided Inquiry Process Educators support student-scientists who decide on an inquiry question and describe the known concepts that support their investigation. Figure 1. Guided Inquiry Steps Follow the Guided Inquiry Map Diagram above to flow through the guided inquiry components: Students work in a counter clockwise motion, beginning with writing an Inquiry Question. Notes: Conceptual steps are highlighted in purple. Support Templates and Resources Resources Sources
How Do We Prepare Our Children for What’s Next? Culture Digital Tools Teaching Strategies Paul Schultz What kids learn at a young age will determine whether they're prepared for a future full of unknowns. When most of us were deciding what to major in at college, the word Google was not a verb. Fast forward a couple of decades (or more) and we see that the career landscape has changed so drastically that jobs need new definitions. Some of us could ask ourselves if we would have embarked upon our current careers had we predicted how the Internet would revolutionize every part of our lives? “We’re 15 years into something so paradigm-changing that we have not yet adjusted our institutions of learning, work, social life, and economic life to account for the massive change.” “We are right on time to give up techno-phobia and to tackle the problems and opportunities of the digital world with good sense, pragmatics, realism, and purpose,” Davidson said. Davidson offers three can-do suggestions for parents: EXPERIMENT WITH SCRATCH. Q. A. Q. A.