Wall-to-wall project-based learning: A conversation with biology teacher Kelley Yonce At the mid-point of the 2008-09 academic year, according to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, East Wake School of Integrated Technology biology teacher Kathleen (Kelley) Yonce needed to introduce her class of 20 sophomores to deoxyribonucleic acid, a.k.a. DNA. An avowed project-based learning (PBL) teacher who creates 7-8 learning projects, one after another, each lasting between 1½ and 3½ weeks, throughout the school year, she consulted her usual sources of inspiration — Edutopia, the New Schools Project — but nothing struck her fancy. She considered modifying a project about genetically modified food she’d attempted the previous year but rejected the idea. “The kids didn’t care,” she says. “For PBL to work, students must be engaged. At home on a snow day watching television, Ms. The key to successful project-based teaching, Ms. For the DNA project, she cast her students in the roles of genetic counselors. The “entry document” Ms. The teams Team leaders Here, too, Ms. Ms. Ms.
Project Based Learning Science – Lesson Plans for PBL Putting together a PBL science plan can be enormously time consuming without excellent models. So here are hundreds of free detailed plans for projects for elementary, middle and high school students. The plans are sorted by discipline - astronomy and space, chemistry, engineering and architecture, physics, technology, and earth, life sciences, physical sciences, and... well, "other" for no clear fit. The first PBL project I planned many years ago was the creation of a butterfly habitat in the school garden by my 3rd graders. I found far more free PBL resources than I ever anticipated, and more than 300 free science-based PBL projects are listed below. To learn more about project based learning, problem based learning, and how to get started, read my article on Project-Based Learning Lesson Plans.
High Tech High - Project Based Learning Seven Successful PBL Projects In March 2005 High Tech High received a $250,000 grant from the California Department of Education to disseminate project-based learning methods to teachers in non-charter public schools. As part of the project, High Tech High teachers have documented successful projects to share with collaborating teachers from local districts and across the HTH network. This New House How does human habitation affect the environment? learn more » Millionaire How can an idea be transformed into a product that could make us millions? learn more » San Diego Field Guide How can we be better environmental stewards of the San Diego Bay? learn more » Urban Art How do math and science influence artistic expression? learn more » Vietnam Project Was the conflict in Vietnam a selfish, colonial move on the part of the United States or was it a general effort to make the world safe from Communism or something in between? learn more » Drug Project learn more » Machines learn more »
The PBL Academy CASES Online: Creating Active Student Engagement in the Sciences What is CASES Online? CASES Online is a collection of inquiry-based lessons to engage K-12 and undergraduate students in exploring the science behind real-world problems. Through CASES, you can transform your students into motivated investigators, self-directed and life-long learners, critical thinkers and keen problem solvers. Our cases are grounded in Problem-Based Learning (PBL), Investigative Case-Based Learning (ICBL), and related student-centered pedagogies. [more] What's new in CASES Online? Materials for over 350 cases are now posted and we are continually working to publish more. CASES Online is a proud member of the Science Case Network, which supports science educators, learners, researchers, developers and professional organizations, furthering access and development of the use of cases and PBL in science education. Search CASES Online Search tips: Searching by Keyword alone is best (and is not case-sensitive) since many cases can work across disciplines and grade levels.
Project-Based Learning Through a Maker's Lens The rise of the Maker has been one of the most exciting educational trends of the past few years. A Maker is an individual who communicates, collaborates, tinkers, fixes, breaks, rebuilds, and constructs projects for the world around him or her. A Maker, re-cast into a classroom, has a name that we all love: a learner. A Maker, just like a true learner, values the process of making as much as the product. In the classroom, the act of Making is an avenue for a teacher to unlock the learning potential of her or his students in a way that represents many of the best practices of educational pedagogy. Making holds a number of opportunities and challenges for a teacher. What Do You Want to Do? The first step in designing a PBL unit for a Maker educator is connecting specific content standards to the project. Choosing, thinking, reflecting, and sorting possible projects should be a career-long process. Essential Questions Making requires partners. Failure Is a Preferable Option
Making Games: The Ultimate Project-Based Learning Gamestar Mechanic Part 6 of MindShift’s Guide to Games and Learning. As game-based learning increases in popularity, it’s easy to get pigeon-holed into one particular way of thinking about it or one way of employing it. This is true regardless of how teachers feel about gaming in the classroom, whether they’re for or against it. One common objection to game-based learning is that students will sit in front of screens being taught at. In previous posts in this series, I’ve argued that because games involve systems thinking, they contextualize learning. “Games are just simulators with an internal incentive structure (often dopamine based). However, virtual simulations of hands-on experience are not the same as tangibly engaging with the world. Fortunately, few people are calling for games to replace school as we know it. Just as there are many apps and platforms designed to teach kids coding, there are also many apps and platforms that make it easy for kids to design their own games.
Professional Goal: Dive Into Project-based Learning - Philip Cummings I love that my school is deeply committed to providing teachers with quality, on-going professional growth and development. Among the many things we do each year at PDS for professional development, teachers create an individual professional development goals directly related to classroom teaching and learning. Each goal should have practical application and impact in the current year and align with broader institutional goals and philosophies. The plan I submitted as my goal for this school year is below. Goal: Incorporate PBL Into 6th Grade Reading My professional development goal for this year will be to research and incorporate more project based learning into my 6th grade reading class. Steps to Achieve Goal: In order to accomplish this goal, I will take the following steps: Final Product: I will know I have accomplished this goal when students can reflect on and communicate their learning through the projects we attempt in our class. What about you? Like this: Like Loading...
20 Tips On How To Work With Students Who Have a Hard Time Collaborating Transformation Central - Project-Based Learning These teacher-developed Project-Based Learning Units are intended as an idea-generation resource, as these units may reflect alignment to outdated standards. Please consider alignment and adjust these units to current standards prior to classroom implementation. Check out our PBL Online Workshops! Archived PBL These units have been archived and will no longer be updated. Physics Algebra I Algebra II Biology Chemistry Geometry
Practical PBL: The Ongoing Challenges of Assessment In recent years, most students in my project-based AP Government classes have indicated, in both class discussions and anonymously on surveys, that they prefer project-based learning to a more traditional classroom experience. They find PBL more fun and believe that it leads to deeper learning. However, two types of students often resist this model. Students of the first type generally do not enjoy school at all, and are looking for the path of least resistance. Both types of students benefit from the option of choosing their role in project cycles to increase motivation. Fair Assessment of Teamwork To increase buy-in for both types of students, the most important thing a teacher needs to do is help build individual accountability -- and, by extension, trust -- in student teams. 1) Individual Skill Areas I have developed an individual semester portfolio as the most important measure of a student's skills assessment. 2) Role-Based Assessment 3) "Weighted" Scoring