"I love to come up with project ideas. The brainstorming process feels a bit like going to a candy store, where I get to peruse past experiences, seek out new interests, find materials, and feel inspired by whatever pops up. Or better yet, it’s more like being a chef with a giant pantry full of ingredients. I can pick various spices here and a random ingredient there and then I get to fuse them together to create a new dish. Or perhaps it’s a bit like being an explorer. Yes, I have the constraint of a curriculum map but this map should inspire possibilities rather than limit my route. I get to explore and find new possibilities."
Most schools value compliance and routines–worksheet assignments, small blocks of content, and a predictable daily schedule.
Most young people are going to lead lives full of uncertainty and complexity in a freelance economy buffeted by exponential technology and colliding systems.
To contribute now and in the future, young people deserve extended challenges–long projects that take on tough problems. To build agency and collaboration, students and teachers can co-construct projects that cross disciplines and result in public products that make real contributions.
There are seven key design variables for projects. They range from short teacher-designed and managed activities to long-term student defined projects:
"I don't think I would expect any educator to be pursuing all of these indicators at once. And this list should never be used to think in terms of judging a good teacher vs. a bad teacher. So don't look at it like that. The purpose of the list is for reflection and growth.
It might give you an idea of where you want to focus your learning for next school year. You could pick one or two and consider how you might develop the practice in your classroom. It might help you consider your next steps in your growth as an educator."
Despite the popularity of project based learning, a lot of teachers haven’t gotten around to trying it yet. You’ve been meaning to; you just haven’t had time to learn how. Or maybe you’re doing something you call project based learning, but you have a nagging feeling that you might not be doing it quite right.
If any of this sounds familiar, then this will help. One reason PBL might be hard for some teachers to start is that there’s just so much stuff out there about it. Who has time to wade through it all? To solve this problem, I went out in search of the clearest, most authoritative information on PBL and put together a collection of materials that will help you get your feet wet, plus links to more resources for when you’re ready to dig deeper.
Take a look at the definition of student-centered learning, and let me know what you think:
Student-centered learning (SCL), or learner-centeredness, is a learning model that places the student (learner) in the center of the learning process. In student-centered learning, students are active participants in their learning; they learn at their own pace and use their own strategies; they are more intrinsically than extrinsically motivated; learning is more individualized than standardized. Student-centered learning develops learning-how-to-learn skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, and reflective thinking. Student-centered learning accounts for and adapts to different learning styles of students (National Center for Research on Teacher Learning, 1999).
When students hear a lecture or read from a textbook, more often than not that information is stored in the limbic system, the short-term memory part of the brain, and discarded after the test. Which raises an important question: What’s the point?
But when students are immersed in a story, one where they are the characters and teachers are their guides, a transformation takes place. The classroom becomes a setting. Conflict becomes authentic. And school becomes engaging.
Reading about archaeology and museums and ancient civilizations can be a lot like reading about anything else at school—some kids might find it moderately interesting, while others probably wouldn’t. But what if students could play the role of archaeologists and museum curators, researching and creating their own museum exhibits using the very latest in super-cool modern technology?
My 8th grade World History survey course covers the Paleolithic Era to 1500 CE, and in the first few weeks of school, students are introduced as much to the study of history as to the content. In a virtual meeting with an archaeologist, my co-teacher and I got the idea for a Project Based Learning experience, culminating with a museum exhibit, complete with 3D-printed artifacts and augmented reality software, to showcase their learning to their parents. Below is the outline of the project.
“Failure is success in progress.” —Albert Einstein
At the outset of a project, enthusiasm and idealism are high. As educators, we approach our project-based learning (PBL) with an eye toward success, but what happens when things don’t turn out as planned?
While there is no magic bullet of practice, program, or framework that automatically produces progressive and effective learning, what makes project-based learning exceptional is its flexibility. As it is, first and foremost, simply a curriculum planning tool, so much other “good stuff” that can support learning (game-based learning, learning simulations, place-based education, self-directed learning, etc.) can all be “embedded” in project-based learning.
With PBL, there is no “either/or” proposition: anything from open-ended, play-based learning to data-driven, research-based instructional environments can all use PBL effectively.
While there are all kinds of great resources necessary to teach and learn through PBL, from apps to planning templates and more, the genesis of a great project is the idea itself–the purpose and/or audience of the project itself.
Below, we’ve shared dozens of ideas for projects, and we’re going to constantly update the list with new ideas, suggestions from our community, resources, etc. In that way, this page can become the ultimate guide for project-based learning in your classroom. The focus will be on the ideas for the projects themselves, but we’ll also include apps, tools, and other “stuff” you’ll need to effectively realize this approach in your classroom.
All of a sudden, so it seems, the terms “Maker” and “PBL” are everywhere in the educational landscape. You may be wondering what each of these terms means, how they are related and how they differ. You are not alone. I myself wondered the same thing as I made my journey into the field of Maker Education and Project-Based Learning
Project-Based Learning and Maker Education are terms which are growing in use these days.
Here is a collection of some very good iPad apps students can use in their classroom projects. The apps, which are curated from Apple's Real World Learning collection, are geared towards enhancing a number of key skills that include: creative thinking, design skills, literacy skills, coding, and many more. Some of the things students can accomplish using these applications include: create beautiful ebooks to share with others; create visual sketches to record notes; design educational video clips, screencasts and presentations; capture and organize ideas in diagrams and mind maps.
There are some awesome apps listed in this article that I have used in the past. Adobe Spark Video allows for awesome presentations. Skitch is a powerful and quick tool to use when students need to label or add more information to a picture.
Educreations allows students to make a quick screen-cast of their learning to share with teacher or others.
At TeachThought, we’re huge fans of project-based learning.
While there is no magic bullet of practice, program, or framework that automatically produces progressive and effective learning, what makes project-based learning exceptional is its flexibility. As it is, first and foremost, simply a curriculum planning tool, so much other “good stuff” that can support learning (game-based learning, learning simulations, place-based education, self-directed learning, etc.) can all be “embedded” in project-based learning.
With PBL, there is no “either/or” proposition: anything from open-ended, play-based learning to data-driven, research-based instructional environments can all use PBL effectively.
While there are all kinds of great resources necessary to teach and learn through PBL, from apps to planning templates and more, the genesis of a great project is the idea itself–the purpose and/or audience of the project itself.
Below, we’ve shared dozens of ideas for projects, and we’re going to constantly update the list with new ideas, suggestions from our community, resources, etc. In that way, this page can become the ultimate guide for project-based learning in your classroom. The focus will be on the ideas for the projects themselves, but we’ll also include apps, tools, and other “stuff” you’ll need to effectively realize this approach in your classroom.
“Digital Tools for Problem-Based Learning,” part of CoSN’s EdTechNext series, offers best practices for educators and also highlights stories from several successful use cases, including at The Incubator School in Los Angeles; Avonworth School District in Allegheny County, Pa.; Loudoun County Public Schools in Ashburn, Va.; and Energy Institute High School in Houston.
While this type of teaching may be well-known to educators, the report details innovative techniques and technologies that help support it.
“Project- and problem-based learning are not new approaches, but technology today has allowed students and educators to tackle real challenges as part of the learning experience,” CoSN CEO Keith Krueger said in a statement announcing the report.
“Districts and their leaders have embraced new tools and ways to improve communication, collaboration and productivity among students globally. Students now, like in the real world, can take even greater ownership of the problem and solution.”
This article states that schools should strengthen the role of their educational technology professionals (ETPs) as more technology is introduced and used throughout all aspects of schooling. The article also suggests that ETPs work closely with teachers to not only learn how to use the technology themselves but to also find the best technology fit for their personal teaching program.
I think that the point this article is making has relevance throughout all teaching areas in education, however, my focus now is in the area of home economics. This article highlights the importance of collaborating with professionals in areas other than your own, to develop your own technological skills. Through reading this article I now understand the need for thorough training and understanding of the technology used with students to ensure you can best teach this technology.
I agree with this article! Collaboration is highly necessary for students to participate in problem based learning. Through the communication and group-work that students undergo, they are able to tackle an open-ended task question with a range of perspectives.
People talk about Project-Based Learning all the time. I've heard WHY we should do it hundreds of times, but often we miss out on the HOW to do it. In today's article and podcast, I share
Both project-based learning and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) education are growing rapidly in our schools. Some schools are doing STEAM, some are doing PBL, and some are leveraging the strengths of both. Both PBL and STEAM help schools target rigorous learning and problem solving. As many teachers know, STEAM education isn't just the course content—it’s the process of being scientists, mathematicians, engineers, artists, and technological entrepreneurs. Here are some ways that PBL and STEAM can complement each other in your classroom and school.
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