As
a student, I am quite familiar with projects - culminating projects, science
projects, visual arts projects, you name it. My teachers used projects as a way
to assess our understanding of taught material, and to give us an opportunity
to apply the information and content that we had learned. Many of us may be
familiar with this as projects have been used constantly throughout our
educational journey and because they have been a staple in a teacher’s toolkit
for many generations. However a new way of conducting and using projects to
facilitate student’s learning is being introduced and gaining popularity.
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| http://digitallesson.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/StudentsWorkingOnProjectXSmall-300x199.jpg |
Project Based Learning (PBL) refers to a
learning and assessment method in which students are put into groups and their
task is to investigate a topic or find out the answer to an open ended question
(Drake, Reid & Kolohon, 2014). Through this method students are learning as
they are completing the project rather than simply applying previously learnt
material. Drake et al. (2015) explain that the benefits of using project based
learning with your students includes them learning an array of 21st
century skills that will assist them in all of their future endeavours. These include
critical thinking skills, collaboration and communication skills, the ability to
conduct research, and finally problem solving skills (Drake et al., 2014). The
following video gives a good description and example of how project based learning
can be used in a classroom.
As the video suggests, project based
learning prepares students for the real world. It allows them to practice and
perfect skills that will allow them to be better employees and citizens. One of
the key skills needed in PBL is collaboration - the ability to work well with
others to achieve a common goal. Being able to collaborate and communicate effectively
is a necessary skill in most professions and so acquiring this skill at an
early age is extremely beneficial.
Cziprok & Popescu (2015) discussed
another aspect of project based learning that I find to be extremely important
for young minds. They state that project based learning is student centred and
it allows them to conduct an assignment on something that they take interest in
within a set broad topic. This is good for both students and teachers because
students are more likely to be engaged in their academic work if it is on
something that they enjoy and something that they can take pride in. PBL
follows the constructivist theory in that the teacher acts more as a
facilitator rather than a lecturer (Cziprok et al., 2015). This allows the
students to take charge of their learning as they research and conduct their
project.
As I stated at the beginning of this
post, I am very familiar with the typical project assignment and have had
limited experience with project based learning. However, the one instance of
PBL that I have taken part in was a positive one. In Grade 12 I took a business
leadership course and my teacher was very focused on student driven learning,
and she liked having us explore on our own. Our major assignment for the year
was to plan and run a specific school event in groups of 14. My group had the
daunting task of running a school walk, barbeque and outdoor fundraiser for a
specific charity.
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| School Poster for our Event - A Walk Worth Walking |
This project took over 2 months to complete and involved
acquiring sponsors, logistical planning, fundraising, and a whole bunch of
communication with our group members. We were all given a specific role, and I
was one of 2 project leaders. Although this was one of the hardest assignments
I have ever taken part in (organizing and leading 13 of my peers was no easy
task), I have to say that it was probably the most beneficial as it taught me
so much more than a textbook could. PBL is all about learning while doing, and
through this assignment I learned about logistical planning, school safety
protocols, how to work with businesses and corporations, among many other
things.
The use of technology played a huge role
in my assignment, and with the rise of technology this is becoming more common
in PBL classrooms. ChanLin (2008) discussed a PBL assignment in which students in
Taiwan used various forms of technology to learn and present a science problem.
In this classroom, students used computers with access to the internet to
research, acquire, and share information regarding their project based learning
assignment. Technology is a great tool in PBL, as students are able to access
an infinite amount of resources. It is important to keep in mind that not all
students have access to a computer, and so teachers should plan accordingly
(Ex. book time in the computer lab, etc.). The full study on this project based
learning assignment can be found here: à
http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.brocku.ca/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=ce74449b-7436-4626-801c-5797b362e350%40sessionmgr4003&vid=0&hid=4113
The possibilities are quite endless with
project based learning, and I hope that as a future educator you have been able
to take something away from this blog. For more information on project based
learning, and for ideas for your classroom visit http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning.
Thank you for reading and happy teaching!
~Morgan Parker~
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| https://grist.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/thumbs-up.jpg |
References
ChanLin,
L. (2008). Technology integration applied to project-based learning in science.
Innovations
for education & teaching international, 45(1), 55-65.
Cziprok,
C.C. & Popescu, F. F. (2015). Project-based learning based upin the
constructivist
method for high school physics lessons. Elearning & software for education, 1(3),
469-
476.
Drake, S. M.,
Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving
Curriculum and Classroom
Assessment:
Engaging the 21st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON:
Oxford University
Press.
I really like the topic you chose for your blog! PBL is very important and crucial for students. Your background is really pretty and as much as i thought it would distract me, it didn't. It's very relaxing!
ReplyDeleteI like the video you attached, it definitely makes things more clear through a visual representation!
I'm really glad your personal experience taught you a lot of things no matter how hard or stressful it must have been! Great job!
Hi Morgan!
ReplyDeleteYou did a wonderful job creating a visually appealing blog! The text is very easy to read on the crisp-white background, and the nature-like template is comfortable on the eyes. Overall, these features made reading your blog very enjoyable. In fact, the nature-like template actually reminded me of our many discussions, within a variety of courses, on Montessori learning; where having children constantly engaged in a natural setting allows them to work hands-on in order to explore their world through a variety of lenses. Your layout is very clean, comfortable, and refreshing – Well done!
Your blog covers a very important component of twenty-first-century education. Project Based Learning is something I have been fortunate enough to engage in all throughout elementary school. Within my primary grades, I was enrolled in a private school that resided in a very natural setting – a Christmas tree farm! Therefore, in addition to being taught using a Montessori-based approach, our lessons always included group work, and were always catered to each student’s needs and most efficient way of learning. We were also fortunate enough to have small class sizes in order to do so! On that note, how do you think class sizes would affect a teacher’s ability to engage students in Project Based Learning? Do you think students would become overwhelmed while working in groups amongst a large class setting? On the other hand, would a larger class setting possibly promote greater exchange of methods and ideas for specific projects?
With respect to your blog, the images and videos are a nice contribution to this piece. The ‘Project Based Learning’ video provides a clear description of how it works in a class setting and helped me to fully understand what you were saying on an applicable level. I found it easy to make personal connections to your blog as I read about your own personal experience with Project Based Learning! Overall, I believe that your blog successfully fulfills the blog criteria established for our class! You did a great job connecting your topic to a personal experience, as illustrated by your thorough illustration of how Project Based Learning affected your ability to learn! Furthermore, your constant use of “I” rather than the use of third person created a valuable sense of depth in your blog. One suggestion that I might add would be for your various hyperlinks to open in a new window so that the reader can successfully compare what you wrote in your blog, side-by-side, with the information on the provided links! Despite this, you have created a wonderful blog!
Hi Morgan!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your personal experience with project based learning. It must have been such an honour to be chosen as one of the project leaders. Throughout my elementary and high school years, PBL is not something I ever got the chance to experience so it is all very new and exciting to me.
The first time I heard of PBL was in a second year lecture about motivation. My professor shared an article with us about a grade 3 classroom in Chicago who had the opportunity to design a "lost child program" for the Chicago zoo. Up until this point the zoo had no system designed to help children if they got separated from their parents so it was up to this group of grade 3 students to design a program that would potentially help one of them if they ever got lost in the zoo. When my professor explained how project based learning has tremendous effects on students intrinsic motivation my eyes were opened to a whole new world of teaching possibilities. Now I am always brain storming different ways I can use PBL in my future classroom and see it play out in front of me.
Not only does PBL increase intrinsic motivation in students but I think it also encourages Ontario's 6 C's (character, collaboration, creativity, citizenship, community and critical thinking & problem solving) that we have learned about in class. It is really the only teaching method I have come across that gives students the opportunity to grow in all areas of the 6 C's simultaneously. I think PBL is a teaching method that will continue to grow in popularity for this reason.
Do you have any potential PBL ideas that you plan on using in your future classroom? I would love to hear about them, especially if you have any ideas planned for primary and junior grades. I think it is great when teachers believe in the creativity of their students and the great things they can accomplish with little instruction form their teachers.