And Project Based Learning IB PYP And Project Based Learning

KWL Chart At your tables, complete the KWL chart What do you know about Project Based Learning What do you wonder or want to know about PBL Time limit of 3 minutes Brief sharing for 2 minutes

Taking the PYP Forward: The Future of IB Primary Years Programme “Problem-based and project-based learning (PBL) are approaches that have enjoyed certain prominence within the changing educational landscape over the past number of years. The PBLs support the kind of inquiry and trandisciplinary thinking that is at the heart of the PYP. Also, these approaches heavily support the inclusion of ICT as a major catalyst and enabler in a learning environment that seeks to develop students’ abilities to apply and transfer what they have learned within new environment and contexts. Project-based learning – powered by contemporary technologies – is a strategy certain to turn traditional classrooms upside down. When students learn by engaging in real world projects, nearly every aspect of their experience changes. Instead of following the teacher’s lead, learners pursue their own questions to create their own meaning. Does this not mirror some of the goals of the PYP exhibition”? ~by Greg Curtis and Jason Cone

Buck Institute for Education 1987 California, 1990’s focus on PBL www.bie.org Project Based Learning Explained video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMCZvGesRz8 Aldrich Staff development page These links More on PBL Project Based Learning in the Elementary Grades

8 Essential Elements of PBL Significant Content 21st Century Skills In-Depth Inquiry Driving Question Need to Know Voice & Choice Revision & Reflection Public Audience

Project-Based Learning: IB Primary Years Programme: SIGNIFICANT CONTENT Focuses on teaching students important knowledge and skills Requires students to learn and apply content-specific skills/standards and knowledge in a variety of contexts Knowledge is explored through 6 themes that are important to all people around the world. Units of inquiry incorporate district/state standards. 21ST CENTURY SKILLS Develops 21st century skills such as critical thinking/problem solving, collaboration and communication The learner profile is the IB mission statement translated into a set of learning outcomes for the 21st century. The ten qualities of the learner profile inspire and motivate the work of teachers, students and schools, and serves as the definition of international-mindedness. IN-DEPTH INQUIRY Students are engaged in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, using resources and developing answers. Requires students to use inquiry, research, planning skill, critical thinking and problem solving skills. The PYP follows an inquiry-based approach to student learning (involving students in questioning, exploration, research and critical thinking to take ownership of their learning. DRIVING QUESTION Organized around an open-ended Driving Questions The teachers have the responsibility of framing the inquiries at the beginning of the unit through the questions they ask and/or the provocations they provide (for example, rearranging the learning environment). This is also the opportunity for them to model explicitly the asking of open-ended, driving questions that will provide conceptual development.

Project-Based Learning: IB Primary Years Programme: NEED TO KNOW Students gain knowledge, understand concepts and apply skills in order to answer a Driving Question. The PYP presents a balanced curriculum that emphasizes the development of the 5 essential elements: knowledge, concepts, skills, attitudes and action. VOICE AND CHOICE Students are allowed to make some choices about the product to be created, how they work and how they use their time guided by the teacher Inquiry in the PYP is recognized as allowing student to be actively involved in their own learning and to take responsibility for that learning. REVISION AND REFLECTION Includes processes for revision and reflection Incorporates reflection activities that lead students to think critically about their experiences and to link those experiences to specific learning standards Students reflect on their roles and responsibilities as learners and become actively involved in their education PUBLIC AUDIENCE Students present their work to other people, beyond their classmates and teachers Successful inquiry leads to responsible action initiated by the students as a result of the learning process. Authentic and performance based assessments Assessment is an important part of each unit of inquiry as it both enhances learning and provides opportunities for students to reflect on what they know, understand and can do.

Comparison Traditional Classroom PYP/PBL Classroom Student Centered Self-directed Discover, apply, present Collaboration Students & Teacher decision making Varied instructional strategies Long-term investigations Standards-based Ongoing assessments Real-world connections Reflection Teacher-centered Teacher-directed Listen, memorize, repeat Independence Teacher decision making Direct instruction Short isolated lessons with predetermined answers Standards-based Assessment tests School-based activities Quizzes & Tests

Project Examples In this project, young students take on the role of botanists, exploring the question, How does the world change during the school year? They record observations and collect data on tree changes during each season. Later in the project, the students share their findings with the Arbor Day Foundation and compare the effects of seasonal changes with e-pals in Australia. In this project, social studies students assume the roles of staffers to a US ambassador working in a developing country. They research a country and debate issues related to determining how to spend a humanitarian aid budget. During this project, students consider the question, How can individuals made a difference in the world?

Project Examples In this project, students answer the question How can we diagnose a sick patient and recommend the best treatment? by playing the role of medical school students. They learn about body systems and then research and gather more information on the human body in order to present their analysis and conclusions to a panel of adults in the role of medical school professors. After receiving a request from the principal, students work in teams to propose rules for different areas of the school in answer to the question What rules and consequence should we have at our school? Students generated questions, reviewed other school’s discipline plans and interviewed other students, teachers and administrators in order to create individual student posters and team video commercials to persuade the school to adopt their proposed rules.

Project Examples In this project, students work in teams to generate research questions, read about and document observations of local woodland animals in order to answer the question How can we create a picture book about the life cycles of creatures in Oldham County? After creating a watercolor illustrated book with text about local animals, they present their work to representatives of the County Conservation District and display their book in the Conservation District Office. In this project, students will create an opinion piece for the state government web page on state tourist attractions as they answer the question, What is most special or unique about the geography of The Golden State? After developing questions and researching the physical and human geographic features that define places and regions in California, they will write opinion pieces stating details and conclusions supporting their findings.

Benefits Increased motivation to learn Builds critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication Technology integration Relevant, meaningful real world connections Civic participation & global awareness-action Increased academic achievement Increased engagement in learning Improved knowledge retention Benefits all students (learning levels & styles) Improved higher-order thinking

What’s next… Think back to KWL chart Leave on tables Refer back later What are you still wondering about/want to learn Write on exit slip Hand to Rebecca on way out