Project Learning Project Based Learning NCCVT School District Professional Development

Who are you? Name Subject Area(s) you teach What do you want to know about PBL?

Life Is Project Based Learning

But where is the disconnect between life and school?

PBL is NOT New CARL ROGERS JOHN DEWEY BENJAMIN BLOOM SOCRATES B.C. JEROME BRUNER 1915-CURRENT LEV VYGOTSKY JEAN PIAGET

Learning: an active process in which students construct new ideas or concepts based on their current knowledge.

PBL engages students provides an environment for the acquisition of skills needed in higher education & workplace. teaches curricular content Builds 21st Century Skills

Seven Elements of Project-Based Learning Standards-Based Assessment Student-Centered Collaboration Real World Connection Extended Time Frame Multimedia

Six A’s of Project Based Learning Authenticity Academic Rigor Applied Learning Academic Exploration Adult Connection Assessment Practices

Another Way to Look at What is PBL Content Conditions Activities Results

Content: Compelling ideas Problems presented in their full complexity Students finding interdisciplinary connections between ideas Students struggling with ambiguity, complexity, and unpredictability Real-world questions that students care about

Conditions: Support student autonomy Students create a community of inquiry Coursework in a social context Students exhibit task- and time-management behaviors Students direct their own work & learning Students simulate the professional work

Activities: Investigative and engaging Students involved in multi-faceted investigations over long periods of time Students encountering obstacles, seeking resources, and solving problems Students making their own connections among ideas and acquiring new skills Students using authentic tools Students getting feedback from expert sources and realistic assessment

Results Real-world outcomes Students generating complex intellectual products to demonstrate learning Students participating in assessment Students being held accountable for competence Students exhibiting growth in real-world competence

How Do I Begin? Planning Begin with an “Essential Question” What is important to your students What is the deep learning--the enduring understanding What are the necessary skills Standards Prerequisite knowledge (prior knowledge) Prerequisite skills Skills and knowledge to be embedded into the project

Engage Students in problem solving in higher order thinking skills in critical thinking to solve real problems for a real audience

Discussion and Sharing: What evidence did you see of effective learning? What does effective learning mean to your career program?

Comparing Traditional Instruction with Project Based Learning

Traditional Instruction Emphasizes Project Based Learning Emphasizes Focus of curriculum Depth of understanding Comprehension of concepts and principles Development of complex problem-solving skills Focus of curriculum Content coverage Knowledge of facts Learning "building- block" skills in isolation

Traditional Instruction Emphasizes Project Based Learning Emphasizes Scope and sequence Follows student interest Large units composed of complex problems or issues Broad, interdisciplinary focus Scope and sequence Follows fixed curriculum Proceeds block by block, unit by unit Narrow, discipline- based focus

Teaching role Teacher facilitates learning by serving as a coach Teacher creates environment in which students can create their own process towards the product Teaching role Teacher delivers instruction Teacher models process and product. Traditional Instruction Emphasizes Project Based Learning Emphasizes

Focus of assessment Process and products Tangible accomplishments Criterion performances and gains over time Demonstration of understanding Focus of assessment Products Test scores Comparisons with others Reproduction of information Traditional Instruction Emphasizes Project Based Learning Emphasizes

Materials of instruction Direct or original sources: printed materials, interviews, documents, and others Data and materials developed by students Traditional Instruction Emphasizes Project Based Learning Emphasizes Materials of instruction Texts, lectures and presentations Teacher-developed exercise sheets and activities

Use of technology Central, integral Directed by students Useful for enhancing student presentations or amplifying student capabilities Traditional Instruction Emphasizes Project Based Learning Emphasizes Use of technology Ancillary, peripheral Administered by teachers Useful for enhancing teachers' presentations

Classroom context Students working alone Students competing with one another Students receiving information from an instructor Classroom context Students working in groups Students collaborating with one another Students constructing, contributing, and synthesizing information Traditional Instruction Emphasizes Project Based Learning Emphasizes

Student role Carry out instructions Memorizer and repeater of facts Students receive and complete brief tasks Listen, behave, speak only when spoken to Student role Carry out self- directed learning activities Discoverer, integrator, and presenter of ideas Students define their own tasks and work independently for large blocks of time Communicate, show affect, produce, take responsibility Traditional Instruction Emphasizes Project Based Learning Emphasizes

Short-term goals Knowledge of facts, terms, content Mastery of isolated skills Short-term goals Understanding and application of complex ideas and processes Mastery of integrated skills Traditional Instruction Emphasizes Project Based Learning Emphasizes

Long-range goals Breadth of knowledge Graduates who have the knowledge to perform successfully on standard achievement tests Long-range goals Depth of knowledge Graduates who have the dispositions and skills to engage in sustained, autonomous, lifelong learning Traditional Instruction Emphasizes Project Based Learning Emphasizes

The Backwards Planning Process

Assessment

What does a good project look like? Here are some guidelines and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of project-based learning in your classroom.

Your Project Should… Allow for a variety of learning styles Be "Real" world oriented - learning has value beyond the demonstrated competence of the learner Provide positive feedback and allow choice Encourage the use of higher order thinking skills and learning concepts as well as basic facts Utilize hands-on approaches Provide for in-depth understanding Be accessible for all learners Utilize various modes of communication

Your Project Should… Have assessment that is congruent with instruction, i.e. performance-based Make students responsible for their own learning Promote meaningful learning, connecting new learning to students' past performances Utilize real time data - investigating data and drawing conclusions Value the learning process as well as the learning project Cut across curricular areas - multidisciplinary in nature Utilize the teacher as a facilitator of learning, a coach Encourage student self-assessment of learning

Discussion and Sharing: How does what you see match the criteria for a good project? What different kinds of learning are taking place?

Technology & PBL Students today are using online resources to work on their projects. They are designing, critiquing, and presenting products using interactive technologies. Here are some guidelines and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of project-based learning in your classroom.

Project Based Learning Online Wiki - WebQuests– Treasure Hunts world.com/a_lesson/archives/hunt.shtml world.com/a_lesson/archives/hunt.shtml Hotlists Directions for WORD Eduhound -

Project Based Learning Online Streaming Video (Scroll to the bottom for a list of place where you can find video for use in the classroom.) Pictures & Other Visuals Educational Podcasts - Directoryhttp:// Directory Graphic Organizers - Vocational Resources – reer reer Project-Based Instruction

Discussion and Sharing: What kind of project are you thinking of creating? What grade level? What topic/task? Which content standards or task list items? What might the final product be?