Blog Post #9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning?

Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain skills and knowledge by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to a complex question, problem, or challenge.

 

In the article, Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning, they discussed some things that I didn't know about in PBL.  The Seven Essitials are: Need to Know meaning students need to see the need to gain knowledge, understand concepts, and apply skills in order to answer the driving question and create project products.  Driving Question when project work is focused by an open-ended question that students understand and find intriguing, which captures their task or frames their exploration.  Student Voice and Choice when students are allowed to make some choices about the products to be created, how they work, and how they use their time, guided by the teacher and depending on age level and PBL experience.  21st Century Skills is when students build competencies valuable for today’s world, such as problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity, which are explicitly taught and assessed.  Inquiry and Innovation is when students are engaged in an extended, rigorous process of asking questions, using resources, and developing answers.  Feedback and Revision is when the project includes processes for students to give and receive feedback on the quality of their work.  Publicly Presented Product is when the students present their work to other people, beyond their classmates and teacher.

The video, Project Based Learning for Teachers,by Tony Vincent was a great overview on Project Based Learning and some of the standards.  PBL has students working over an extended period of time answering a driven question.  Common Core State Standards are the WHAT and Project Based Learning is the HOW.  Think of PBL as questioning, investigating, sharing, and reflecting.

In the articles, Project Based Learning and Physical Education by Andrew Miller and Project Based Learning in PE, they had some very interesting things to talk about.  They discussed how Physical Education can be a place where authentic learning can occur.  As a team and as individuals, they must explore and solve in Project Based Learning.  They should be doing physical activity not only through school, but through daily lives, creating fitness programs can help an individual practice physical fitness, and the ideas of collaboration, teamwork, and role modeling are also presented through this project

In the video, What Motivates Students?,  they had several students to answer this particular question. 
Some of the answers to this question was that, they want good grades and they like it when the teachers recognizes them on test.  They also get candy and rewards from some of their teachers if they do well.  It really doesn't take much to motivate a child to do good in school and I can't wait until I actually start teaching.