Project-Based Learning
INTRODUCTION
Project-Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional methodology that allows students to learn and apply knowledge and skills through an engaging experience. Project- Based Learning gives opportunities for deeper learning in-context and for the development of important skills tied to college and career readiness. Project Based Learning (PBL) prepares students to reach their highest academic, personal, and career potential. Project-based learning builds collaboration and skills to handle challenges in the environment and community.
Characteristics of Project-Based Learning
Here are three characteristics of meaningful project-based learning activities that lead to deeper student understanding:
1.) Interdisciplinary
PBL focuses on engaging student with real-world problems. This is an interdisciplinary approach because real-world challenges are rarely solved using information or skills from a single subject area. Projects require students to engage in inquiry, solution building, and product construction to help address the real-world issue or challenge presented. As students do the work, they often use content knowledge and skills from multiple academic domains to successfully complete the project.
2.) Rigorous
Project-Based Learning requires the application of knowledge and skills, not just recall or recognition. Unlike rote learning that assesses a single fact, PBL is more complex and can be used to assess how students apply a variety of academic content in new contexts. As students engage in the work of a project they follow a process that begins with inquiry. Inquiry leads to deeper learning, not related to academic content, but also related to the use of content in real-world applications. Inquiry processes can help lead to the development of solutions that address the problem/challenge of the project and the creation of products to communicate solutions to an audience based upon the application of content and skills.
3.) Student-centered
In PBL, the role of the teacher shifts from content-deliverer to facilitator/ project manager. Students work more independently through the PBL process, with the teacher providing support only when needed. Students are encouraged to make their own decisions about how best to do their work and demonstrate their understanding. The PBL process fosters student independence, ownership of his/her work, and the development of 21st century/workplace skills.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnzCGNnU_WM&t=29s
Theories Related to Project-Based Learning
Education is about the engagement of the learner so that new information, skills or concepts can be mastered. With any technique introduced the theory behind that technique is examined to understand how that theory turned into practice. Constructivism rose to prominence in the 1990s and this educational philosophy three key areas:
- Learning is an active process of meaning-making gained in and through our experience and interactions with the world.
- Learning opportunities arise as people encounter cognitive conflict or challenge, and through naturally occurring as well as planned problem-solving activities.
- Learning is a social activity involving collaboration, negotiation, and participation in authentic practices of communities.
Project-based learning is a natural example of constructivism because it involves a complex problem or challenge being presented to the learner within a resource-rich environment (Reiser and Dempsey, 2018, p61). In this environment learners collaborates and the teacher assumes the role of facilitator. When you think of project-based learning, it is putting this theory into practice, learners engage in authentic learning activities, the act of collaboration allows learning to occur from many perspectives, learners develop skills in setting goals and it encourages learners to reflect on their learning.
Connectivism, while not directly credited to the development of the problem-based learning concept, is a theory that can be seen in practice. According to Downes (2014) in connectivism learning is defined as the formation of connections in a network and networks learn by automatically adjusting the set of connections between individual neurons or nodes (Reiser and Dempsey, 2018, p57). In connectivism the richer the interaction and engagement with others the more learning occurs. Connectivism has several basic principles:
- Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions.
- Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
- Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
- Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known.
- Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
- Ability to see connections between field, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
- Currency is intent of all connectivist learning activities.
- Decision making is itself a learning process.
Reviewing these principles allows us to between understand how important making connects and building decision-making skills are key components of project-based learning.
Case Study: School X
Background
The focus of the case study is school X in the Atlanta Public School System. The school in this study is a pk-8th grade school with an average class size of 22 students. School X is unique for several reasons because school x is on the turnaround school list different measures can be used to improve academics and move the school off of the turnaround school list. School X has several local partnerships to help provide resources for students and teachers. School X culture is guided by what they call six habits, collaboration, communication, creativity, empathy, perseverance, and self-discipline. School X has a CCRPI score of 62.3 for the elementary school and 62.6 for the middle school with a 60% mobility rate. Another unique feature of School X is the implementation of a unique curriculum (EL Education) that challenges students to think critically and take active roles in their classroom and communities. School X likes this curriculum because it is sold as a curriculum that should result in higher achievement and greater engagement in school. As stated, School X has several community partners that have invested in the school’s academic success, these partners have donated money and resources that have allowed School X to decrease class size in all K-4 classrooms, provided additional professional development training and materials that can be used to help expose students to a more rigorous education. A unique partnership with a local college provides part-time with a background in STEM fields, these staff members help teachers develop, plan and co-teach STEM lessons. Atlanta Public School System has developed a cluster model, these means all elementary and middle schools in a certain community feed into one high school. School X’s cluster is also a STEM cluster this means that all schools in this cluster have a timeline in place that will help them work toward becoming state STEM certified. The state of Georgia has a very rigorous rubric used by schools that wish to work toward state STEM certification.
http://www.stemgeorgia.org/certification/
The rubric used by the state of Georgia has 19 (STEM students and non-traditional student participation areas addressed only if the school is developing a STEM program) areas of focus:
Vision and culture
STEM Students
Non-traditional student participation
Characteristics of curriculum
Teacher content knowledge
Teacher professional learning
Teacher collaboration
STEM pathways
Math, Science, and Fine Arts instruction
STEM competitions
Project/Problem-based learning
Community partnerships
STEM integration
STEM labs
Student internships or capstone project
Technology integration
Student rigor & relevance and instructional quality
Investigative research
Accountability
http://www.stemgeorgia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/STEM-STEAM-Continuum-Overview-1.pdf
To begin the journey to STEM certification the School X and the college partnership developed a plan to make the process seamless and easy for the whole school. A 3 year plan developed for School X would have year 1 be a training year for STEM ambassadors (teachers from each grade band identified as teacher leaders that would pilot project-based learning in their classrooms and then train the other teachers on their grade level), these teachers would complete a virtual project-based course developed by the college to introduce this teaching method to teachers. Once STEM ambassadors completed the virtual course, they then attended several face to face professional development sessions hosted by the college on the design thinking process. Once all training was complete ambassadors developed their first project-based learning plan and launched that lesson in their classroom. Year two would be a full rollout of project-based learning to the whole school, where all teachers would introduce project-based learning to all students. Year three would be devoted to observation/feedback, applying for pre-walk and by the end of the school year have the state visit for the final walk and applying for state certification status. While all the best plans have a few hiccups the plan for School X had several issues.
Concerns
School X is an EL Education school, this means that all classrooms use the EL Education curriculum for the ELA. EL Education utilizes the module model, every module last 6 to 9 weeks and has a literature focus. Each module has a book as a focus and a character theme. All lessons and activities build to a final project that students complete to show that they have mastered skills and the character topic they should learn. While using this model should be helpful with the introduction of STEM education school-wide, School X has run into several issues they are attempting to address. The issue is the timeline, School X began major renovations in 2018 and with major renovation comes transition with classroom space and teachers moving their classrooms. As different parts of the building are under construction teachers have moved to temporary spaces at least two times since construction began. Because, of all the movement training for STEM ambassadors was delayed, causing a delay in their planning lessons and launching lessons in their classrooms. If, their timeline was followed 2018-2019 school year should have been the year for their pre-walk, application, and state certification. Another major issue School X face is EL Education and STEM, how are they going to implement both models in the school. While EL Education curriculum does have similar practices used in project-based learning, the only focus is ELA. School X students live in an area that is a socioeconomically disadvantaged area and School X is 100% free and reduced lunch. The students in School X also read and perform below grade level.
Solutions
School X asked their college partner for a specialist to help assist school focus on the items and support them in their STEM efforts. The school-based specialist was task with helping School X focus on the state rubric and help School address the areas of the rubric not met. Once the STEM specialist was in place, they worked with the teacher appointed as STEM lead to develop a new timeline to STEM certification. The first task addressed was teacher training and whole school role out of project-based learning. School X developed a training calendar that would be used to introduce all teachers to project-based learning and the design thinking process. School X identified tools for training and determined that would use literature from the Buck Institute to use during training sessions.
Training topics were:
- Design thinking and progression documents
- Math and Science integration, what does it look like?
- Math and technology integration, how are students the producers
- Design thinking and template introduction
- Guiding questions
- High quality work, what does it look like
- STEM journal vs Science notebook
School X also chose a design model to implement in classrooms, the design thinking process, this model was chosen because they felt it would marry well with character education topics covered through EL Education.
https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/5-stages-in-the-design-thinking-process
2019-2020 school year will be the first-year project-based learning is taught is all classrooms. A professional development calendar is being developed, time for teachers to collaborate and co-plan are being developed and school administration is in the early planning phase of writing their application and planning for a walkthrough next school year. While School X is still a work in process, their future in STEM looks bright and their chances of becoming a fully certified STEM school appear promising.
Project-Based learning in action:
Glossary of Terms
http://thelearningmind.com/key-terms-in-education
Arts Integration
Arts integration means learning core content side by side with–and through–art. Art helps students to explain and illustrate their knowledge, really making it their own. It forces a student to understand the subject matter extremely well and also fosters divergent thinking.
Character Development
Tying into developing emotional intelligence and the whole child approach to education, character development is a necessity in today’s schools, both implicitly and explicitly. Teaching resolution of conflict and communication skills, modeling the growth mindset and grit, teaching acceptance and empathy, we have a responsibility to our students to develop not just their minds, but their character as well.
Collaborative Learning
Many new learning practices use collaboration, as science recognizes that we come up with our best ideas in groups. Furthermore, it represents real life, where students will eventually have to learn to work with others and their ideas.
Creative Thinking
As the backbone behind many learning movements, including STEAM and design thinking, creative thinking brings together problem solving, divergent thinking, and convergent thinking. There are now degree programs popping up for creative thinking, as it has become a clearly recognized asset.
Design Thinking
This strategy develops deep thinking skills, promoting problem solving and creativity in a hands-on format. The design thinking process consists of five elements: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test. Students are taught to approach problems with a designer’s mindset, reframe problems, and test out things in practice, not theory.
Digital Storytelling
Storytelling for the 21st century, combines multimedia with words to create a new and exciting storytelling experience for students. Digital Storytelling requires the following steps: outline an idea, do the research, write the script, create a storyboard, create or collect images/video/audio, combine to create a digital story, share with the world, get feedback and reflect.
Emotional Intelligence (SEL)
Educating students about how to cope with their emotions, both inside and outside of the classroom, helps them to succeed in life: less dropouts, less detention, less suspensions, and the list continues. Practicing mindfulness in schools is just one element that shows promising results.
Exercise and Movement
We are not advocating that you teach PE instead of history, unless you are a PE teacher, of course. However, movement and exercise are essential and must be integral parts of the learning day. Giving students short breaks in which they are allowed to get up, move, and be active can actually help them to retain what they’ve just learned.
Failure
Yes, I am suggesting teaching students how to fail. Closely-tied to the growth mindset, design thinking, and inquiry-based learning, teaching students how to fail involves getting students to challenge themselves. In fact, this professor built-in failure as a part of final grades. Teaching how to fail further requires that we teach students to respond appropriately to failure, using it as a learning opportunity: Why did that not work? What parts of it worked? Do I need to start from the beginning again, or can I salvage parts of my attempt?
Flipped Classroom
The Flipped Classroom is a flipping of the traditional classroom model, where what is usually thought of as homework becomes classwork and vice-versa. A collaborative technology-based format allows the teacher to become a guide, rather than a lecturer. The “learning” is done at home, while the activities are done in the classroom. The classroom is the place where students work together to implement what they’ve learned, while the teacher answers any questions that arise.
Growth Mindset
The growth mindset is borne of strong self-efficacy, which is a belief in one’s ability to grow, learn, and succeed. It deeply intertwines with grit, a mix of passion and perseverance. Coined by Carol Dweck in the bestselling book Mindset, encouraging the growth mindset is a classroom must, as it anticipates success both inside and outside of the classroom.
Humor
Yes, this made the list. And, no, it is not new to the teaching world. However, what we know about humor in the classroom is fairly new. Tracey Tokuhama Espinosa tells us that “laughter triggers the release of endorphins and enhances oxygenation in the brain, both of which aid in learning.” Also, the release of dopamine, related to happiness, has an impact on memory and learning. Most teachers know it works, as it’s often a favorite tool in our toolbox. Now, we know why.
Intrinsic Motivation
As teachers, we can cultivate intrinsic motivation in our students. As opposed to extrinsic motivation (such as grades), intrinsic motivation happens when we are rewarded internally for our actions. Teachers should ask students “why” they want to learn a subject and guide them to discover that.
Makerspaces
The lab within the classroom, a collaborative workspace that is sometimes high tech and sometimes not–coding, 3D modeling, robotics, woodworking, etc.–maker spaces are hands-on workspaces within the classroom. They are designated specifically for experimenting, building, learning, and ultimately, creating.
Metacognition
Teaching students how to think about their own process of thinking encourages critical thinking and self-regulation skills. Teaching metacognition in the classroom, in the form of growth journals and reflective exercises, stimulates student motivation and builds independent, lifelong learners.
Positive Education
Positive Education brings positive psychology to the classroom. It emphasizes our strengths and examines what makes us successful and happy. Teaching character and well-being, positive education revives education, as the brain flourishes on happiness and positivity.
Project-Based Learning
Project-based learning is a collaborative learning method that addresses real-world problems, emphasizing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Starting with a challenging question or issue facing the community, students are given “voice and choice” in how they will solve the problem and evaluate their solution. Hands-on and community involved, PBL joins the next wave of classroom innovation.
Scaffolding
This requires breaking the learning up into manageable chunks with tools to accompany each section of the learning. Scaffolding is the step prior to differentiated instruction and can work in conjunction with it for those who need more help.
STEAM
Art and design are making their way back into the curriculum, transforming STEM to STEAM: science, technology, engineering, art and design, and mathematics. The A in STEAM provides the outlet for the STEM to come to life.
Workshop Model
The Workshop Model is a personal favorite of mine. Starting with a warm-up, leading to a mini-lesson, breaking into work time, and then debriefing, The Workshop Model allows for scaffolding and allows students to work on exercises and projects in the classroom, where the teacher can help guide them and answer questions. Then, the debriefing allows for time to reflect and integrate their newly formed knowledge.
Resources
Houghton Mifflin’s Project-Based Learning Space:
Virtual Schoolhouse: The Aquarium Project
Tropical Rainforest Interactive Presentations
Project-Based Learning: The Online Resources for PBL.
Project-Based Learning Checklists.
Intel Teach Elements: Online Professional Development Courses. Houghton Mifflin’s Project-Based Learning Space
References
Abdurachmanov, B. (2017) 20 Key Terms Everyone in Education Should Know, The Learning Mind.
Burger, E(2012). Teaching to Fail, Inside Higher ED.
Conyers, M., & Wilson, D. (2016). Teaching Students to Drive Their Brains. ASCD.
Cullars, F.(2018). The constant increase in growth of Georgia STEM and STEAM Certified schools is helping Georgia meet workforce demands. STEM / STEAM Program Specialist, Career, Technical and Agricultural Education.
Dam, R. Siang, T. (2019) 5 Stages in the Design Thinking Process
Edutopia. (2014). GROWTH OF GEORGIA STEM AND STEAM SCHOOLS SINCE PROGRAM INCEPTION.
Huffpost. (2016) The Importance of STEAM Learning
Keenan,B.(2019). The Power of Reflection in PBL. Gold Standard PBL: Design Elements.
Robin, B.(2012) Digital Storytelling, University of Houston, College of Education.
Reiser, R & Dempsey, J (2018). Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology. Pearson
Tokuhama-Espinosa, T. (2011). Mind, Brain, and Education Science. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Authored by: Cepia Harper and Keisha Simmons