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Project Based Learning
At the bottom of this page is a list of downloadable files of sample projects. Please feel free to download, change and use.
Project Based Learning is very similar to Adventure Based Learning in that student autonomy and collaboration is paramount. Project Based Learning is exactly as it sounds. The students learn by working on projects. The project drives the learning. The best time and the most effective use of project based learning is to literally start with the project. Too many times, educators use projects as some sort of a reward system. If we get through all the notes fast enough and do well on any exams, then the class will get to work on a project. Instead, educators should forgo the notes and the exams and just introduce the project at the start and let all of the requisite work on the project guide you and the students. There are four main components that most researchers agree should be present for an effective project: - a driving question - student directed learning - authentic product - collaboration |
Driving Question or Problem
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The driving question is what literally drives the project. This idea of a driving question has its roots with Dewey (1944) and his assertion that a real problem is situated within the student’s own world and in fact comes from the student, whereas the pretend problem comes from the teacher or the curriculum which also determines what is considered a right answer or solution. The driving question should be connected to the required curriculum and to real-life issues or problems and be possible to address through work done by the students. Thomas (2000) states that “PBL projects are focused on questions or problems that “drive” students to encounter (and struggle with) the central concepts of a discipline” (p. 3). Since most of us are going to be experiencing problems and questions in our real lives after our education is over, we are going to have to realize that it makes sense that we learn how to tackle problem solving at school and learn how to do it with relevant problems. This idea, of a driving question or problem, is much more than simply the problem solving that often takes place in subjects like math. It has to encompass enough complexity that it will motivate and engage the student to spend a sufficient amount of time trying to answer it. As indicated earlier, the more meaningful the context and relevant the work and activities are to the students lives, the greater the level of engagement and motivation.
For example: Make an impact on the upcoming local or federal election. |
Student Directed Learning or Investigation
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Instead of the more traditional teacher led approach, PBL involves the students in the real-life process of decision making, planning, data collection, observing and researching that must take place if a solution to the problem or question is going to be found. According to Thomas (2000), for a project to be considered PBL, it needs to be primarily student-led - which means “a good deal more student autonomy, choice, unsupervised work time, and responsibility” (p. 4).
This means that the students need to figure out what they know already and what they need to know, as well as how they are going to learn what they need to learn. There is no right or single way to get to the answer, just like there is probably no definitive correct answer. PBL takes time, just like solving problems in the real world does, which is another facet of PBL that connects it to improving student engagement. As it is student directed, it is also student individualized. What one student may need to know, another may already know. What one student may decide to do when trying to figure out a solution could be completely different from other students. It also allows for differentiation to occur naturally. The students that don't need your help are off and running allowing you to focus on those that could use some teacher guidance. Student autonomy leads to greater engagement. Patall, et al. (2008) found in a meta-analysis of 41 studies regarding the effect of choice that “choice can have a positive overall effect on intrinsic motivation, as well as on a number of related outcomes including effort, task performance, perceived competence, and preference for challenge” (p. 294). |
Final Product
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It is the proof that the process occurred at all. The product gives an overall purpose to the project. The possibilities for products are endless and can be represented in many different ways: from the actual construction of a structure or model to a presentation to a group. As much as possible, the final product should have an authentic purpose and be for an authentic audience. The creation of an artifact allows the students to share their learning and knowledge with other students, parents, and community members. It also allows the student to experience the real-life process of review and revision.
So many assignments in school are given back to students who toss the assignment in the garbage after looking at their mark (possibly their only motivation for doing the assignment). Often little or no time is spent reviewing and learning from their mistakes. In PBL, the sharing and reviewing of the products can allow for feedback, revision, and representation with the idea of creating the best possible product within certain timelines, just like in the real world. The artifact acts as a concrete end point to PBL. Unlike other inquiry-based learning methods, where possible solutions can be presented and tested almost endlessly, project-based learning has a definite endpoint. This creation of artifacts or products also acts to keep students and teachers on task. It is the products, who the products are for, and how the products are evaluated that connect PBL to the real world which has a positive effect on student engagement. Barnes and Bramley (2008) found that “students looked forward to class days during which they were allowed to work on a real world project” (p. 87). People in the real world are constantly creating things for a specific purpose and for a specific audience whether it is the plans for a building or the building itself, the script for a movie or the movie itself or even this paper that I am writing right now. |
Collaboration |
Krajcik and Blumenfeld (2006) and Marx et al. (1997) indicate that another important component of PBL is collaboration. The other authors don’t mention collaboration specifically as a necessary part although they often have terms like “project groups” in their articles which seem to indicate the students are working together. Krajcik and Blumenfeld (2006) point out that in PBL, students work with each other, their teacher and with members of the community to plan, research, bounce ideas around and use as sources of information.
Another benefit of collaboration is the opportunity to give feedback to and get feedback from other students. While Krajcik and Blumenfeld (2006) point out that collaboration is good for the success of PBL and student learning, they don’t touch on collaboration as a real-life skill in its own right or its positive effect on student engagement (Fredricks et al., 2004; Lightner et al., 2007; Shernoff et al., 2003). Johnson (2008) indicates that “strong empirical support was found for the proposition that schools placing greater emphasis on relational learning are better able to serve the motivational needs of adolescent students” (p. 80). The ever-increasing globalization of our world and our workforce also increases our need for the ability to collaborate with others in our immediate community and in other countries. Our constantly improving technology has made this kind of working together possible. When looking for solutions to a problem, people can seek help from almost anybody in the world. There are very few people in today’s world who work alone. So while PBL is teaching our students how to solve problems and create real world projects, it is also teaching them how to effectively work with others. |
Sample Projects (feel free to download, modify and use)
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Your goal is to build your own water filter using available materials that will actually filter water and be able to explain the process. Really good project for when camping.
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Your goal is to have an impact on any local or national election that is coming up. This can include have an impact on any local or national issue. There is an option to write an essay based on your work and to make the essay part of the impact.
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Your goal is to build a machine that relies completely on hydraulic power to accomplish a task.
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Your goal is to build your own solar oven to cook a hot dog or melt a marshmallow and chocolate. Another good project for when you are camping.
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