What is Project Based Learning? u01a1

In this blog post, I will be exploring three examples of project based learning.  I will be identifying the circumstances and design principles that were common among the three examples, defining the role of the teacher and the student, and explaining how and why these learning experiences increased student engagement and knowledge/skill acquisition and transfer.

"More Fun Than a Barrel of ... Worms?!"- Diane Curtis, Edutopia

1. Role of teacher: The role of the teacher in this case was to support the students on their journey and to sometimes help the steer in the right direction.  Doing one of these projects takes a lot of planning.  It is the role of the teacher to make sure the students have everything they need to be successful in the project.  
2. Role of student: The role of the student in this project was to actually create the project. They chose the animal they wanted to know more about and they created their own guiding questions. "I want to know where they live.." and so forth. The students had control of their learning by choosing topics. After their topics are chosen, they created guiding questions that allowed them to map out their projects. They the reach out to experts, go on field trips and create other projects to help them find answers to their problems/questions. 
3. How and Why did these learning experiences increase student learning (engagement, knowledge, skill acquisition and transfer? These experiences fostered learning because the students were engaged.  They were the architects of their own learning instead of being spoon fed information by the teacher.  They designed their projects and created ways for themselves to discover the education.  They learned because they were active learners throughout the whole process.
4. Design principles: These projects began with curiosity about a topic.  One class decided to research pets that do not make asthma worse.  It all begins with curiosity. After they decide on a topic, they then figure out what they want to know.  After they find out what they want to know, the students brainstorm ways to find the information they want to know.  This whole design is centered around the students with support and planning from the teacher.  They carry out their project and seek the information they are looking for.  

"Geometry Students Angle into Architecture Through Project Learning"- Sara Armstrong, Edutopia

1. Role of teacher: The role of the teacher was to plan and support the students. She sought out experts to act as mentors and helped guide her students to success. She didn't tell them the answers but helped them succeed.  She also was in charge of assessing the student's work and developing a rubric. In this case, the teacher planned the basis of the project. 
2. Role of student: The role of the student was to design their own proposal of a high school of the future.  Each group was in charge of making a sketch, writing a proposal, and come up with the cost of the new high school.  They are in charge of making the decisions. 
3. How and Why did these learning experiences increase student learning (engagement, knowledge, skill acquisition and transfer? The students learned and made connections during the project because they again, were the architects (literally and figuratively) of their project.  The students wanted to impress the expert architects, they wanted to win the design competition. They also saw geometry in a completely new light.  They saw a real world application of the knowledge that they learned over the year.  They also learned other skills during this project. They learned how to properly give a presentation and compete for a 'job.' These are these skills that the students will ened in the real world. 
4. Design principles: The students are to take their knowledge they learned over the year and apply it to designing a future high school on a specific plot of land.  The students were then left to design the best high school they could on that land.  After the students completed their proposal, costs outline and sketch, they presented their high school to the class and experts.  At the conclusion of the project, the students went on a class trip to see and discuss some of the architecture of Seattle. 

"March of the Monarchs: Students Follow the Butterflies' Migration"- Diane Curtis, Edutopia

1. Role of teacher: The role of the teacher is to support the students and to help guide them along their project.  The teacher supplies materials and technology that allow the students to complete their project/challenge.  The teacher organized trips outside to help the students record their observations. 
2. Role of student: They use their personal observations to help study the migration of animals, including monarch butterflies. They then share their findings with their classmates and others via the internet. The students use the Journey North program to complete several different projects and come up with a product or solve the problem by working together and cooperating during problem solving.  
3. How and Why did these learning experiences increase student learning (engagement, knowledge, skill acquisition and transfer? It works because the students take ownership of their learning. The students write the letters to the students in Mexico and make their own personal observations. The students themselves become the scientists instead of reading what another scientist has done.  When the students take charge of the learning, they acquire a knowledge that is lasting!
4. Design principles: These projects are located on a website called "Journey North." This website lists several different projects for students to complete.  The site gives a prompt or a challenge  and the students are required to problem solve and make observations in order to complete a challenge or answer the problem.  These projects allow the students to be in control of their learning.  

Reflection: What was Common?
There are many common themes among these projects.  The one similarity amongst all three projects is that in all of them, the students were in command of their own learning.  For the most part, they were in charge of figuring out how to answer a problem or complete a challenge.  They had to identify what they needed to know, and how they were going to get what they needed to know.  After they found the information they needed, they took the information, organized it and drew their own conclusions based on the information.  It student based learning at its finest! The students themselves were required to foster connections to the real world and they were required to not only regurgitate information, but to apply it to the real world.  The application of knowledge really allows students to develop strong skills and they will maintain this real world connection forever.  The teacher also had a similar role. They acted as support systems through the learning.  They were there to help the students stay on course and to act as a mentor. They also had the job of assessing the projects through rubrics.  The design of the project was similar.  They each had a topic. The students then brainstormed the information they needed to complete the project. The students then figured out how to get the information and then executed their plan and made observations   The students learned from a project they themselves designed.  This I believe is the foundation of Project Based Learning.