Project-Based+Instruction

=Project-Based Instruction =

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Project Based Learning is an instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation.
 * Read Me!**      **Reading One (from PBL on-line):**

These activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom.  Project Based Learning is synonymous with learning in depth. A well-designed project provokes students to encounter (and struggle with) the central concepts and principles of a discipline.

Project Based Learning teaches students 21 st century skills as well as content. These skills include communication and presentation skills, organization and time management skills, research and inquiry skills, self-assessment and reflection skills, and group participation and leadership skills.

Project Based Learning is generally done by groups of students working together toward a common goal. Performance is assessed on an individual basis, and takes into account the quality of the product produced, the depth of content understanding demonstrated, and the contributions made to the ongoing process of project realization.

Finally, Project Based Learning allows students to reflect upon their own ideas and opinions, exercise voice and choice, and make decisions that affect project outcomes and the learning process in general. Combining these considerations, we define Project Based Learning as: ||  Although many teachers “do projects,” not all projects lead to learning. To help teachers use Project Based Learning effectively with their students (rather than simply “do projects”), **//PBL-Online incorporates the project design methodology developed by the Buck Institute for Education//** ([|link]). This methodology yields projects that meet today’s standards for accountability and teach students the academic content and the 21 st century skills they need for life success.
 * //a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning essential knowledge and life-enhancing skills through an extended, student-influenced inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks.//
 * The PBL-Online Approach to Successful Project Design**

The BIE methodology is based on research in constructivist learning, content mastery and critical thinking, and incorporates the project management skills valued by today’s global industries. The focus is on helping students move through an inquiry process that stimulates their thinking, engages them in authentic tasks, and demands demonstration of mastery.

The BIE model aligns closely with recent youth development research and theory, and reflects current thinking about rigor, relevance, and relationship as the keys to educational reform at the secondary level. Both of these fields emphasize the importance of relationship-driven classrooms where adult mentors help students engage more deeply in the learning process and develop rigorous, positive attitudes towards academic achievement. To learn more about PBL, please visit the [|Buck Institute for Education] website. You will find:  
 * Resources describing [|PBL and how it is used].
 * Opportunities for [|PBL professional development].
 * Research describing the [|implementation and impact of PBL].
 * Reading Two (from Houghton Mifflin's Project-Based Learning Space:**

Project-based learning (PBL) is a model for classroom activity that shifts away from the classroom practices of short, isolated, teacher-centered lessons and instead emphasizes learning activities that are long-term, interdisciplinary, student-centered, and integrated with real world issues and practices.

One immediate benefit of practicing PBL is the unique way that it can motivate students by engaging them in their own learning. PBL provides opportunities for students to pursue their own interests and questions and make decisions about how they will find answers and solve problems.

PBL also provides opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Students apply and integrate the content of different subject areas at authentic moments in the production process, instead of in isolation or in an artificial setting.

PBL helps make learning relevant and useful to students by establishing connections to life outside the classroom, addressing real world concerns, and developing real world skills. Many of the skills learned through PBL are those desired by today's employer, including the ability to work well with others, make thoughtful decisions, take initiative, and solve complex problems.

In the classroom, PBL provides many unique opportunities for teachers to build relationships with students. Teachers may fill the varied roles of coach, facilitator, and co-learner. Finished products, plans, drafts, and prototypes all make excellent "conversation pieces" around which teachers and students can discuss the learning that is taking place.

In the school and beyond, PBL also provides opportunities for teachers to build relationships with each other and with those in the larger community. Student work-which includes documentation of the learning process as well as the students' final projects-can be shared with other teachers, parents, mentors, and the business community who all have a stake in the students' education.

The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project specifically focuses on project-based learning supported by multimedia. Seven features have been identified as key components of this project, for use in describing, assessing, and planning for multimedia projects.
 * Components of project-based learning**
 * **Curricular content** is the PBL feature for which teachers and students may be held most accountable. Successful integration of content learning requires projects to be based on standards, to have clearly articulated goals, and to support and demonstrate content learning both in process and product.
 * The **multimedia** component gives students opportunities to use various technologies effectively as tools in the planning, development, or presentation of their projects. Though the technology can easily become the main focus of a given project, the real strength of the multimedia component lies in its integration with the subject curriculum and its authentic use in the production process.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">The **student direction** component is designed to maximize student decision-making and initiative throughout the course of the project-from topic selection to design, production, and presentation decisions. Projects should include adequate structure and feedback to help students to make thoughtful decisions and revisions. By documenting students' decisions, revisions, and initiative, teachers (and students) will capture valuable material for assessing student work and growth.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">PBL accommodates and promotes **collaboration** among students, between students and the teacher, and ideally between students and other community members as well. This component is intended to give students opportunities to learn collaborative skills, such as group decision-making, relying on the work of peers, integrating peer and mentor feedback, providing thoughtful feedback to peers, and working with others as student researchers.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">The **real world connection** component can take on many forms, depending on the goal of the project. PBL may connect to the real world because it addresses real world issues that are relevant to students' lives or communities. A project may be connected to real professions through use of authentic methods, practices, and audiences. Real world connections might also be made by communicating with the world outside the classroom, via the Internet or collaboration with community members and mentors.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">An **extended time frame** builds in opportunities for students to plan, revise and reflect on their learning. Though the time frame and scope of projects may vary widely, they should all include adequate time and materials to support meaningful doing and learning.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">With its innovative approach to learning, PBL also requires an innovative approach to assessment. Just as learning is an ongoing process, assessment can be an ongoing process of documenting that learning. PBL requires varied and frequent assessment, including teacher assessment, peer assessment, self-assessment, and reflection. Assessment practices should also be inclusive and well understood by students, allowing them opportunities to participate in the assessment process in ways not typically supported by more traditional teacher-centered lessons.

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<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> **<span style="color: rgb(180, 71, 8); background-color: rgb(255, 234, 0)">See Me! ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">  <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">**K-5 Examples**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Kids Tune into Weather]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Graph Goodies]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Down the Drain]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"><span class="wiki_link_ext">[|Webquests (scroll to the bottom for examples)]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Grade 6-12 Examples **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|How Much is Inside?]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">The GoogleEarthGame
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Let's Build a Roller Coaster!]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">[|Let's Build a Roller Coaster!]

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="color: rgb(180, 71, 8); background-color: rgb(255, 234, 0)"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> **<span style="color: rgb(180, 71, 8); background-color: rgb(255, 234, 0)">Teach Me! ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="color: rgb(180, 71, 8); background-color: rgb(255, 234, 0)">   <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> <span style="color: rgb(180, 71, 8); background-color: rgb(255, 234, 0)">   <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">The best way to learn project-based learning is to see those who do it well in action. Visit the [|George Lucas Edutopia website] (use the dropdown to look for videos on "project-based learning"), look at several videos and proceed to the Try Me section below.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive"> **<span style="color: rgb(180, 71, 8); background-color: rgb(255, 234, 0)">Try Me! ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Now that you know what project-based instruction looks like, revisit your Scope and Sequence document and use Part II to brainstorm some mini-projects that you might use within the scope and sequence of your content area / grade level. Let your creativity go...this is one of the first rules of teaching! You goal is to make the most effective, authentic, engaging instruction that will cause each student to rise each day with their first thought being "I can't wait to get to my favorite teacher's class--I wonder what we'll learn today?" To complete Section III of the Scope and Sequence document, you should first visit these two documents. They will share with you some of the Web2.0 tools that are commonly used in schools. Take some time to look at the ones that are of particular interest to you as you consider tools to do a mini-project that aligns with your Scope and Sequence. At a minimum, you need to include: a blog, a wiki, a digital story, a research project, and a podcasting series.

[|Web2.0 chart.doc] [|My Favorite Web2.doc]

<span style="background: red none repeat scroll 0% 50%; font-size: 10pt; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 115%"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive">Visit this wiki and scroll down to examine some great "checklists" and other resources for implementing project-based instruction.
 * <span style="background: red none repeat scroll 0% 50%; font-size: 10pt; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; line-height: 115%">Additional Resources **