by Mieder van Loggerenberg
This pedagogy is student-centered with a dynamic classroom approach where students get a deeper understanding of the content through active exploration real-world challenges and problems. Students learn elements of the core curriculum, but also apply what they know to solve authentic problems and produce actual results. PBL refocuses education on the student, and not the curriculum. It also emphasizes learning activities that are long-term and interdisciplinary.
PBL is a detailed method of teaching by engaging students in inquiry-based learning. Within this framework, students pursue solutions to problems by asking and refining questions, debating ideas, making predictions, designing plans and/or experiments, collecting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, communicating their ideas and findings to others, asking new questions, and creating tangible projects to present their gained knowledge. This may include a variety of media such as writings, art, drawings, graphs and charts, videos, photography, or technology-based presentations.
There are numerous benefits to Project-based learning – students will have a greater understanding of concepts, broader knowledge base, improved communication and interpersonal/social skills, critical thinking skills, enhanced leadership skills, increased creativity, and improved writing skills. Students become active researchers and assessors of their own learning. Blumenfeld & Krajcik (2006) cite studies that show students in project-based learning classrooms get higher scores than students in a traditional classroom.
The teacher's role in PBL is that of a facilitator. They do not relinquish control of the classroom or student learning, but instead create an atmosphere of shared responsibility. The teacher structures the planned problem to direct the student's learning toward content-based materials. Teachers must regulate the student success with intermittent goals to ensure student projects remain on point. Students are held accountable to these goals through ongoing feedback and assessments. The ongoing assessment and feedback are crucial to ensure the student stays within the scope of the driving problem and the core standards the project is trying to achieve. The teacher uses these assessments to guide the inquiry process and ensure the students have learned the required content. Once the project is completed, the teacher evaluates the finished product and the learning that it demonstrates.
The student's role is to ask questions, build knowledge, and determine a real-world solution to the problem or question presented. Students must collaborate, developing their active listening skills and forcing them to participate in intelligent, focused communication, therefore allowing them to think logically about how to solve problems. PBL forces students to take ownership of their success.
The downside of PBL is that when projects become unfocused and underdeveloped lessons can result in wasting precious class time. Those opposed to PBL suggest that a lecture-style instruction can convey the same knowledge in less time. In addition, students generally have fewer opportunities to learn academic content outside of school so if the project has no clear objective, it can set the students’ academic and cognitive development back even further.
Characteristics of Project-Based Learning
Student-Centered
In PBL, the teacher shifts from content-deliverer to being a facilitator, coach, or project manager. Students are more independent, and the teacher provides support only when needed.
Inter-Disciplinary
In PBL, projects require students to use content knowledge and skills from multiple academic domains to engage in inquiry, solution building, and product construction.
Rigorous
Tasks in PBL require the application of knowledge and skills, not just memorizing and recalling information. It focuses heavily on the process of inquiry which leads to deeper learning for both academic content and real-life application. In turn, leads to the development of solutions of the set problems within the project.
Project-Based Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes of PBL is vast and can vary depending on how it was implemented. The objectives are not much different from the characteristics of PBL. Here are some of the most common measurable outcomes of project-based learning:
Literacy and Critical Inquiry
· craft writing to meet the needs of specific audiences for specific purposes in specific situations.
· gather, interpret, and evaluate evidence, which they will appropriately integrate into their writing.
· base decisions on analysis of evidence, logic, and ethics.
Mathematics
· apply mathematical analysis to solve problems that they encounter in their academic, professional, and personal lives.
Computer / Statistics / Quantitative Applications
· use digital technologies to solve problems and complete projects in their academic, professional, and personal lives.
· apply statistical tools for organizing, analyzing, evaluating, and interpreting data.
Humanities, Arts, Design
· design and conduct humanities research for specific purposes. interpret a wide range of written, aural, visual, and multimodal texts.
· use ideas from a wide range of texts to explain human experience.
Social-Behavioral Sciences
· design and conduct social-scientific studies for specific purposes.
· use social-scientific research and theory to describe and interpret the behavior of humans as individuals and as members of groups.
Natural Sciences
· use scientific reasoning to gather, evaluate, and interpret evidence.
· design and conduct scientific studies for specific purposes.
Cultural Diversity
· explain features of cultural diversity in the United States. explain the origins of cultural diversity in the United States.
· use inclusive language in writing and speaking.
Global Awareness
· analyze global problems from multiple perspectives (e.g., scientific, social-scientific, humanistic, cultural).
· propose solutions to global problems.
· apply democratic principles to diverse global contexts.
Historical Awareness
· gather, evaluate, and interpret historical evidence from primary and secondary sources.
· use historical information to describe their identities and values.
· research and explain the historical origins of contemporary institutions, ideas, movements, etc. design and conduct historical research for a variety of purposes.
Creative Expression
· use one or more creative tools (e.g., visual art, visual design, dance, music, theatre performance, poetry, fiction, or drama) to express their ideas, to solve real-world problems, and to complete projects.
Civic Engagement
· engage with community organizations to solve community problems.
· design and implement projects to solve to community problems.
Integrative Interdisciplinary / Transdisciplinary Skills
· integrate the skills and knowledge sets in multiple combinations to solve problems and complete projects.
· use research methods that are appropriate for the task at hand (e.g., scientific, social-scientific, historical, textual)
· complete projects by working in interdisciplinary teams.
How to Implement Project-Based Learning in The Classroom
Initially PBL can seem very daunting and elaborate but taking small steps can lead to a great project. It is important to note that PBL is not something a teacher masters in a week or even months. It takes years to master the intricacies of implementing PBL into your lessons. Here are some useful tips to help you implement PBL into your classroom.
Small Changes
Start with small, well organized changes to your lessons. Select a few targeted goals you want to work on related to the project. This will entail that you need to keep the scope and duration of the project to a minimum. Get meaningful feedback from students and management on the difficulty, objectives, outcomes and the usefulness of the project.
Student’s Point of View
You can get better insight into how to get started by looking at it from the student’s point of view. Consider how to answer the questions they might have to this type of learning. Prepare and provide valuable, relatable, easy-to-understand resources that will support them throughout the process. Project-based learning often requires many skills that students may not be used to, such as researching, summarizing, problem-solving, working as a team etc. It is important to cover and develop each skill in a fun and interactive way.
Workshops
The ideal way to succeed with PBL is to have an immersive, multi-day workshop. This can be yourself or bringing in an external facilitator to give a more experienced perspective on the subject going to be covered for the project.
Generating Ideas
Inspiration for a project can be found all around us, such as current events, business needs, or even catering for a niche market. Researching online, from books or even looking at issues in the local community can help you to choose a project appropriate for your students.
Assessment
The most crucial point about PBL is how will you assess your students. You must be able to provide a detailed rubric and criteria of the project prior to assigning it to students. Keep it simple, use language that are easy to understand and give clear objectives and deadlines for every element of the project.
In conclusion, PBL is important to the study of concepts that are hard to replace with traditional classroom lessons. With PBL students also learn skills that are essential in higher education. The students learn more than just finding answers, PBL allows them to expand their minds and think beyond what they normally would.
References:
Measurable Learning Outcomes in Project-Based Learning –
https://provost.asu.edu/sites/default/files/capc/1648/general_studies_learning_outcomes-8-24-14.pdf
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