Project Based Learning · Project Based Learning in the Adult Education Classroom. Resource...

Project Based Learning

Resources

Sources include: Buck Institute of Education and Edutopia

Project Based Learning in the Adult Education Classroom. Resource Compilation

What is Project Based Learning?

• PBL asks a question of poses a problem that ALL students can answer.

• PBL allows students to investigate issues and topics in real world problems.

• PBL fosters abstract, intellectual tasks to explore complex issues.

Edutopia

What is Project Based Learning?• Teaching method in

which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge.

BIE


How does it Work?The main Course, Not Desert

“In a typical unit on instruction containing a project […] the teacher covers the main course of study in the usual way, and then a short project is served up for dessert. In […] Project Based Learning it is the project that is the main course – it contains and frames the curriculum and instruction”


How does it Work?

Duration 10-15 contact hours

40 + contact hours

Breadth One subject/theme/few standards

Interdisciplinary/several standards

Technology Basic Extensive

Setting Classroom Community/World

Who’s involved?

One teacher Several teachers,

outside guests, community

Audience Classroom Experts, community, world, web

Student Autonomy

Teacher-defined; tightly

managed

Co-defined and managed

BIE


How does it Work?

• Keep it Simple! • 1-2 weeks in duration • 1 subject or one topic for

ESOL settings• Limited complexity• Takes place in the classroom


Evidence of Effective Learning ESOL Learners

1-Pre-teaching Make sure students

understand the goals and benefits of a problem-based approach for language learning.

Emphasize the importance of using English in the problem-solving activities.

2-Introduce Problem and Vocabulary Introduce students to

the problem using pictures, video and texts.

Introduce vocabulary related to the problem.

Ask students about previous personal experiences with the problem.

Provide pre-reading exercises about the problem.

3-Group Students, Provide Resources Make sure that students

understand the problem and the expectations of them.

Emphasize that there is no simple answer or solution and that they need to choose what appears to be the most viable solution to them and be prepared to explain why they chose that solution.

Give students access to resources such as the internet, books, magazines, brochures, newspapers, television and telephones.

Make sure that students are aware of the range of resources available and how to use them.

Group students preferably in groups with different language backgrounds and proficiency levels


Evidence of Effective Learning ESOL Learners

4-Observe and Support Observe students and

provide support as needed, but do not attempt to direct their efforts or control their activity in solving the problem.

Observe, take notes and provide feedback on student participation in the activity and on language used during the activity.

5-Follow Up and Assess Progress Provide students with

opportunities to present and share the results of their work.

Provide follow-up activities based on your observations; e.g. form-focused instruction on grammar, pronunciation or pragmatic issues.

Assess students’ participation and success in the activity.


Research Summary: PBL and 21st Century Competencies

Academic achievement: Goals for 21st century learning emphasize mastery of significant academic content, which also is the foundation of any well-designed project. Comparisons of learning outcomes in PBL versus more traditional, textbook-and-lecture driven instruction show that:

• Students learning through PBL retain content longer and have a deeper understanding of what they are learning. (Penuel & Means, 2000; Stepien, Gallagher & Workman, 1993)

• In specific content areas, PBL has been shown to be more effective than traditional methods for teaching math, economics, language, science, and other disciplines. (Beckett & Miller, 2006; Boaler, 2002; Finkelstein et al., 2010; Greier et al., 2008; Mergendoller, Maxwell, & Bellisimo, 2006)

• On high-stakes tests, PBL students perform as well or better than traditionally taught students. (Parker et al., 2011)


Research Summary: PBL and 21st Century Competencies

21st century competencies: PBL helps students master the key competencies identified as essential for college and career readiness. Research has shown: • Students demonstrate better problem-solving skills

in PBL than in more traditional classes and are able to apply what they learn to real-life situations. (Finkelstein et al., 2010)

• When teachers are trained in PBL methods, they devote more class time to teaching 21st century skills; their students perform at least as well on standardized tests as students engaged in traditional instruction. (Hixson, Ravitz, & Whisman, 2012)

• PBL students also show improved critical thinking. (Beckett & Miller, 2006; Horan, Lavaroni, & Beldon, 1996; Mergendoller, Maxwell, & Bellisimo, 2006; Tretten & Zachariou, 1995)

• Through PBL experiences, students improve their ability to work collaboratively and resolve conflicts. (Beckett & Miller; ChanLin, 2008) n Opportunities for collaborative learning provide benefits to students across grade levels, academic subjects, and achievement levels. (Johnson & Johnson, 2009; Slavin, 1996)


Research Summary on the Benefits of PBL: PBL and 21st Century Competencies

Equity:• PBL shows promise as a strategy for closing the

achievement gap by engaging lower-achieving students.(Boaler, 2002; Penuel & Means, 2000)

• PBL can work in different types of schools, serving diverse learners.(Hixson, Ravitz, & Whisman, 2012)

• PBL also can provide an effective model for whole-school reform.(National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform, 2004; Newmann& Wehlage, 1995;Ravitz, 2008)

Motivation:• In PBL classrooms, students demonstrate

improved attitudes toward learning. Theyexhibitmore engagement, are more self-reliant, and have better attendance than in moretraditionalsettings.(Thomas, 2000; Walker & Leary, 2009)

Teacher satisfaction:• Teachers may need time and professional

development to become familiar with PBLmethods, but those who make this shift in classroom practice report increased jobsatisfaction.(Hixson, Ravitz, & Whisman, 2012; Strobel & van Barneveld, 2009)

BIE


Essential Project Design Elements. BIE

Essential Project Design ElementsAdapted from Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous Classroom Instruction, by John Larmer, John Mergendoller, Suzie Boss (ASCD 2015). This post is also available as a downloadable article.

It’s encouraging that Project Based Learning is becoming popular, but popularity can bring problems. Here at the Buck Institute for Education, we’re concerned that the recent upsurge of interest in PBL will lead to wide variation in the quality of project design and classroom implementation.If done well, PBL yields great results. But if PBL is not done well, two problems are likely to arise. First, we will see a lot of assignments and activities that are labeled as “projects” but which are not rigorous PBL, and student learning will suffer. Or, we will see projects backfire on underprepared teachers and result in wasted time, frustration, and failure to understand the possibilities of PBL. Then PBL runs the risk of becoming another one of yesterday’s educational fads – vaguely remembered and rarely practiced.To help teachers do PBL well, we created a comprehensive, research-based model for PBL – a “gold standard” to help teachers, schools, and organizations to measure, calibrate, and improve their practice. This term is used in many industries and fields to indicate the highest quality process or product. Our conception of Gold Standard PBL has three parts: 1) Student Learning Goals (in the center of the diagram below) 2) Essential Project Design Elements (shown in the red sections of the diagram), and 3) Project Based Teaching Practices (which we explain elsewhere).

http://bie.org/shop

http://bie.org/object/document/gold_standard_pbl_essential_project_design_elements

http://bie.org/blog/gold_standard_pbl_project_based_teaching_practices



Student Learning Goals

Student learning of academic content and skill development are at the center of any well-designed project. Like the lens of a camera, our diagram puts the focus of PBL on preparing students for successful school and life experiences.

Key Knowledge and Understanding

Gold Standard PBL teaches students the important content standards, concepts, and in-depth understandings that are fundamental to school subject areas and academic disciplines. In good projects, students learn how to apply knowledge to the real world, and use it to solve problems, answer complex questions, and create high-quality products.

Key Success Skills

Content knowledge and conceptual understanding, by themselves, are not enough in today’s world. In school and college, in the modern workplace, as citizens and in their lives generally, people need to be able to think critically and solve problems, work well with others, and manage themselves effectively. We call these kinds of competencies “success skills.” They are also known as “21st Century Skills” or “College and Career Readiness Skills.”It’s important to note that success skills can only be taught through the acquisition of content knowledge and understanding. For example, students don’t learn critical thinking skills in the abstract, isolated from subject matter; they gain them by thinking critically about math, science, history, English, career/tech subjects, and so on.

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We recommend all projects include a focus on these success skills: critical thinking/problem solving, collaboration, and self-management. Projects may also help build other skills, habits of mind and work, and personal qualities (such as perseverance or creativity), based on what teachers, schools, parents and communities value, but we argue that the ability to think critically, solve problems, work with others and manage oneself and one’s own work are crucial stepping stones to future success.

Essential Project Design ElementsSo what goes into a successful project? Based on an extensive literature review and the distilled experience of the many educators we have worked with over the past fifteen years, we believe the following Essential Project Design Elements outline what is necessary for a successful project that maximizes student learning and engagement

Challenging Problem or QuestionThe heart of a project – what it is “about,” if one were to sum it up – is a problem to investigate and solve, or a question to explore and answer. It could be concrete (the school needs to do a better job of recycling waste) or abstract (deciding if and when war is justified). An engaging problem or question makes learning more meaningful for students. They are not just gaining knowledge to remember it; they are learning because they have a real need to know something, so they can use this knowledge to solve a problem or answer a question that matters to them.



Challenging Problem or QuestionThe problem or question should challenge students without being intimidating. When teachers design and conduct a project, we suggest they (sometimes with students) write the central problem or question in the form of an open-ended, student-friendly “driving question” that focuses their task, like a thesis focuses an essay (e.g., “How can we improve our school’s recycling system, so we can reduce waste?” or “Should the U.S. have fought the Vietnam War?”).

Sustained InquiryTo inquire is to seek information or to investigate – it’s a more active, in-depth process than just “looking something up” in a book or online. The inquiry process takes time, which means a Gold Standard project lasts more than a few days. In PBL, inquiry is iterative; when confronted with a challenging problem or question, students ask questions, find resources to help answer them, then ask deeper questions – and the process repeats until a satisfactory solution or answer is developed. Projects can incorporate different information sources, mixing the traditional idea of “research” – reading a book or searching a website – with more real-world, field-based interviews with experts, service providers and users. Students also might inquire into the needs of the users of a product they’re creating in a project, or the audience for a piece of writing or multimedia.



AuthenticityWhen people say something is authentic, they generally mean it is real or genuine, not fake. In education, the concept has to do with how “real-world” the learning or the task is. Authenticity increases student motivation and learning. A project can be authentic in several ways, often in combination. It can have an authentic context, such as when students solve problems like those faced by people in the world outside of school (e.g., entrepreneurs developing a business plan, engineers designing a bridge, or advisors to the President recommending policy). It can involve the use of real-world processes, tasks and tools, and performance standards, such as when students plan an experimental investigation or use digital editing software to produce videos approaching professional quality. It can have a real impact on others, such as when students address a need in their school or community (e.g., designing and building a school garden, improving a community park, helping local immigrants) or create something that will be used or experienced by others. Finally, a project can have personal authenticity when it speaks to students’ own concerns, interests, cultures, identities, and issues in their lives.



Student Voice & ChoiceHaving a say in a project creates a sense of ownership in students; they care more about the project and work harder. If students aren’t able to use their judgment when solving a problem and answering a driving question, the project just feels like doing an exercise or following a set of directions. Students can have input and (some) control over many aspects of a project, from the questions they generate, to the resources they will use to find answers to their questions, to the tasks and roles they will take on as team members, to the products they will create. More advanced students may go even further and select the topic and nature of the project itself; they can write their own driving question and decide how they want to investigate it, demonstrate what they have learned, and how they will share their work.

ReflectionJohn Dewey, whose ideas continue to inform our thinking about PBL, wrote, “We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” Throughout a project, students – and the teacher – should reflect on what they’re learning, how they’re learning, and why they’re learning. Reflection can occur informally, as part of classroom culture and dialogue, but should also be an explicit part of project journals, scheduled formative assessment, discussions at project checkpoints, and public presentations of student work. Reflection on the content knowledge and understanding gained helps students solidify what they have learned and think about how it might apply elsewhere, beyond the project.



ReflectionReflection on success skill development helps students internalize what the skills mean and set goals for further growth. Reflection on the project itself – how it was designed and implemented –helps students decide how they might approach their next project, and helps teachers improve the quality of their PBL practice.

Critique & RevisionHigh quality student work is a hallmark of Gold Standard PBL, and such quality is attained through thoughtful critique and revision. Students should be taught how to give and receive constructive peer feedback that will improve project processes and products, guided by rubrics, models, and formal feedback/critique protocols. In addition to peers and teachers, outside adults and experts can also contribute to the critique process, bringing an authentic, real-world point of view. This common-sense acknowledgement of the importance of making student work and student products better is supported by research on the importance of “formative evaluation, ” which not only means teachers giving feedback to students, but students evaluating the results of their learning.



Public ProductThere are three major reasons for creating a public product in Gold Standard PBL – and note that a “product” can be a tangible thing, or it can be a presentation of a solution to a problem or answer to a driving question. First, like authenticity, a public product adds greatly to PBL’s motivating power and encourages high-quality work. Think of what often happens when students make presentations to their classmates and teacher. The stakes are not high, so they may slack off, not take it seriously, and not care as much about the quality of their work. But when students have to present or display their work to an audience beyond the classroom, the performance bar raises, since no one wants to look bad in public. A certain degree of anxiety can be a healthy motivator. But too much anxiety can of course detract from performance – the trick is to find the sweet spot, not the sweat spot – so it’s important that students are well prepared to make their work public.Second, by creating a product, students make what they have learned tangible and thus, when shared publicly, discussible. Instead of only being a private exchange between an individual student and teacher, the social dimension of learning becomes more important. This has an impact on classroom and school culture, helping create a “learning community,” where students and teachers discuss what is being learned, how it is learned, what are acceptable standards of performance, and how student performance can be made better.



Finally, making student work public is an effective way to communicate with parents, community members, and the wider world about what PBL is and what it does for students. When a classroom, school, or district opens itself up to public scrutiny, the message is, “Here’s what our students can do – we’re about more than test scores.” Many PBL schools and districts reinforce this message by repurposing the traditional “open house” into an exhibition of project work, which helps build understanding and support for PBL among stakeholders. When the public sees what high-quality products students can create, they’re often surprised – and eager to see more.Note: For readers familiar with BIE's older model for the 8 Essential Elements of PBL, learn about why we changed it here.

http://bie.org/blog/why_we_changed_our_model_of_the_8_essential_elements_of_pbl


Project Based Teaching Practices. BIE

Project Based Teaching PracticesAdapted from Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous Classroom Instruction, by John Larmer, John Mergendoller, Suzie Boss (ASCD 2015). This post is also available as a downloadable article.

Teachers who make Project Based Learning a regular part of their teaching enjoy their new role, although for some it might take time to adjust from traditional practice. It’s fun to get creative when designing a project, instead of just using “off the shelf” curriculum materials. Most teachers like working collaboratively with their colleagues when planning and implementing projects, and interacting with other adults from the community or the wider world. And PBL teachers find it rewarding to work closely alongside students, tackling a real-world challenge or exploring a meaningful question.When transitioning to PBL, one of the biggest hurdles for many teachers is the need to give up some degree of control over the classroom, and trust in their students. But even though they are more often the “guide on the side” than the “sage on the stage,” this most certainly does not mean that teachers don’t “teach” in a PBL classroom. Many traditional practices remain, but are reframed in the context of a project.

http://bie.org/shop

http://bie.org/object/document/gold_standard_pbl_project_based_teaching_practices1


Project Based Teaching Practices . BIE

Project Based Teaching Practices

Design & PlanTeachers create or adapt a project for their context and students, and plan its implementation from launch to culmination while allowing for some degree of student voice and choice.Align to StandardsTeachers use standards to plan the project and make sure it addresses key knowledge and understanding from subject areas to be included.Build the CultureTeachers explicitly and implicitly promote student independence and growth, open-ended inquiry, team spirit, and attention to quality.Manage ActivitiesTeachers work with students to organize tasks and schedules, set checkpoints and deadlines, find and use resources, create products and make them public.Scaffold Student LearningTeachers employ a variety of lessons, tools, and instructional strategies to support all students in reaching project goals.Assess Student LearningTeachers use formative and summative assessments of knowledge, understanding, and success skills, and include self and peer assessment of team and individual work.Engage & CoachTeachers engage in learning and creating alongside students, and identify when they need skill-building, redirection, encouragement, and celebration.


Resources:

Buck Institute of Education Teach Thought Projects Page of High Tech HighEdutopiaProject Search from BIEPlanning Forms from BIE

Want more?

Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student

Project Based Learning for Health Literacy-QPL

http://www.bie.org/

https://www.teachthought.com/project-based-learning/a-better-list-of-ideas-for-project-based-learning/

https://www.hightechhigh.org/student-work/student-projects/

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/practical-pbl-design-amber-graeber

http://www.bie.org/project_search

http://www.bie.org/objects/cat/planning_forms

Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student

https://www.slideshare.net/jtrupin/project-based-learning-for-esol-health-literacy

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