The videos and articles assigned for blog post 9 pretty much held the same concept on Project Based Learning. Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning is a very informative article that gives seven essentials to what every successful project needs. It also gives detailed examples which I found very helpful! I will definitely use all of these essentials as a future teacher. The first thing to remember when beginning a PBL lesson is to introduce your topic in an interesting way that will pull your students in. The article referred to this as “A Need to Know.” Don't just put a stack of worksheets and paper work on your students’ desks. The goal as a teacher is to make the students want to start asking questions about whatever you just presented to them. The article then discusses a “Driving Question.” A driving question challenges the students and gives them a clear understanding of the project. I liked how the article compared a driving question to a project and thesis statement to an essay. There has to be one, to capture the message and meaning being portrayed. The third essential to remember is “Student Voice and Choice.” It is very important to make the project meaningful to students. Letting students have their on say on how they are going to do and present a certain project can not only make it mean something to them, but also doesn't set any bars. I feel like this could challenge students and possibly lead to an better understanding of the project. Next, the article talks about 21st century skills and how they can help students with collaboration, communication, critical thinking. Almost all projects will require the use of some technology rather it be researching facts or making an iMovie. Students and teachers must having 21st century skills so that they can take projects so much further and allow for more creativity. The article goes on to the fifth element of a project, which is “Inquiry and Innovation.” Having the students raise questions and then investigate them gets them even more engaged into the project. Motivate students to share new ideas and perspectives for new innovation. Next, is “Feedback and Revision.” Having students give feed back to one another and revise each other work can make the learning process more meaningful. By doing this, I can show my students that revision is a major part of work and help them with positive feedback. Finally, a successful project should end with a presentation. When students are given an audience, they are more likely to put more effort into their work. This not only gives the project more meaning, but also gives students a feeling of pride.
The next resource I looked at concerning PBL was Project Based Learning For Teachers by Tony Vincent. This video lists some of the standards for successful projects. The video referred to PBL as getting students working over an extended period of time answering a driving question. The driving question should be deep and sets a clear outlook on the project. Students will present and share their work with others. The video gave some great examples of driving questions. As a teacher, I want my students asking “How?” instead of “What?" Project Based Learning includes some of the following elements: Inquiry based,Open-ended,Problem-solving, Personalized. During Project Based Learning students can learn Communication skills,Critical thinking skillsCareer and life skills.
Out of the seven videos, I chose to discuss What Motivates Students? This video was really awesome. I loved hearing from the students’ point of view on what motivates them in school and in their classrooms. The students also discussed what sort of rewards they receive for doing good in class. I liked how a variety of students were interviewed. It was interesting to see the different responses from different ages. The first student is a male, probably in 9th grade and says that he feels good when the teacher announces to the class when he has done good. He also gets motivation from being complimented by others, including his teacher. The next student was a younger girl who seemed to have the same motivations to good good in school as myself. The only difference is that I didn't have these motivations until I was much older so props to her. She said that the reason she wants to do good in school is so she can have a good house, feed her family, and she also wants to have a really good job…oh and a dog! The next two students used their dream jobs as their main motivation. The last student did not get to play baseball or other things he enjoyed unless he did well in class. His motivation is being able to do what he wants and is allowed to do. The next question the kids were asked was how they were rewarded. the answered ranged from colored pencils,pizza,browning points, and fun activities on certain days of the week.This video helped me realize that all the things these students seek can be found and gained through PBL. PBL allows students to really get engaged with something while making it their own. Allowing them to present their work can help them feel good about themselves and can be a rewarding process.
Next, I chose Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning. This article provides many collaboration tools used for PBL. The article briefly discussed the standard of PBL and how using the methods listed below can provide better collaboration and communication in the classroom.
10 Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration in Project Based Learning:
The last resource I chose from the list was Two Students Solve the problem of Watery Ketchup By Designing A New Cap . This video showed a perfect example of two students using all of the skills from PBL. They came up with a driving question that interested themselves, used 21st century skills, showed their voice, and publicly resented their impressive results.
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