Project Based Learning

The focus of the conversations between Dr. Strange and Mr. Capps in the videos discussing PBL primarily were directed toward creating student centered, technology enriched classroom environments where students are challenged to ask questions, research, produce products, share, revise, and reflect with the purpose of becoming globally adept, responsible, productive 21st century savvy citizens. In this new century of learning, the paradigm in education is shifting from the mundane, boring, pencil and paper, rote memorization doldrums (of some teachers) into the collaborative, engaged classrooms where students are realizing a new sense of ownership and pride in their education, and acquiring new skills through schools who are offering Project Based Learning opportunities. While PBL may sound like a new educational buzzword, the concept has actually been around since the times of Confucius and Aristotle, both teachers of inquiry and "learning by doing", who advocated asking questions and seeking answers by using logic and reasoning. Just as those teachers promoted critical thinking skills, other great teachers, psychologists, and philosophers throughout history such as Dewey, Montessori, and Piaget presented models of learning with "life experiences" at the core¹.

As a twenty year veteran, and a lifelong learner, I can honestly say I have been a proponent of "doing" and "experiencing" throughout my entire career, even before the introduction of the ACCRS and technology tools. When I was listening to Mr. Capps tell the story of the "big wigs" come into his classroom and his students were in the floor doing an art activity, it reminded me of my first year teaching 8th grade science, and my students constructing huge double helix DNA ladders in the floor of my classroom. (Again, this was 20 years ago.) A colleague's gifted son was in my class that year. Four years later when he graduated, she sent me a thank you card telling me I was the only reason he looked forward to coming to school that year because I challenged him to think, and referenced the DNA models in the note. Later in my career, I started the first LEGO Robotics Engineering Lab at our school which was the quintessential project based learning classroom. When Mr. Capp spoke of student interest, content standards, authentic audience, and community involvement, the robotics lab included all of those things.

One of the things Andy mentioned with regard to PBL I took down as a direct quotation was

You're gonna get more than you expect.

I can definitely say I have experienced this feeling with students who produced robotics projects which far exceeded what I expected them to create. Students would be given projects where they would build robots to complete tasks, and I was continually amazed at the variety of ideas students were able to generate for ways in which to solve the same problem. I can remember students thinking at the beginning of a project they would never be able to complete it, but by the end of it being so proud of what they had accomplished, and what they had learned along the way. Other aspects of PBL Anthony mentioned in the video I was able to confirm through my experiences with the robotics lab was the sense of ownership, the level of student choice. There really isn't anything but praise I can give for programs like what Anthony is using in his classroom for I have personally witnessed the benefits. Students love it, administrators support it, parents become involved with it, and the community will volunteer to help with it.

The Alabama College and Career Ready Standards were developed out of necessity, partially in response to continued evidence from international assessments such as PISA and TIMSS which showed the US falling continually falling behind other countries in performance. Therefore, because our graduates are competing for jobs in a global, technology driven market, and our economy depends on a higher set of knowledge and skills, the standards which drive the instruction in the classroom has had to change in order to accommodate the needs of the learner. Thus, technology usage in the classroom and the incorporation of project based learning is in demand.²

The questions raised in my mind after having viewed the conversations in the videos, and also having a decent grasp on project based learning are these:

1. How do teachers persuade administration to buy into PBL, especially if there is a district developed pacing guide?
2. How much autonomy do teachers have in deciding which projects to choose?
3. What type of training, if any, is required to begin using project based learning?
4. Can problem based learning be implemented in schools with limited technology tools?
5. What are the best ways in which to assess projects created as a result of problem based learning?

Additionally, in response to the charge to locate 12th grade standards for writing, I have included a chart below to include the 12th grade writing strand standards from the Alabama Insight Tool.