Thoughts on Project Based Learning (PBL)

Greetings!

Many of you may be aware that this summer I am taking grad classes towards my master’s degree in Instructional Media.  One of the courses I am currently enrolled in focuses completely on project based learning (PBL). 

We were assigned to read the following three articles and the embedded videos that accompany them.

"More Fun Than a Barrel of . . . Worms?!" - Diane Curtis, Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/more-fun-barrel-worms

"Geometry Students Angle into Architecture Through Project Learning" - Sara Armstrong, Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/geometry-real-world-students-architects

"March of the Monarchs: Students Follow the Butterflies' Migration"
- Diane Curtis, Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/march-monarchs

I wanted to share what I learned from these article about PBL and how it can be successful within a classroom of any age level.   If you are new to the idea of PBL, please take time to watch the embedded video before you continue.  The short (6:50) clip talks about several successful PBL examples.  My favorite, of course, includes wiggling WORMS! 

The skeletal structure of PBL is first that students and teacher work together to come up with a question/experiment/challenge that becomes a guiding question for the project.  Then the teacher, with input from student, structures a project to investigate the guiding question.  A timeline is set for groups to keep everyone on track, and the teacher works to maintain that groups move forward with guidance as needed.   Research, interpretation, and creation is all managed by students.   The PBL process ends with some sort of evaluation or presentation of knowledge.  Often the final evaluation is in the format of a presentation to the class, or a critique by a professional in the field.  Projects in this format incorporate different learning skills, disciplines, and higher order thinking while creating a relevant life-applicable project.

The thing that struck me while witnessing the projects was the complete participation and engagement of the students participating.  Students were taking ownership of their projects and were therefore completely invested.  This is the type of involvement that teacher’s long to foster.  Simply attaching a participation grade or threatening students with a negative consequence for lack of involvement cannot replicate this level of interest and investment.  It was true genuine intrinsic motivation and curiosity.  In the third article, elementary school teacher Frances Koontz says “Because it's authentic, because we actually write letters, for instance, the children take an ownership of that. Their writing is better. Because they know somebody really is going to read that letter, they're much more careful about their penmanship, about their grammar, about spelling. So I'm able to bring all of those language-arts skills into an activity that is real and authentic.”  (Curtis, 2002)

PBL is a less structured more flexible implementation of the curriculum.  That flexibility creates an added challenge for teachers. The role of the teacher shifted from “answer provider” to project facilitator.  The teacher’s presence in the classroom was to guide and lead the students to a successful end result.  Elementary school teacher and PBL advocate Patty Vreeland states “It's easier to teach out of a textbook, where this day it tells me to do this, and this day it tells me to do that. So in a way, you've gotta be willing to work a little harder too to do it this way. Even though it looks like the kids are doing all the hard work, there's a lotta planning that goes on behind it to make sure that the work is there for them.” (Curtis, 2001) (Transcript and video can be found at http://www.edutopia.org/newsome-park-elementary-project-learning-video)

Each of the examples mentioned when PBL is facilitated and planned correctly it can not only meet state standards, but has led to a raise in test scores across the board.  This resounding success cannot be brushed aside.  Geometry PBL teacher Eeva Reeder has a culminating design competition which challenges students to design a modern high school which includes a scale model, floor plan, and cost estimate for construction.  The final evaluation is a presentation to a panel of local architects who select the best presentation and overall design.  Students are engaged because they are participating in a real life problem that has a true application.  Students are able to transfer the knowledge they had learned earlier in the year in geometry class to a real life problem. “The quality of the student work goes through the ceiling because they care about these architects’ opinions” says Reeder (Armstrong, 2002).  Example after example of successful PBL classroom projects indicate that PBL needs to be considered by the teachers of tomorrow.   (Transcript and video can be found at  http://www.edutopia.org/mountlake-terrace-geometry-real-world-video)

Works Cited

Armstrong, S. (2002, February 11). Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/geometry-real-world-students-architects

Curtis, D. (2001, October 01). Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/more-fun-barrel-worms

Curtis, D. (2002, June 06). Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/march-monarchs