Problem-Based Learning Jodi Bumgarner EDU692: Creativity, Culture, and Global Context in Education Instructor: Angela Stephens October 26,2015

A Brief Description of The Grade, Subject, And Demographics of The Class In my role as a fourth grade teacher at Cherryville Elementary School while attending a department meeting with other teachers of the same grade level. All of us teachers are talking about an upcoming unit. One of the teacher’s talks about using the same packet material from the previous year. The teacher even to plans to use a five day schedule of independent work for her students to complete their packets by the use of their course textbooks. Which will be completed by a written example of the material from the packets. The problem that I and some of the other teachers have become aware of is that the students are bored and worst of all they don't seem to be learning nothing important about the content as indicated by their student data. I decide to take their opportunities to get her to try something new and more interesting for their students. I explain that I plan to implement on a week long problem-based learning experience for the students. Which will include group projects, computer time and a class presentation. I would then ask if she would like to pair up this year and share the project plan. Then, I would assure her that I have the whole experience well planned out. The demographics of Cherryville Elementary School are located in a small town. Where the total number of students enrolled is about 4% with 26%full time teachers and the teacher to student ratio is about 18.1%. The grade level is from K-4 grade. The subject is\ language arts. Demographic and noneconomic details is made up of about 71%casucian students making them the majority of the student body. When you break it down Cherryville Elementary School is drastically from that of a typical school in the state of North Carolina, which has a average of 52%in other schools. When you break it down by gender there is roughly an equal percentage of males and females at Cherryville Elementary School with 50%males and 49% females. ‘Compared to other schools of North Carolina, where there are typical 48%females and 52%males on average” (PBL Start Class. Com).

An Overview of How Student Groups Will Be Assigned And Monitored It begins by explaining and discussing with the class as a whole. Then it allows them too get together in groups that were predetermined at the first of the school year. There will be observed throughout the school year. They will be observed throughout the process all the way up to the presentation part of the project.

A Description of The Project That Will Need To Be Developed By The Group And Presented To The Class The project will have the students in groups using their communication skills and collaboration while sharing their ideas. Then they will use their creative thinking and problem solving skills to develop their projects, which is to create a visual aid and a short description of how it can be used in real life's situations. Finally, there will be a a wrap-up discussion to talk about the project objective to see what each student has learned from this project.

Common Characteristics of Problem- Based Learning, Addressing An Open-Ended Problem Posed To Each Learning Group PBL is an approach to teaching that allows the students to learn by solving problems that are constructed by the teacher's according to the course syllabus assigned to them for the semester. PBL also has teachers facilitating the process by having the students get into groups, scheduling presentations and preparing evaluation forms for the students to evaluate, themselves and their classmates including the teacher evaluation to PBL.“The main problem with PBL is that content is introduced in context form of complex problems that imitate real life”( Boud andFeletti,1997).“Where in the past traditional programmers of education and training usually put tremendous emphasis on content”(Tan,2003).

A Description of How Creativity and Innovation With 21 st Century Skills are learned And/Or Specifically Applied With The Project During this project the students are put into groups using their communication, and collaboration skills, which are consider 21 st Century Skills. They also use their critical thinking skills to create and develop their project.

A Description of How Culturally Relevant Strategies Are Included /Applied Within The Project Culturally relevant strategies are applied by having the students placed into groups of diversified groups. It also can help them with the learning process since the students are using there communication and collaboration skills, they are also sharing ideas with each of the students.

References Othman, N., & Shah, M. I. A. (2013). Problem-based learning in the english language classroom. English Language Teaching, 6(3), Retrieved from ntid=11047