Incorporation of 21 st Century Skills

 This could be your students –  E&feature= E&feature=  Or, they can be mine – 5/sets/ /

 Project -Based Learning is an instructional approach built upon authentic learning activities that engage student interest and motivation.  These activities are designed to answer a question or solve a problem and generally reflect the types of learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom.  Project -Based Learning is synonymous with learning in depth.  A well-designed project provokes students to encounter (and struggle with) the central concepts and principles of a discipline.

 Project -Based Learning teaches students 21 st century skills as well as content.  These skills include communication and presentation skills, organization and time management skills, research and inquiry skills, self-assessment and reflection skills, and group participation and leadership skills. “ Anytime you ask students to collaborate and create, you are touching on 21 st century skills”.

 Project -Based Learning is generally done by groups of students working together, collaboratively, toward a common goal.  Performance is assessed on an individual basis, and takes into account the quality of the product produced, the depth of content understanding demonstrated, and the contributions made to the ongoing process of project realization.  Finally, Project -Based Learning allows students to reflect upon their own ideas and opinions, exercise voice and choice, and make decisions that affect project outcomes and the learning process in general.

 Creativity and Innovation  Creative thinking  Communication and Collaboration  Supports learning of others  Research and Information Fluency  Apply digital tools  Digital Citizenship  Understanding human interests  Technology Operations and Concepts  Understanding - ▪ Technology concepts

 Teacher – Directed  Teaching by Telling  Format: Lecture  Organization: Each unit addressed in the same way.  Alternative Instruction: Problem – Solving  Hands-on: “Cookbook” Labs ▪ Step-by-step procedures given in detail. ▪ No room for inquiry. “Critical thinking is not in the picture!”

 Presentation of facts and skills, with the assumption that students will see the underlying structure in the content.  They systematically miss the point of what we tell them.  They do not have the same “schema” associated with key ideas/words that we have.  Students passively listen while Teacher works.  Watching the teacher solve problems does not improve student problem-solving skills.

TRADITIONAL ASSIGNMENT RESEARCH PAPER Required Elements:  Select a topic to study  Go to library and do research  Write ten pages  Use proper essay form  Include a bibliography

PBL ASSIGNMENT Physics PROJECT Required Elements:  Understand the history behind catapults.  Understand the application of projectile motion.  Write a proposal discussing projectile motion.  Design and test a catapult or trebuchet,  Keep research log, including citations  Keep an engineering log.  Build a catapult.  Develop lesson plans and materials for class.  Present to real audience

TRANSFORMING PRACTICE Traditional Assignment Student works alone Context is school Assessment by teacher only PBL Assignment Student works in teams Context can be school, family and community Assessment by real audience and teacher

12 Interactive engagement. Student discourse & articulation. Cognitive scaffolding. Multiple representational tools. Consensus-based model building. Explicit hierarchal organization of ideas. and concepts into models.

 Unpack the content standards and objectives  Series of specific statements of what needs to be learned.  Define the “habits of mind” or learning skills and technology tools by specific statements or indicators.  Identifying culminating products for the project.  Using multiple products and providing feedback to students  Using artifacts – evidence of the process of student thinking – to assess learning skills or habits of mind.

 How well do the students know the content?  What is their skill level?  How well did they apply their knowledge and skills as they prepared their product?

 Notes  Journal entries  /Telephone records  Records of conversations, decisions, revisions  Interviews using a structured set of questions developed by the students  Short reflective paragraphs describing the progress of a project.  Task chart  Project Team Contract  Meeting notes

 Research papers  Report to school staff or authentic audience  Multimedia shows  Presentations at school-wide assemblies  Exhibitions in the school or community  Websites  Public service announcements

 Proposals  Outlines  Plans  Blueprints  Drafts  Edited drafts revised drafts  models  Product critiques  Videos  Final versions of papers  Field guides  Biographies  Websites

 Participant involvement in establishment of criteria  Demonstration of progress toward different goals or criteria  Teamwork that provides emotional support and feedback  Exercises in meta-cognitive training  Students as knowledgeable practitioners  Multiple assessors

Exhibitions of work Variety of assessment tools Professional standards of performance Student involvement in creating criteria for project (rubric)

What role does assessment play in project-based teaching and learning?

Help students become aware of areas of need Formative -- help students along the way, ongoing Proof of learning, growth Feedback helps create better product/project Opportunity to test depth of understanding Helps to define lesson design and performance Helps teachers determine what to reteach Allows for natural adult connections Helps to share the workload Checkpoint for integration

DESIGN FOR ASSESSMENT CONTENT PLAN INSTRUCTION ASSESSINSTRUCTION PLAN ASSESSMENT OUTCOME PLAN ASSESSMENT ASSESS PLAN INSTRUCTION INSTRUCTION Traditional Approach: Outcome-Based Approach:

A Acquisition B Application C Assimilation D Adaptation KNOWLEDGEKNOWLEDGE TAXONOMYTAXONOMY Evaluation Synthesis Analysis Application Understandin g Awareness APPLICATION MODEL KnowledgeApply in discipline Apply across disciplines Apply to real world predictable situations Apply to real- world unpredictable situations

 Research reports say that students engaged in project-based learning improve their test scores, reduce school absences, and have fewer disciplinary problems.  A 1997 study of two schools in the U.K., by Jo Boaler from Stanford University, showed that one school that used project- based learning and one that used traditional, direct instruction, had large differences in understanding math and in the test results in mathematics.  The project-based learning students did much better on math problems requiring analysis and those requiring memorization of a rule or formula. Three times as many students at the project-based learning school received the top grade.

 A 1992 study of students in Tennessee, USA found that students using project-based learning performed better in several academic areas.  The study was done by a Technology Group from Vanderbilt University and studied skills in basic math, word problems, planning, attitudes toward math, and teacher feedback. Educational Psychologist, 27 (3):

 What I learned (e.bernat) What I have learned from this Rube Goldberg experience is that a task that at first is seemingly impossible can be achieved through teamwork, organization, and the great group of students we have in our period eight class. Posted Apr 6, :33 pm –  energy, transformations, simple machines (e.venino) The Rube Goldberg encompasses all of my previous knowledge of energy types, energy transformations, and simple machines. Our project demonstrates all of these things in a real life project that can be viewed in action! It's quite amazing to see the energy transformations occurring, resulting from different steps in the design. Posted Apr 7, :05 am