1. Project-Based Learning April Davala

2. “Some projects border on busywork. Others involve meaningful inquiry that engages students’ minds.” (Larmer & Mergendoller)

3. What is Project-Based Learning? (PBL) In PBL, students embark on a journey in response to a complex problem, question, or challenge. These projects help students learn key 21st Century Skills like collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills.

4. 7 Essential Steps to PBL 1. A Need to Know 2. A Driving Question 3. Student Voice & Choice 4. 21st Century Skills 5. Inquiry and Innovation 6. Feedback and Innovation 7. A Publicly Presented Project***

5. Driving Questions Are... Provocative Open-ended Get to the heart of a discipline or topic Challenging Can arise from real world dilemmas that students find interesting Are consistent with curricular standards and frameworks

6. Examples of Driving Questions History Who were the best leaders of the 20th Century? Government Do we have too much freedom? English How does literature reflect the time in which it was written? Economics Why do things cost so much? Science How can we stop the spread of infectious disease? Math Is it better to buy or lease a car? Geography How does the place we live in affect how we live?

7. Student Voice & Choice In Project-Based Learning, it is very important for a teacher to give his/her students a choice and a voice in the project. Students need to feel like the project is meaningful and significant to them. Teachers can modify the amount of choice/voice depending on the class and or project assigned.

8. 21st Century Skills

9. Inquiry and Innovation As the project progresses, students are encouraged to stop and list further questions they have and then find ways to answer those questions. This process may lead to students creating mini-projects of their own within the scope of the larger project. In this phase you will see your students repeating the “7 Essential Steps” as they find answers to their own questions that have risen from your initial project.

10. Feedback We live in a society where we are always being critiqued. In PBL, students should be evaluated throughout the project from the way they are working in groups, to how effectively they manage their time, to ultimately the finished product. I like to build in grades for each of these areas. Rubrics and Checklists are very helpful here!

11. A Publicly Presented Project There is a certain power in presenting. Students realize how much you value their work if the expectation is that they present it to an audience; therefore, they will value it more in return. Audiences can range from in front of the class, to the entire school, or even family or community members.

12. Classroom Arrangement Move away from the traditional classroom setup with the teacher leading from the front and the children in rows. Try: Pods Clusters Pairs Stations

13. Be willing to give up some of the control, and let the kids take the lead. It’s scary at first but the benefits will be tremendous.

14. Helpful Handouts 1. Project Overview 2. Project Calendar 3. Project Teaching and Learning Goals 4. Tubric 5. PBL Essential Elements Checklist 6. Collaboration Rubric 7. Presentation Rubric 8. Project Teams Management Log 9. Self-Reflection on Project Work 10. “7 Essentials for PBL” Article **Also included on Angel is a list of helpful “Driving Questions” per content area and some useful tools and cool websites to use in your PBL lesson plans.

15. Examples of PBL Projects Share examples from Google Training Site

16. Questions???

17. “What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? “ ~Robert H. Schuller

18. Thank You

19. Sources http://www.bie.org siasociety.org kimcofino.com neptunenet.net ehow.co.uk educationvisionleadership.edublogs.org reeclipartnow.com prosites-vstevens.homestead.com hendersoncountypublicschoolsnc.org pndblog.typepad.com coseeca.net kimcofino.com transmediant.com wsfcsintouch.blogspot.com