How to start a project-based-learning movement in your district

Throughout my entire career as a computer teacher, I have used project-based learning (PBL). I’ve had students as young as first grade working on projects using LCSI’s Microworlds, an authoring tool that enabled them to create animated stories, simulations, and games. My students have used HyperCard, Macromedia Director, FileMaker Pro, and Google Apps to work on some really amazing projects. The level of excitement, engagement, and interest that working on these projects engendered made it clear that PBL is probably the best way that students can learn.

My experience shows that students are highly engaged when they are working on a project that is interesting to them. However, I have discovered that students are also looking to be challenged. One of my students from a robotics class once said to me: “Your class is the only challenging class that I have in this school.” Additional experiences testing this notion proved it to be true: Students feel much better about themselves when teachers ask them to solve thought-provoking problems.

What is PBL?…Read More

Our research shows that when students work on projects, they learn more

Educators often talk about 21st-century skills and the benefits of incorporating communication, creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking into lessons. These are skills students rarely learn straight out of a textbook. The best way to teach them, we’ve found, is by making these skills a relevant part of their active lives.

If that sounds daunting, rest assured, it doesn’t always have to be. One way we have taught these skills is through project-based learning (PBL), where students apply what they’ve learned during a hands-on project that is relevant to the real world — and their lives.

To that end, a new report developed by MIDA Learning Technologies, which we researchers worked on, shows that students engaged in PBL understand concepts more deeply than those receiving traditional instruction, resulting in improved problem solving skills. Past research reviewed in the report also suggests that PBL students perform better on a wide range of assessments including standardized testing. The full report includes quantitative and qualitative evaluations of students’ problem-solving abilities after implementation of a pre-built, project-based STEM curriculum in science class.…Read More

I made my classroom look like the real-world—and test scores soared

Think about the jobs in today’s economy — the ones we’re supposed to prepare students for after graduation. Are employees evaluated using bubble-in tests to prove they know the ins and outs of their job? Do they learn and use new skills one at a time in a vacuum? The questions sound a bit silly until you realize too often that’s what students take away from their education. Why is the culture to drill facts into students’ heads just to pass a test?

Just like in the real world, my students show what they can do through projects, teamwork, and research. Is it working? Well, according to state science exams, my students consistently score higher than other science classes in my district.

I’ve never been a big believer in teaching to a test. Indeed, since my first year in the classroom I’ve used a project-based model with my science and social studies classes. On the first day of school I issue my fifth-graders a PASSPORT (which stands for Preparing All Students for Success by Participating in an Ongoing Real-world simulation using Technology) and explain that their yearlong adventure to “Johnsonville” starts today. The school year is a simulation of adulthood where students work, create, and learn about personal finance and entrepreneurial skills. They experience real-world situations and gain insights into global affairs. Students tend to view my classroom less as a “classroom” and more of an interactive city where all projects intertwine to create an ecosystem of businesses and homes.…Read More

The 4 essential elements of passion-based learning

Teaching students effectively means getting to know them — and their passions

Think back to when you were still in school. What do you tend to remember most? Do you think back to the unique field trips you went on? The cool science experiments? What about a favorite teacher?

For me, it was projects and Mrs. Gianni. That’s what I remember most about school and the teacher that comes to mind. Mrs. Gianni had blond hair that always looked like it needed to be dyed. She was young and energetic. I also remember the way she made me feel, her high expectations, how she was always smiling, and how I felt like I could be anything in her eyes.

Teachers have always had the ability to make a big impact on their students. The teacher chooses whether it will be a positive or a negative impact. Of course every year we start the year with the best intentions. We love all our kids the same. However, there is always that one student (sometimes more) that we just can’t seem to reach. We try different things, we ask for help, we learn their background, but we still can’t seem to figure out how to get through.…Read More

4 radically different school models upending education

Goal setting and PBL serve as cornerstones for new school models. Is self-directed learning every student’s future?

These days, there are few that would disagree that education needs to start looking more like the world students will one day work and live in and less like, well, school. What that might look like in the future is anybody’s guess, but it may be safe to assume a lot more will be required of students than simple passive learning.

Four school leaders recently spoke about their innovative school models and visions for student success in an increasingly digital world during a panel hosted by Clayton Christensen Institute cofounder Michael Horn at this year’s ASU GSV Summit in San Diego. The new models overwhelmingly favor some combination of project-based learning coupled with self-directed goal-setting and skill building for students’ life after school.

Here are the four school models and their approaches to teaching and learning.…Read More

28 apps for challenge-based learning projects

Encourage innovative challenge-based learning projects with these hand-selected apps

challenge-basedChallenge-based learning lets students locate a problem and then unleash their creativity in search of a solution. By nature, these projects are collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and hands-on. And what better tool to use to help encourage community fitness or reduce environmental impact than the possibility-rich mobile device?

The website APPitic.com, an app resource site with more than 6,000 apps in more than 300 subcategories, breaks down challenge-based learning projects into four steps: Finding & launching a challenge, moving from challenge to solution, implementing a solution, and sharing findings.

Here, we’ve gathered a handful of apps for each of those stages, broken down further into substeps. You find the full range of suggested apps online.…Read More

Curriki launches free, project-based algebra course online

Curriki, a global K-12 community for creating, sharing, and finding open learning resources, has launched a free Algebra 1 course aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Available online, this project-based modular course engages students through real-world examples, projects, interactive web 2.0 tools, videos, and targeted feedback, Curriki says.

Developed with funding from AT&T, Curriki Algebra 1 is modular so it can be used as a supplement, as the foundation for students’ Algebra 1 curriculum, in an after-school program, or in a home-school environment.

Project-based learning gives students real-world opportunities to think analytically, formulate ideas, and solve increasingly complex problems using algebraic expressions. The Curriki Algebra course incorporates relatable themes and concepts, such as sports statistics, video games, business finance, and the Olympics, while weaving assessments throughout.…Read More

Districts share progress toward 21st-century learning

Student access to technology is top priority as educators implement 21st-century learning.

Incorporating technology to enhance student learning and creating teams of stakeholders to drive innovation in all school endeavors are two of a handful of best practices that educators from across the nation shared during a recent webinar on how to develop engaging learning environments.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a principle that has factored largely into Indiana’s Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation’s instructional strategy. UDL is “a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn,” according to the National Center on Universal Design for Learning.

“Our entire framework is focused on UDL; this isn’t just something that we do for children who might have special needs—it really drives all of our instructional decisions,” said Mike Jamerson, director of technology for BCSC, during an Oct. 11 Consortium for School Networking webinar.…Read More