Learning about PBL has been very enlightening and has helped to dispel many misconceptions that I had. I always viewed project based learning as completing projects in the classroom and not teaching out of the textbook. However, PBL encompasses a new paradigm where classrooms are no longer centered on teachers. PBL is based on students engaged in real world experiences, and collaboration. I viewed students who were motivated in each classroom as teachers helped facilitate learning. Teachers also did lots of background work to setup these projects. They were responsible for mentoring, scheduling, and reflecting at the end of each project. I was inspired to use these teaching techniques with my own 5th grade class.
In all three videos, the learners were working on projects that were hands-on, collaborating in groups, well motivated and quite active. The students had a purpose for learning and they were encouraged to synthesize, analyze and showcase their projects. Having students so interested in what they are doing would most certainly cut down on absenteeism and behavioral problems. (www.edutopia.org/more-fun-barrel-worms) In each classroom, the students were responsible for their own learning and encouraged to see the big picture. I saw lots of creativity, thinking, and connections being made. PBL motivated and drove each student to perform at their best. Teachers in each classroom were also weaving standards, curriculum and testing into each project.
In all three classrooms, the role of the teacher was that of mentor and facilitator. The role of each student was to investigate questions while staying engaged in real world projects. Students were encouraged to analyze, research, and communicate in groups to solve problems and to present their findings.
Each classroom increased student engagement because the students were actively involved in their learning. Students were encouraged to ask questions and to explore the world around them. Many times this curiosity led the class to a new project. Students, in a PBL classroom, have a purpose for learning. In one video, a parent commented that when they ask their child what they did in school that day the child had a lot to say which not the norm for traditional classrooms. http://www.edutopia.org/more-fun-barrel-worms
In one elementary classroom there was a young student with a condition that required frequent trips to her healthcare provider. Her fellow students asked questions, which lead to a project to learn more about the condition that their classmate was stricken with. Students used thinking maps and research tools to answer their own questions. The teacher, as in all the classrooms, guided the students and helped to facilitate learning. In another classroom, the teacher focused on the migration of butterflies. Many hands-on activities were developed to help her students learn about butterflies and to also incorporate interdisciplinary skills. In yet another classroom, a geometry teacher had her students develop a 2,000 seat auditorium. Students in all classrooms were encouraged to become independent learners and to work in groups to work on hands-on projects. In each classroom the teacher wasn’t the center of attention but did the behind the scenes work to keep each child engaged and active. I would like to use these principles in my own classroom.
By Frank J. Parisi
(www.edutopia.org/more-fun-barrel-worms)
