Answer one of the following questions as a "Comment" at the bottom of the page. For more information on editing and commenting, click here. For help with other PBworks issues, click here for the "Help: Table of Contents."
- Describe how a project you found helped your understanding of how Standards Focused PBL is productively different than traditional units.
- What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?
- Explain how a concern you may have about doing PBL was addressed by previewing the project based learning sites.
Comments (12)
lkroon said
at 7:47 pm on Sep 27, 2009
The projects were community based, relevant, and reflective. The element I noticed most was the use of reflection logs and activities to check the progress of the students.
John McCarthy said
at 9:25 am on Nov 4, 2009
Yes. Multiple means of feedback is crucial to track student progress, and determine instructional needs.
John Rostek said
at 4:30 pm on Nov 3, 2009
I noticed that the projects involved students in real-life situations or careers. By doing this, students can see the relevance to what they are doing.
John McCarthy said
at 9:26 am on Nov 4, 2009
Yes :)
As you think about your curriculum, making connections to life situations and connecting student context is critical.
Theresa Zillich said
at 4:35 pm on Nov 3, 2009
I didn't have an "ah ha" moment. I felt more confused about the time involved and project outcomes. Definitely will need more reading and discussions with people who have been successful. Maybe I'm thinking toooooo big.
John McCarthy said
at 9:28 am on Nov 4, 2009
I'd like to know more on your thoughts on this to support you. It's best that the first project be 2-3 weeks in length, just to get comfortable with the process. The planning process can open so many ideas, that it's easy to get caught up with the possibilities, and suddenly the PBL looks to take a year to complete. Start simply. Also, read pg. 3-10 in your PBL Handbook. I'm curious about your thoughts after the reading.
Nevermore said
at 4:47 pm on Nov 10, 2009
Describe how a project you found helped your understanding of how Standards Focused PBL is productively different than traditional units.
I looked over the "The Amistad Case: A Mock Trial" Project Information and examined the standards as well as the project information involved. I found it interesting how each project, such as this one, included benchmarks from various subject areas to show how it is applicable to those content areas as the instructor uses the project tp teach across the curriculum.
What confused me more, however, is how the site claimed for viability of several grade levels, while only a limited number of grade standards and benchmarks were provided. For instance, the Amistad project states in the abstract that it “addresses 6th - 12th grade standards in US History, Historical Understanding, Civics, Language Arts, Reading, Listening and Speaking, and Technology” (see - http://www.wested.org/pblnet/exemplary_projects.html ) while those benchmarks listed on the project site were for 6-8 (see http://www.wested.org/pblnet/exp_projects/amistad.html ). If I were doing a project and making claims of a project’s usability, I would be sure to include of the benchmarks I claim that my project is best used with.
John McCarthy said
at 4:03 pm on Nov 11, 2009
Projects with strong essential questions based on universal concepts can naturally encompass multiple disciplines. With experience under your belt there is much opportunity to do interdisciplinary projects with teachers of other content areas. Students find that highly motivating and view an expanded relevance to the learning targets.
Sometimes when projects are posted for others to review, there is a desire to show all that it might address. The concepts may be very good, but as you've noted what is promised should be backed up with enough information for others to review.
Brenda Parker said
at 5:21 pm on Nov 10, 2009
A concern that I have that was addressed by previewing these projects was"How will I ever come up with an idea and a project?" Another was "How do I go about designing the project?"
Viewing the projects let me see how other people are using projects. In my case I saw a couple Geometry projects that looked interesting. I hope that I will be able to use these ideas to come up with a project for Geometry. The one about designing a hole for a miniature golf course seemed interesting.
John McCarthy said
at 3:59 pm on Nov 11, 2009
Absolutely use ideas from others that you find relevant. They'll need tweaking to fit your work.
jnalepa@... said
at 5:07 pm on Nov 24, 2009
Looking at the Wiki project I saw how the teacher was able to work in small groups on specific learning tasks such as oral presentation skills and researching for those that really needed it. Not everyone would need this info if they were already skilled in those areas.
John McCarthy said
at 1:03 pm on Jan 4, 2010
There are many layers to working in small groups. I'm still peeling the onion. Even so, many students don't have the skills. Including these experiences, along with your guidance, will help your students develop and build these necessary skills.
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