What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?
One area that rang very true for me was the fact that the projects were not just culminating events, but a LEARNING process and that the learning was necessary for the process and the product of the project. It gives so much more meaning and need for learning. The students own the learning and immediately apply the learning rather than just regurgitating the learning.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?
While searching through these sites I noticed that there weren't that many collaborative projects posted that were directed toward lower elementary students. I teach 2nd grade and was looking for examples that would fit with my grade level and curriculum and it was hard to find any. I did find a couple that were geared toward upper el that can be adapted. It just makes me wonder how this is going to go in my own room. Will I be surprised in a good way or a bad way when implementing PBL.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?

I had an important "ah ha" about the distinction between Project Based Learning and traditional projects. For example, traditional projects occur after the teaching and learning is done. The project becomes a performance task or culminating activity where students demonstrate what they know. In Project Based Learning, the project encompasses the Unit or Mini Unit. Students still do a culminating experience, but they are deep in the process from the unit's first lesson. Learning and assessment of learning is interwined.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?

I discovered that the PBL is learning a process. This gives students more useful skills and tools and allows them to
put things in prespective for them. It also allows students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of different ways to better suit their learning styles.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?
My "ah ha" was that the student's "discover" or problem solve through the learning process, the teacher does not pre-teach each concept, students' internalize and retain this type of learning so much better. Although I am still struggling with putting a lesson together I see the importance of changing my thinking.

Describe a project that helped your understanding of how Standards Focused PBL.
While searching through the database I found a science project that was very similiar to a science "unit" that we currently complete. In the past I had always found the unit to be GLEC focused, hands on and enjoyable for both the students and myself. Though, as I read through the PBL project, I realized that I could tweek that same unit to make it both more relevant and collaborative. That I could take this unit of study that we already do, to a deeper level for the students and inoporate some GLECs into the project that weren't strictly science based.

Explain how a concern you may have about doing PBL was addressed by previewing the project based learning sites. My biggest concern was really what to do or focus on. Previewing the sites gave me ideas, but moreso gave me a confirmation that ideas I had in mind were on the right track. Also, after previewing the sites I felt more confident about going bigger in my thinking. Hmm... I'm not sure about the grammar in that sentence, but it does express my thought! The examples on the sites also helped me envision the overall picture of PBL.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?

A quick couple of things that I found interesting. After previewing the iearn site I noticed the global connection that many of these projects had. Again, they have a relevance that I feel students can connect with. Kids need to know that they can make a difference. Another simple "ah ha" was that these projects aren't that big. I think the project that I am taking on is much more involved than these projects, but again I will be doing some mini lessons throughout and monitoring the process and journey that my students will be taking.

Q: Describe how a project you found helped your understanding of how Standards Focused PBL is productively different than traditional units.

A: I found a project for college level, non-science majors, who are taking a class in physics. During this class "They explore the relationship between speed and stopping distance, reaction time and stopping distance, and design and safety features of seat belts and airbags.” This is clearly closely related to real-world concepts. In contrast, when I learned physics in college, we focused on pendulums and tigers jumping off cliffs! How far the tiger could jump was not very motivating for me. But, if I could find out the stopping distances of cars going different speeds, I would be much more motivated to study and learn the physics.

Traditional teaching focuses on spoon-feeding facts and memorizing formulas, whereas PBL focuses on solving real-world tasks, which leads to deeper and stronger learning.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?

As I viewed the pbl units I started thinking about all the research that supports this kind of learning. Debbie Miller, Lucy Calkins, and many more support letting the children come up with the idea because that is what learning is. If you just tell them then they are not learning.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?
I have looked through many of these projects and the thing that continually strikes me is that of relevance to the students. I have been looking for ways to have students actively engaged and PLB may very well be the key to provide this.

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?

When students learn new information through a traditional unit of study, this information will most likely be forgotten after the unit test is completed. Traditional units typically do not involve the student as a stake holder in the outcome. There is no real "need to know". If project are assigned as an assessment at the end of a unit, students don't retain the content that is necessary to complete the project. Conversely, when students learn information through PBL, the learning continues to develop during and after the project is completed. There is a much higher level of thinking required by students of any age to be problem solvers.

What I found when I previewed the PBL sites for grades K-6 as well as high school grades 9-12,
was that the most exemplary projects had a strong link to the community. These projects also involved bringing in an expert. An "ah ha" moment for me was realizing that it is important to bring in the "expert" after the students have had enough opportunities to investigate possible answers. It's alright for them to become a little frustrated when they have set backs during a project, even though it may also be difficult for teachers to let that happen. This is when the real learning happens.

Yes, yes, yes. Community involvement vastly enriches the experience. Skype is a way to connect with those outside experts.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?

As someone else said above, it was a little frustrating to find few projects designed for elementary classrooms---until you get to the Collaboratory Project Database, where I spent 30 minutes trying differet combinations that would show less than 200 projects. It would help immensely if they would allow a browsing function. The projects I found that were appropriate for fourth grade were great. I do like the format of iearn Projects site. It is nice to be able to save your favorite projects there, however when our glce' s are so specific, the number of projects you could use at each grade level are pretty limited. What I'm really still trying to get my head wrapped around is encouraging out of the box thinking, while keeping the focus on a relatively limited set of learning objectives (glce's), in a limited amount of time. I love the idea of mastering the grade level content expectations along with everything else that may be discovered on the project by going deeper than those. In the back of my head though, I am thinking I was pressed for time without adding the deeper connections. The only way I can do it is by integrating subjects and intertwining glce's. We'll see how that works.

Question: What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?

Answer: There were several opportunities on the iEarn website that allowed (encouraged/required) working with students in different locations around the world. I have seen some projects that have similar sites but this seemed to offer more details for projects. I love the fact that so many teachers were using experts in the field as an audience for their students' work. In one movie I viewed in a previous module, the principal told his teachers (after they had developed the driving question, the time frame, the end project and its rubric) that they just had to "jump in" and get going. It is good to know that as students learn as they go, so teachers will learn as they go. Things don't have to be perfect in order to begin and the intermediate steps students take toward the end goal can be more fluid.

Describe how a project you found helped your understanding of how Standards Focused PBL is productively different than traditional units.

I actually learned something from several projects that I looked at. I really think it is important to have a driving question behind the project that is worded in such a way that it automatically piques curiosity and motivates students. When I think about crafting my own driving question, it was very difficult. Traditionally, all I had to do was grab a standard and the fact that it was a standard was reason enough to teach it. Now, I have to think beyond the standard and the fact that it is required by the state...WHY is it interesting to kids and HOW can my question stimulate their learning and collaboration.

I looked over several middle school units and found that students are often actively engaged in the community at large as part of a PBL unit. Whether they are testing water quality, researching nuclear power, or finding data about diabetes, they have the opportunity to share their research and/or create a useful product that not only enhances their learning but contributes to the community as well. Seeing these units also encouraged me to go ahead and jump in. I think PBL is another way to frame all the planning and delivery we do, but in such a way that it engages kids and encourages higher level thinking skills.

Describe how a project you found helped your understanding of how Standards Focused PBL is productively different than traditional units.
I chose to review the project about "Sandy's Bad Day". I have to admit that the title really caught my attention. Then, when I read through the project, I was very caught up in the initial story of Sandy and why she had a bad day. I mean, everyone loves a good story! I really liked how each part to the story was told each day of class. So, it left the students wondering how it was going to end. And, the story become the real project. Because the students had to use the information from the story to complete their assignment. I also liked how the instructor did not give the solution. She explained that giving the solution is not the way PBL works! I think this example is a good one to compare to traditional teaching methods, because there was a lot of inquiry and there isn't always a lot of that in traditional teaching. I also think that we are too quick to give the answer when students aren't able to figure it out in what we consider to be a timely manner. I also think that the structure of the lesson was very student oriented rather than classroom oriented. And, there was a lot of room for student discussion and opinion.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?

I found it very difficult to find music specific projects in many of the listed links. With that being said though, I did find the best library of projects from the "Think Quest" website. I was really excited to view the projects that the students had created - thinking to myself, "Wow! How excited would my students be if they could create a similar project and post it for others to view." I think the publishing piece gives greater validity to the students level of work ethic toward the project rather than just a traditional "share your project with the class" type of presentation.

•Describe how a project you found helped your understanding of how Standards Focused PBL is productively different than traditional units

in reviewing the projects,I found that by frontloading the standards and knowing what ones I am choosing to have the students accomplish, it is easier to create the framework for their learning. I think it will allow the students to be more creative and excited about their learning.

A concern that I had which was addressed when I reviewed various projects was " Are standards incorporated and is evident when the lesson is being observed by administration." A variety of projects in elementary provided examples of the standards addressed, but others just gave summaries. At this time, it is very important that learning standards of the state and district is evident, observable, assessed, and a strong rationale for using PBL. I'm excited, but I also need data that demonstrates the success of PBL in the classroom.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?

After reviewing the lessons at these websites, I realized that one driving factor for PBL is that it encompasses the learning process not just acts as a culminating activity. PBL focuses on the standards while challenging the students to think about the subject matter from their own perpective. The students must answer the driving question by conducting research or engaging in various activities to gain the knowledge. One other "ah ha" I had is that with PBL there is rarely one correct answer that you are striving for...that is if the driving question is worded properly. Students can come up with different answers or conclusions as long as they have the knowledge to support their answer and viewpoint.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?

One “ah-ha” that I have had from previewing these sites is the fact that various activities and projects can be altered and adapted to fit the needs of individual students and abilities. I teach second grade and I am very hesitant on the amount of “creative freedom” that I will allow my students. They are still very young and need a lot of teacher direction while they are learning and creating. I was pleased to see that we can determine the amount of independence our students will have while creating their projects. As my children continue to learn and grow, so too will their ability to independently create and learn for themselves.

What important "ah ha's" did you have from previewing these PBL sites?

I appreciated the 5 steps of the PBL process and seeing how this was done in PBL projects. It helps me to see the whole picture by viewing examples of well done PBL projects. I like "beginning with the end in mind."

the iearn website is truly a fabulous place to visit. I requested to learn more information prior to signing up but it looks like a great collaborative sites for students and teachers. I was intrigued by the folk costumes projet in which the facilitator has asked students from all over the world to submit pictures of folk costumes and instances in which they might be worn. I really wanted to see what this project looked like and it started my mind wondering about what types of things my students might submit. Unfortunately I was denied access and that is why I requested more information about the site. I really think this site could be very informative and interesting for the students in my world studies east class.

Explain how a concern you may have about doing PBL was addressed by previewing the project based learning sites.

I had some questions about how to organize my PBL project. The learning sites provided me with ideas on how to expand on my current project. It was nice to see example projects.

Explain how a concern you may have about doing PBL was addressed by previewing the project based learning sites.

My concern about doing PBL projects is that I am not the actual one teaching them. In my role (Technology Integration Specialist or Tech Coordinator), I am working with other teachers in implementing this in their rooms. Being able to reference all these databases led me to believe that I can find examples types that would compliment just about every type of teacher... their teaching style, classroom style, etc. The more examples I can show them OR the more I can gain ideas to tweak projects I create to meet their individual needs, the easier it is to move them into areas that are not as "comfortable" to them.