To me, the most important factors to consider when developing a PBL project for my classes is that the project is real-world and relevant to my students. If the project is not meaningful to my students they simply will not do it and they will lack the motivation that is required. Since I teach in an alternative ed setting, my students are always seeking assignments and projects that are useful and relevant to them.

My biggest challenge in desgining a PBL project for my students is their limited english. There are many real-world projects that are relevent to middle school students but are not relevent to my students because they do not understand a lot of the issues in the world around them. I am looking at a project on basic nutrition. I think I will have to do a lot of building of prior knowledge before I can begin the project.

After completing this module, I realize how important the driving question is for developing the project and need to keep this question in mind as I move forward - Where is the content I am trying to teach used in the real world?

Two important factors to consider when you develop a PBL experience are to not try to teach too many content standards at once and that the project should focus on authentic learning in the context of real world issues.

•What factors are most important to consider as you develop your PBL? The most important factor is how can I design a PBL unit around standards/benchmarks using a quality curriculum tool. Since "The Odyssey" is required reading, I plan to try to make the experience relevant for the students. To engage the students, my driving question must allow for individuality, must be understandable and relevant.

•Using your KWL, what new learning occurred? What important questions remain?
•What factors are most important to consider as you develop your PBL?
•Based on this module experience, what project ideas are you considering?
I feel like I'm getting more familiar with the difference between a project and an activity in regards to pbl. Its a subtle difference but an important one. I was considering a debate project for a plate tectoninc/earthquake/volcano unit but don't feel like its a good fit anymore. I couldn't get it to match a driving question that I could use to hook kids. I think debate might work better with a topic like climate change and the scientific evidence behind it but will need to develop the idea a litle more. I'm still working on developing a tectonics unit but think I'm going to go with a project more along the lines of a newspaper/video project or some other media to communicate the content expectations I need to. My big concern with this is how to provide kids with some room to be creative and make it thier own so that all of their 'tectonic news' reports aren't all the same. I think it'll come as I continue to work on it. When did you say we would be getting a coach? They would be useful for bouncing ideas off of.

The difference between and activity and a project is an important concept. Culminating activities or ongoing activities do have their place in the curriculum. Projects require students to think more deeply and connect ideas rather than producing evidence of learning. Also projects should be specifically defined so students know what they're doing, but leave enough room for creativity in students' thinking and presentation of their discoveries. I plan to use my glces to determine which areas are best served by pbl and which can be taught in a more traditional way, with a cool activity to bring it home. This activity vs. pbl idea is a big "a-ha" for me. The opportunities for pbl lie in the real world, high interest topics that are most relevant to my sixth graders.

I went from thinking this was so difficult to then thinking I can do it. As I get more involved I am feeling overwhelmed again. The right question is important, but maintaining the intergity of a meaningful project is of equal, if not greater significance. Where I want them to end is really what it is all about. Will the project I have planned lead to deep enough understanding for all learners? I am new at this so will use our curriculum, the GLCEs and my past teaching experience to guide me with what I know needs to be taught/learned and what I feel to be my teaching strengths. I want the class to succeed at this. Trusting the process is kind of scary.

•What factors are most important to consider as you develop your PBL?
It is important to consider that outcomes are meaningful and activities are authentic. Students need to be motivated to achieve. They need to understand the meaning for their learning and be able to apply the knowledge they acquire.

The important factors to be considered while working on my PBL are to keep the activities engaging and meaningful to students. Also keeping a narrow scope while still meeting standards is going to be important. I have to keep the time frame in mind!

Circling back to making my focus a project and not a culminating activity is going to be a hard mindset break. I think I've got the right idea, but it's easy to fall back in to teach, teach, teach, then have them show what they know. And I try to make sure they show in a meaningful, relevant manner, but to change to make sure their whole learning experience sticks with them because it was all meaningful and relevant, whoa!

Using your KWL, what new learning occurred? What important questions remain?

I agree with Angie (comment above) on this one. I understand the look and feel behind a "project" idea but it is so easy to fall back into the norm of how I have been educated and how I have educated others in my career. When you go through the activities and have discussion around a project vs activity it makes sense and seems like a task easily accomplished but when you really narrow down your idea and start to build your own "project" it is difficult to stretch its focus to hit the PBL components. That being said completing activities like this module and attending more PBL trainings it is becoming more comfortable to really expand ideas of looking at learning. I would be interested to hear strategies from others more versed in creating "project" ideas and how they are able to come up with and/or practice "project" thinking when developing their PBL driving questions/scenarios/ideas. The best PBL ideas seem so simple when I see them completed but from my experience they are so difficult to put together. Really challenges the educational thinking.

I think that the most important things to remember are that the students must be engaged throughout the course of the project. As the educator you need to monitor their engagement and be willing to make changes to your original design if need be. The project design is not as important as the application of it, and how the students relate to it. Assess your design and the students to make sure that there is a successful match.

I agree with Angie and Mark! Trying to move away from activities and into project will take a lot of conscience effort. Saying that, I have seen a few interesting projecst that mesh with my ideas. Keeping the project standards narrow and focused for the driving question will always be a trick. I have to work project standards into a time frame that gives students time to complete project without being too long and loosing students interest.