PBL

I was very inspired by these projects.  Due to lack of funding, increased class size, state testing, lack of time, and numerous other changes teachers are often discouraged from taking on large projects.  The teachers who used these projects got around all of these obstacles and their students thrived. I was especially inspired by the Worms on Wall Street article.  My first two years of teaching I taught in Virginia.  I am very familiar with their Standards of Learning (SOL).  There were so many standards and they were so specific that I often felt pressured to just teach right off the standards list.  It was refreshing to see that the standards could still be incorporated into lessons that the students were picking.  If they can create projects like this in VA and do well on state testing I can certainly create a project here in Pennsylvania where my standards aren’t as detailed. 

The three projects all shared a common goal of wanting to provide real world learning while incorporating state standards.  In Newsome the students were able to pick what they wanted to study and the teachers worked with them to make sure that the standards were still incorporated.  In the architecture projects the students were not given as much freedom in picking a topic but they were free to explore areas of interest within architecture.  For example if a student was very interested in alternate forms of energy they could focus on that and make that a main design element of their school.  The March of the Monarchs project was structured but still allows the students some freedom to pick topics. 

.  The teachers play a very important role in the projects.  They are responsible for all of the initial planning and preparation.  They must guide the students and help to achieve success.  In the worm project the students initially wanted to learn about snakes.  The teacher did not tell them no she just asked them if they thought snakes would be easy to examine and obtain.  She helped guide them as a class to the decision of studying worms.  It is also the teacher’s responsibility that the standards are incorporated into the lessons and that the students are prepared for assessments in addition to the real world application. 

The students are held much more accountable in project based learning.  In these projects the students were responsible for creating their own projects, working with each other, and creating presentations.  Instead of being spoon fed the information they must learn by doing.  They then gain a  a working understanding of the information.  The students are more engaged in these projects because it actively affects them.  For example the students who are tracking the monarch butterflies are much more engaged by participating in the project.  When they leave the classroom they are looking for the butterflies.  The material becomes personal to them and they enjoy it more.  They also obtain a working knowledge of the information.  The geometry students learn firsthand how math is used in the real world and the importance that it plays. The student who had the Flower Power flower shop gained valuable information on how the stock market works and how easily a takeover can happen if you aren’t careful. 

Instead of focusing on the negatives the teachers responsible for these projects focused on the benefits.  Not only did test scores improve but so did attendance, participation, and student confidence.