Project Based Learning

PBL as a highly effective pedagogy, closely tied to other effective educational practices. PBL is also supported by recent brain research about how we learn and numerous studies assessing the effectiveness of student outcomes.

According to recent brain research, the importance of motivation, emotion, and story are key components for learning, retaining, retrieving, and applying information and skills. Our brain processes many things we learn as a “story.” It is the “story” or larger context that helps us retrieve stored information. Project Based Learning is a powerful pedagogy that utilizes strategies recommended by the latest research. Learning only has value if it has meaning and context. Otherwise, it is just like a wisp of smoke in the wind. “If we don’t give students sufficient ongoing opportunities to puzzle over genuine problems, make meaning of their learning, and apply content in various contexts, then long-term retention and effective performance are unlikely…” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2008) The real world component of Project Based Learning is a perfect vessel to hold the context of our learning. The authenticity of the project connects the learning to purpose and meaning which are two more key factors for long term memory and learning.

If our brain does not perceive the information as relevant for future use, the data is often stored in short term memory and quickly becomes forgotten. I can’t even recall how many times I have “learned” information for a test and then could not recall it a month later. “…External test pressures demand superficial content coverage; and students who seem to know the material but don’t know how to apply it.”(Wiggins & McTighe, 2008) The information did not have any meaning to me personally or to the real world, and my brain discarded it. The “Backwards Design” model outlined by Wiggins & McTighe is a perfect fit with Project Based Learning. PBL projects begin with the Big Idea and Essential Question which are the components required in UbD (Backwards Design), including the connection to real world applications. Working in project groups develops the key 21st Century skills of collaboration, problem solving, and negotiation.

In the article, The Courage to Be Constructivist , Martin G. Brooks and Jacqueline Grennon Brooks made a critical point about the harmful effects of high stakes testing. This article hit a raw nerve with me. We are all living the nightmare of Education Reform. The threats from government agencies made to schools that do not make AYP are real, and they force schools to abandon effective pedagogies out fear of not “passing the test.” The strategies for producing accurate test takers can be counterproductive to the development of creative thinkers and problem solvers. Heaven forbid we encourage students to think “outside the box.” They may fill in the wrong bubble on the answer grid! After all, learning can be distilled down to one word or one sentence answers chosen from a list of four choices, can’t it? “A recent study by Kentucky’s Office of Educational Accountability (Hambleton et al., 1995) suggests that test-score gains in that state are a function of students’ increasing skills as test takers rather than evidence of increased learning.” (Brooks & Brooks, 1999)

Constructivist learning is a key component in PBL. “Learners control their learning. This simple truth lies at the heart of the constructivist approach to education.” (Brooks & Brooks, 1999) I just told my new third grade students last week that I was not their teacher this year. They looked at me concerned and confused until I told them their teacher was in the room. It finally dawned on one student that he must be his teacher. BINGO! We began the discussion of how they know what they know. It was only by their own efforts and some help from the coaches in their lives (teachers, parents, etc.) that they learned to walk, talk, ride a bike, read, etc. Here is a link to a forum article I wrote about this topic: http://techtwist.ning.com/forum/topics/who-really-is-the-teacher   I also tell my students frequently that making mistakes in my class is expected and a good thing. The relieved faces tell me it is a message they need to hear, often. “But being wrong is often the first step on the path to greater understanding.” (Brooks & Brooks, 1999) The students understand that if they are not making mistakes they belong in fourth grade because they already know what we are learning in third. Mistakes come along with learning.

Constructivist learning creates an environment where student understanding is questioned, deepened, and redirected if necessary. A wonderfully funny (and sad) article that points to the misconceptions that can happen with direct instruction versus constructivist learning is called, “Lime is a Green Tasting Rock.” It was written a long time ago, but similar misconceptions happen in classrooms today. “…As educators we have great control over what we teach, but far less control over what students learn.” (Brooks & Brooks, 1999)

The emphasis on making sure every student “passes the test” is killing the real purpose of education. Which one of us has a job that is all about passing paper and pencil tests? No one! And yet I hear school systems claiming a high testing success rate as their educational goal. I worry about the future of education if this “just pass the test” mentality of instruction continues. Knowing information is not the goal of education. Jeopardy contestants may need random trivia, but, in the real world, we need information to process and solve problems and to create.

In all fairness to state mandated curriculum and assessments, we need to have a layer of accountability and assess our educational effectiveness. In the Edutopia article, PBL Research Summary: Studies Validate Project-Based Learning, many studies support the use of Project Based Learning as a pedagogy that works to “to engage students, cut absenteeism, boost cooperative learning skills, and improve test scores.”(Edutopia, 2001) Test scores and absenteeism rates are both components of making Adequate Yearly Progress in the state of Massachusetts. The ASCD Educational Leadership: Project Based Learning article pointed up the challenges of implementing PBL on a wide scale. Proper teacher training, uniform standards, inequity among schools, and high stakes testing all contribute to possible roadblocks for PBL. The article goes on to list several research studies that indicate a well developed, fully implemented PBL program can improve student learning. But beyond the high-stakes testing results is the more valuable outcome of students who are involved, motivated, and see the meaning and value of their learning. It is unfortunate that there are no standardized tests that assess those valuable attitudes that create life-long learners who will contribute to the global community.

My K-12 education spanned from 1958 to 1971, and I must sadly say there were very few memorable learning experiences. It was all a blur of sitting in a row and facing the teacher. I do remember a fifth grade class project I did about Hawaii. I enjoyed sharing the information I learned with my classmates and ending my presentation with a Hawaiian dance, complete with hand motions. The teacher encouraged us to use our creativity and imagination to plan our presentations. I enjoyed being given the choice of what to do for my project. As a fifth grader, I experienced just a small taste of the excitement that PBL will bring to the students in my class this year.

Educational Leadership:Teaching Students to Think:Project-Based Learning. (2008). ASCD Home. Retrieved September 6, 2010, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/feb08/vol65/num05/Project-Based_Learning.aspx

Educational Leadership:The Constructivist Classroom:The Courage to Be Constructivist. (n.d.). ASCD Home. Retrieved September 6, 2010, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov99/vol57/num03/The-Courage-to-Be-Constructivist.aspx

PBL Research Summary: Studies Validate Project-Based Learning | Edutopia. (2001). K-12 Education & Learning Innovations with Proven Strategies that Work | Edutopia. Retrieved September 6, 2010, from http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-research

Wiggins., & McTighe. (2008). Educational Leadership:Reshaping High Schools:Put Understanding First. ASCD Home. Retrieved September 6, 2010, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may08/vol65/num08/