Restorative Classroom Circles - home The 8 Elements of Project Based Learning: A Model Project | As most of you know, the uber gods of PBL are BIE. I was first introduced to the BIE PBL ‘model’ from mate Dean Groom who handed me over what I still refer to as my ‘PBL Bible’ – a ring-binder full of the BIE Freebies that help teachers plan effective projects and keep students on track as they move through the different phases of each project. The cool thing is that you can use as much or as little as you want … PBL is a very personal process that (like all good teaching) should be tailored to the expertise and needs of the teacher and students. However, there are 8 Elements of Project Based Learning that can be called the ‘essential elements’ of PBL … keeping an eye on these and ‘testing’ your project design based on them can help you determine if what you’re creating isn’t just a ‘project’. I really like this statement from BIE contrasting PBL and traditional ‘projects’: The Emo Project Here is the project outline that I gave my students: Does the project teach significant content?
Project Based Learning Resources (image from education-world.com) Project Based Learning (PBL) is a great way to teach students content, 21st century skills, and engage them in something fun and educational. I spoke more about PBL in an earlier blog ( and we had some great reader comments (Tech&Learning, May 2009, page 14). First of all, PBL can be used in any classroom, in any subject, at any grade level. PBL does take planning. For instance, I teach physics and developed a project for my classes on structures and stress and strain. Another example of PBL is having the students research a topic and present it to the rest of the class through a multimedia presentation, website, or poster. Start small. Another idea for projects is to look at your school or community and see what they need. An idea I got from my wife (a Biology Education student) is to have students create a lesson for other students about a topic. Some web resources to get you started:
How to select great topics for PBL in Australia | The Playable Classroom The driving question is always a sticking point for teachers new to PBL. Writing a few powerful words in a sentence or two, powerful enough to charge curiosity and enthusiasm is a skill. This is why great copyrighters get paid vast sums for writing relatively little. The driving question, I always found to be an awkward and misleading term. What PBL is trying to do is drive a topic, not a reply to a philosophic question. I prefer to think about topics. PBL in Australia is significantly different to the US (warning to those gazing at US consultancy networks for the answer) – our and their frameworks are significantly different as is the culture and side of the road we drive on. PBL is better (in Australian contexts) to be thought of as topic based. Not every aspect of the Australian curriculum (or a topic in it) is suitable or needs it! So what is the criteria for topics? Like this: Like Loading...
10 Teaching Practices Every 21st Century Teacher should Do Teaching is not only a job but is a way of life.It is a sublime task one can ever be entrusted with. Teachers educate generations of learners and in their hands lays the faith of any nation. A well developed country is a country whose citizens are well educated and this is done only by effective teaching strategies. Teachers have also their peaks and valleys, happy moments and sad times. Leading a successful teaching job requires a high sense of adaptability, for what used to be a successful teacher in the 20th century is now an outdated teacher in the 21st century. One of the pivotal facts we should keep in mind is that we teach in a different milieu, a digitally focused environment where technology has the lion's share. Are digital skills the only key elements needed for us to be labelled effective teachers ? 1- Maintain good communication skills 2- Getting students engagement There is nothing as challenging as getting students engagement and holding their attention. 3- Use Humour
In defence of PBL Over the last month or so, I’ve felt increasingly like I’m on the defensive when it comes to project-based learning. I guess the fact that it is starting to become more well-known and teachers outside of the online clique are starting to get interested is turning some people off. No one wants to get caught out supporting a ‘hip’ edu fad, right? But I’m stoked that it’s coming to the attention of more teachers, and even better that it’s coming to the attention of teachers not in the ‘clique’ of online edtech peeps. That means it’s actually going to move from being something people talk about to each other in online spaces, to something that real, working teachers actually do in their classrooms. I am just one parent who has already seen the change that PBL can make to her child’s learning and attitude towards school. So what are some of these criticisms I’m hearing? Like this: Like Loading...
Learning Circles Teacher Guide The Learning Circle Teacher Guide provides a structural approach to promoting cross-classroom collaboration with telecommunications. The first chapter is a condensed version of the whole guide. If you want to understand this model of online teaching and learning, this first chapter is a good place to begin. Learning Circle Introduction The Learning Circle Teacher's Guide is organized around the six phases of Circle interaction: The description of each Learning Circle phase has a similar structure. The narrative of Learning Circles interaction can be read--from beginning to end--by following the links at the book of the each narrative. Learning Circle Phase Structure In describing Learning Circles interaction, there are frequent links to different Learning Circles themes. Learning Circle Themes Computer Chronicles Places and Perspectives Society's Problems Mind Works Energy and the Environment Global Issues To Begin at the beginning
Venturing into Project Based Learning I’ve been reading about Project Based Learning for some time now, and I struggled trying to find a way to integrate this kind of pedagogy into my regular classroom practice. I think I do a fairly good job of challenging my students and getting them to think beyond the obvious, but my English classes do tend to follow what would be perceived as traditional structure. This last term we studied Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. We did make a decision early on to plan the unit using the principles of Understanding by Design (Wiggins & Tighe) and this meant we had a driving question to help us focus. It took us some time to get to this question in one of our planning sessions, but I’m so glad we went to the effort of doing this. Our classroom was full of spirited discussion and some moments where we employed drama techniques, but our intent was to understand the complexities of the play in order to respond effectively in a text response essay at the completion of our study. Sharpening the hook
Differentiation and explicit teaching in English | Teaching AC English Ask a TAS teacher about PBL “I want to get into PBL”. Something I hear and see a lot of recently. I’ve been an advocate of PBL for a while, so in lieu of people understanding what PBL is, I take it as a sign they want to do something new (to them) in their classroom. Romance: They often head off to Buck Institute or start consuming Edutopia content. For the more wealthy, they hire in US consultancies like New Tech Foundation who offer seemingly “off the shelf programs “and “pay-for-databases of projects”. If you are an Australian teacher interested in PBL, I give you fair warning that all these findable things will not transform your classroom – and in my view, will more likely raise alarm bells among parents and suspicion amount school-executives who will generally “like” the idea, but only if the reality dove-tails into their expectations (after all, most school execs are instrumentalists by nature of their job-description and that’s not a bad thing IMO). Like this: Like Loading...
Student Engagement: Resource Roundup Facebook Edutopia on Facebook Twitter Edutopia on Twitter Google+ Pinterest Edutopia on Pinterest WHAT WORKS IN EDUCATION The George Lucas Educational Foundation Tips and Strategies for Keeping Students Engaged Igniting Student Engagement: A Roadmap for Learning, by John McCarthy (2015) McCarthy discusses key strategies to ensure student engagement including being authentic, introducing units with meaningful launch events, and letting students know what outcomes to expect. Back to Top Engagement Through Projects Integrated Learning: One Project, Several Disciplines, by Edutopia Staff (2015) For any project within a vocational major, High Tech High encourages teachers and students to include relevant content from other subject areas to enhance real-world connections. Engagement Through Technology Engagement Through Social and Emotional Learning Getting (and Keeping) Students Engaged Create experiences so students invest in their learning.