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Essay on the effectiveness of project-based learning
Disadvantages of project based learning
Disadvantages of project based learning
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One project-based assessment is assigned about once a month to students, but do they realize that they include benefits that will help them in the future? Most kids think that it's just for pleasure or to improve their teamwork, but they don't acknowledge that it shows them responsibility and how to critically think. "Project-based learning increases long-term retention, improves problem-solving and collaboration skills, and improves students' attitudes towards learning."-Strobel 2009. Surprisingly, these projects help introduce children to the upcoming tasks of college. Once high school graduates move on to college, they will already know how to be a responsible student who takes all tasks seriously. For example, a teacher could assign a
Markham, T., Larmer, J., & Ravitz, J. L. (2003). Project based learning handbook: A guide to standards-focused project based learning for middle and high school teachers. Novato, Calif: Buck Institute for Education.
In the article, “The Critical Importance of Retrieval For Learning” the researchers were studying human learning and memory by presenting people with information to be learned in a study period and testing them on the information that they were told to learn in order to see what they were able to retain. They also pointed out that retrieval of information in a test, is considered a neutral event because it does not produce learning. Researchers were trying to find a correlation between the speed of something being learned and the rate at which it is forgotten
David Kolb published his learning styles theory, in 1984, after many years of development. His theory stated that people learn in two different steps, inputting information and processing information. How people do this is also different. Think of inputting information on a vertical line, one person may prefer concrete examples at the top and abstract concepts at the bottom. Processing information is on a horizontal line with active experimentation on the left and reflective observation on the right.
Blumenfeld, P. C., Solloway, E., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Guzdial, M., & Palincsar, A. (1991). Motivating project‑based learning: Sustaining the doing, supporting the learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(3 & 4), 369‑398. Available October 17, 2002, from Professional Development Collection database: http://search.epnet.com
It features learning projects that directly relate to, are relevant to, or provide benefit to students, their families or the community.
One lesson I found that I would like to report on is called “Sampling the Solid Earth” and is a unit project. This is a very organized plan, that states the materials needed, how to plan, different steps to building the project, and ways of assessment. What is expected in the project is clear, but I would say that the goals and objectives are not clearly stated in the plan. The lesson is tied in with National Science Education Standards, and the project connects with life science. There does not seem to be a variety of teaching methods within the project, although the lesson seems to be both discovery and teacher-directed. This is because the project allows students to do their own research and building of a rock collection, but there is a strict guideline laid out by the teacher for students to follow, not leaving much room for inquiry. The project does not actually state a grade level that I can see, but it seems to be aimed for upper elementary
What is Project Citizen? For many years, Edgewood and other schools around the country have given their seventh graders a project to help improve their community or school. The seventh graders research a problem that their community or school is facing, then find solutions to that problem. The community or school then executes the solution to solve the problem.
Project Citizen is an effort to improve our community one step at a time. Project Citizen requires a lot of research for specific sections of our main problem. These are called tasks. After all of the tasks are finished, everyone writes a paper summarizing the main problem. Then, everyone makes a presentation in groups. The keys to being successful in Project Citizen are to work hard, research well, work as a team, and most importantly, be organized. The steps to Project Citizen are: Identifying a problem in the school or community, research the problem, evaluate possible solutions, then develop public policy ideas and pick the best solution. The main goal of Project Citizen is to improve our school/community to make it a better place. This year, the hope is to make our school safer, and less prone to accidents happening.
...ourage creative thinking because rote learning offers little power. School supervised work programs, beginning at age ten and continuing until graduation, can also give power, suggests Glasser. Team academic competitions also meet the need for power. Glasser also proposes educators provide students with more freedom, by allowing and encouraging students to pick instructors, classes and testing procedures. This can also be accomplished by having students involved in the rule structure of the classroom and the school. Quality schools eliminate coercion and use lead management (Glasser, 1986). The emphasis is always on the quality of the work done or the quality of the interaction among people. Quantity takes a back seat. Quality work is the best that a student can do at this time. It is their best effort and shows continuous improvement. It is useful, feels good, is never destructive, and offers flexibility (ex. Authentic assessment). This would fit in well with the concept of portfolio assessment that we are currently using in the middle school. Quality schools use social contracts asking if you had what you want in your classroom regarding the way your students interact with you.
Research supports the problem based approach to learning. Various studies globally have found that problem-based learning improves student learning and engagement (Boaler, 1997, Cotic and Zuljan, 2009). A review of research has found that problem based learning ‘develops more positive student attitudes, fosters a deeper approach to learning and helps students retain knowledge longer than traditional instruction’ (Prince, 2004, p. 223). However, there are limited research studies on the effectiveness of problem based learning on conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts. An international study (Tasoglu and Bakac, 2014) compared problem based learning with traditional learning on the conceptual development of scientific concepts and found
...all group projects and learning activities into our daily practice. Some of the students require more descriptive and corrective feedback to meet their needs during individual and group projects. Those who are performing on grade level may receive more evaluative or improvement-oriented feedback. The higher achieving students may engage in the process of peer feedback to obtain ideas and suggestions.
“Teachers help students use assessment as a window into their own growth and identify as learners so, they develop the power and agency necessary to take charge of their learning (Tomlinson, 2010). Summative assessments are a mirror to student thinking. Summative assessments help teachers and students see a trajectory of their learning. Teachers can use them to identify which students are ready for other tasks; and which students need more time to develop specific concepts. The assessment that we administered asked students to answer a series of questions using information from a graph. It also prompted them to create a graph using the results of survey for our field trip. This assessment combined constructed response questions with a meaningful task. “The paper and pencil multiple choice test is not the only way to assess learning. It is a limited way to gain insight into what some students know and are able to do”(Berliner, 2010, p.113).
Project Citizen is a project that seventh-graders do annually. The students take one problem and find a way to solve it. The goals of Project Citizen are straightforward. There are four steps to Project Citizen. First, the students need to identify a problem in the school or community. Then, they research that problem. The students need to finish about twenty tasks, each related to a category of school safety. Next, they evaluate possible solutions to that problem. The solutions are put into a research paper, which is what this paper is. After that, they develop public policy ideas. These are put into a group presentation and later presented to a larger audience. The four keys to being successful in Project Citizen are to work hard, work as a team, research well, and stay organized.
When planning a new project, how the project will be managed is one of the most important factors. The importance of a managers will determine the success of the project. The success of the project will be determined by how well it is managed. Project management is referred to as the discipline that entails the processes of carefully planning, organizing, controlling, and motivating the organization resources so as to foster and facilitate the achievement of specific established and desired goals and meet the specific criteria of success required in the organization (Larson, 2014). Over the course of this paper I will be discussing and analyzing the importance of project management.
Project Citizen is an effort to improve our community one step at a time. Project Citizen requires a lot of research for specific sections of our main problem. These are called tasks. After all of the tasks are finished, everyone writes a paper summarizing the main problem. Then, everyone makes a presentation in groups. The keys to being successful in Project Citizen are to work hard, research well, work as a team, and most importantly, be organized. The steps to Project Citizen are: Identifying a problem in the school or community, research the problem, evaluate possible solutions, then develop public policy ideas and pick the best solution. The main goal of Project Citizen is to improve our school/community to make it a better place. This year, the hope is to make our school safer, and less prone to accidents happening.