EDTECH 542: PBL in diverse classrooms

The article I read entitled, Designing Effective Projects: Characteristics of Projects Benefits of Project Based Learning, was published in 2007 by the Intel Corporation as part of the Intel Teach Program - Designing Effective Projects. It provides an overview of Project Based Learning and then discusses the benefits of PBLs for students and teachers. Finally, it defines the challenges both teachers and students may face in adopting Project Based Learning strategies.

Although not explicitly stated, the article outlines why PBLs are ideal for a diverse classroom and for students who, for whatever reason, are not successful in a traditional learning environment. PBLs are not about sitting and listening - skills that teachers know challenge a percentage of learners in every classroom. Because PBLs present real life, relevant questions that allow students to investigate, plan and create solutions, issues that affect traditional classroom learning are not as relevant in a PBL environment.

I can relate to this finding, as it mirrors my experience when 1:1 laptops were first provided to my students.  The students who were most noticeably engaged were those most challenged with traditional learning strategies.  One student in particular stands out in my mind. He was very unhappy in school.  His educational failures were coupled with a lack of friends and frequent teasing.  He really enjoyed working on projects with the laptop computer.  It allowed him to express himself and share his learning in a way he could not with multiple choice tests or writing essays. He learned too that he had choice and options in what he produced - very empowering for a child who previously believed he was at a disadvantage.

Project based learning benefits all students in the same way.  According to the article, research has found benefits that include:

• better attendance, self-reliance, and improved attitude
• greater responsibility for own learning
• academic gains equal or better than other processes
• opportunities to develop skills such as problem solving, collaboration and communication
• opportunities that engage culturally diverse learners

Teachers face a number of challenges in implementing Project Based Learning, and have to be willing to overcome them.  Managing the learning process, as opposed to “telling”, has huge advantages for students, regardless of how diverse the classroom is.  It transforms the classroom into a space where errors allow for reflection, collaboration and change.  There are no predetermined answers, only opportunities to build on previous learning, solve problems and communicate learning in an engaging manner to a broader audience.  

EDTECH 542 week 2 learning log

Assignment: Post a reflection regarding your research this week on Project-Based Learning. What were you able to find? How do you think PBL will fit into your teaching style? Do you have an idea for a project? If so, begin articulating it now.

I have found that there is so much more information, models, and research supporting Project-Based Learning than there was when I first began my study of it a few years ago. This is very encouraging in light of other changes in education, including the implementation of Common Core, changes in standardized testing procedures, and the integration of technology in classrooms.  I believe that teachers that integrate PBL into their classrooms will produce students who will be better prepared for the challenges of college and career.  They will internalize the skills of perseverance, inquiry, and determination - skills that children have when young, but somehow are squelched by their education system as they grow older.  As Sir Ken Robinson said, the education system has anesthetized our children’s ability to be creative, and we as teachers need to find ways to “wake them up.”  Project-Based learning can (when done well) do that,  as it offers opportunities for students to use their innate creative skills to demonstrate learning.  It also allows students with different learning styles and learning challenges options to “show what they know.”  By design, PBL provides differentiation that traditional classroom teaching can not.

If I was currently teaching students, I believe PBLs would fit well into my teaching style.  Much of the work my students did in the past was of this style - unique creative outcomes, collaborative teamwork, some connection to students’ lives, reflection on learning.  

Because I will spend much of this coming year teaching teachers, my PBL for this class will address adult learners.  Specifically, I will create a project based on ISTE*T standards for promoting digital citizenship and developing digital age learning opportunities. My goal will be that teachers learn more about digital literacy resources so they can instruct their high school students how to be better digital citizens.  As my (new) school has just adopted a 1:1 tablet program, I also want this to be an opportunity to teach the teachers how to use some of the tools on their tablets.  

EDTECH 513: Creating My Learning Log

I am an active blogger and so, have some familiarity with blogging as a tool for learning. I co-author the Common Core and Ed Tech blog, which has been in existence since early 2013. I also read a significant number of blogs to gain knowledge about effective ways to integrate educational technology into the academic curriculum, as that is a major component of my current position as Vice Principal. My new position of "Educational Technologist" for a local high school will involve providing professional development of all shapes and sizes to the staff, and so even more, I will need to keep abreast of ed tech.

As I began to understand more  about multimedia principles, particularly contiguity, in the first part of the course, it provided an opportunity to critique the work that I (and my co-author) have created for the blog. For that matter, the readings gave me more context and background to also analyze other blogs that I frequently read. Here are some findings:

1.  Not overwhelming people with text.  I think that, overall, we do a good job of restraining ourselves and including only the most relevant information for people. Other blogs I read vary wildly in how closely they attend to some basic principals regarding how text-heavy they are. I can think of one very popular blog I frequent often. The content, while excellent, is detracted from by the amount of extraneous information also on the page. There is a certain amount of self-promotion done (for upcoming seminars and such) that I do understand. There is also a LOT of additional 'noise' in the way of ads that run down the right side of the page. Very distracting. I can continue to improve my blog's entries by being mindful of the limitations of text. Which leads to finding number 2...
2. Include visuals to augment the learning/text. I think we do an ok job here. We can improve the likelihood of knowledge gain if the visuals - charts, infographics, video clips - are always relevant. Including a piece of clip art occasionally is fine, but being mindful to always have a point to the additional visual information provided is important.
3. Being mindful of chunking the content so readers, in general, are not overwhelmed by what's presented. Underlying the chunking concept is the fact that readers have very limited processing capability and that needs to be at the forefront of thought when creating a new post.

In future weeks of this course, I hope to better understand other aspects of multimedia presentation. I am particularly interested in using Redundancy and Personalization, as well as finding out more about Worked Examples.

This relates to the label 2.3 Computer-Based Technologies, as we are clearly in the realm of using the computer (web pages via a blog  in this case) to augment learning. Practicing with a blog - a computer-based technology - is a very relevant way to better understand the importance of how technology can impact - positively OR negatively - learning.