Blog Post #9

I completely resonate on the powerful learning experiences that can come about from Project Based learning. 

As a junior in college now, I look back on my education during elementary, middle and high school; it's not so easy to remember the lessons I was taught and what I learned. However, the projects that I did really do stick out me. There's something about putting so much effort into something and actually enjoying it that can have a lastly imprint on your brain. I clearly remember my 9th grade project in Mrs. Winas's biology class, constructing a 3-D model of an animal cell. It is truly evident that people learn by doing and digging for intimation themselves with a purpose as their backbone rather than by sitting and listening,  that is why Project based Learning is so important to bettering our education system.

In the article Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning the authors John Lamar and John R. Mergendoller explain the steps in which make project based learning a phenomenal educational method in the classroom today. There is a lot we can learn from how Ms. Mclntyre used project based learning to shape a project for her class.

A Major turn off for students is slamming a packet of papers on their desks giving them step-by-step instructions on what they will be doing. 

• Start with an "entry event" to initiate interest.

• Video
• Guest Speaker
• Lively class Discussion
• Field Trip

• Driving Question

• Give purpose and challenge
• Must be open-ended
• Necessary to pick up main point of project 

• Freedom

• Let the students choose how to conduct their research
• No restricting guidelines
• Room for creativity

• Goal of Project Based Learning
• Give students skills that are applicable to real-world situations.

• Present to the Public 
• Schoolwork is more meaningful when students know it will be on display for parents

The next video Project Based Learning for Teachers was essentially an advertisement for Project Based Learning led by a man named Tony Vincent. It was a fast-paced crash course in what PBL is and why it is ground breaking. In less than four minutes Vincent has taught us alot to know about project based learning. 

• Definition of Project Based Learning

• Advantage of technology
• Schoolwork is more meaningful
• Student-based 
• No more busy work
• Students work over a period of time
• Share with others
• Evidence based
• Problem solving

• Students Learn
• Ccollaboration skills
• Ccommunication skills
• Ccritical thinking skills
• Career and life skills

The message that is stressed about Project Based Learning is that, Students can take charge because they have a voice and choice in their learning!

In today's society it has become more and more difficult to motivate students, with the help of the video What Motivates Students Today we are able to learn from young students to see what we can do as educators to keep our students motivated.

What we need to do is listen, listen to these young students and hear what motivates them and then embrace how they are motivated and remind them of the bigger goal that is ahead of them. A few of the things that motivate the students in the video are:

• Announcements to the class to affirm a great job
• Compliments
• Reinforcement
• Thinking about your future
• Reminding yourself of your life goal

Some examples of rewards that the students love are:

• Clipchart- different colors indicate students behavior that day
• Fake money rewarded for good behavior
• Classroom store
• Different themes for each day of the week
• Food!
• Parties- to reward class's overall behavior
• Brownie Points- you'll be liked if you're a good student

The foundation of Project Based Learning is working in a group and making decisions collaboratively. With the help of the article  Ten Sites Supporting Digital Classroom Collaboration Project Based Learning we can get an idea of great sites and tools to use to make working with a group of people easier. A few of the suggested sites are:

• Titan Pad - use to share documents, without email.
• Padlet - use to answer questions simultaneously
• Google Docs - great for incorporating the teacher into the group
• Linoit - colorful way to visually display material
• Quick Screen Share - allows group to share their current screen

In the final example of what students and teachers can teach us about Project Based Learning, we have an example of two students who used Project Based Learning to solve a problem that they found dear to personal lives. Two Students Solve Ketchup Problem.

The first step in the two students' project is they were inspired!
They encountered frustration by the watery mess that occurred when they squirted ketchup onto their food and they wanted to solve it. The boys worked together using each others skills to form a 3-D model of a patent for a cap that would prevent the water from squirting out.
Together they solved their ketchup issue using Project Based Learning.