Project-Based Learning (PBL)
A structured approach to learning where students tackle meaningful projects that address significant content.
Growth - Strengthen and interest-based yet open to taking risks.
Supportive - educator factilitated, yet student-led.
Authentic - Real and focused, yet open to new innovative possibilities.
Wholistic - Product yet process focused.
Challenging Problem or Question - The heart of a project--what it is "about," if one were to sum it up--is a problem to investigate and solve, or a question to explore and answer.
Student Inquiry - To inquire is to seek information or to investigate--it's a more active, in-depth process than ust "looking somethign up" in a book or online. The inquiry process takes time, which means a Gold Standard project lasts more than a few days. The process also repeats itself until a satisfactory solution or answer is developed.
Authenticity - In education, the concept has to do with how "real-world" the learning or the task is. Authenticity increases student motivation and learning.
Student Voice & Choice - Having a say in a project creates a sense of ownership in students; they care more about the project and work harder.
Reflection - Throughout a project, students--and the teacher--should reflect on what they're learning, how they're learning, and why they're learning.
Critique and Revision - Students should be taught how to give and receive constructive peer feedback that will improve project processes and products, guided by rubrics, models, and formal feedback/critique protocols.
Public Product - Like authenticity, a public product adds greatly to PBL's motivating power and encourages high-quality work. When students have to present or display their work to an audience beyong the classroom, the performance bar raises, since no one wants to look bad in public.
Links
Follow Us!
