~ Exemplars of Project Based Learning ~

After exploring these three articles...

“More Fun Than a Barrel of . . . Worms?!”
- Diane Curtis, Edutopia

“Geometry Students Angle into Architecture Through Project Learning” - Sara Armstrong, Edutopia

“March of the Monarchs: Students Follow the Butterflies' Migration”
- Diane Curtis, Edutopia

The circumstances and design principles that were common among these three examples were that each project contained real-life connections and was brain-based. Students were engaged in active learning and became efficient workers through demonstrating critical thinking, interpersonal, and problem solving skills. Transfer of learning occurred in each of these examples, because real-world connections were made. Different instructional methods were used to reach all students’ learning styles. All of the projects were developed based on an essential question and enabled students to engage in 21st Century learning skills.

The role of the teachers in the three examples was that of a facilitator. The teachers allowed students to experience the freedom, flexibility, and challenge of lifelong learning, and were not the sole source of knowledge for the students. Students were learning in ways that were meaningful to them and teachers guided the students to learn and seek information on their own. They seemed to encourage students to communicate, share ideas, make decisions and solve problems. In the “Worms” example, the teacher demonstrated a nice balance between teacher/facilitator roles. The teachers in all three examples essentially gave up some control in the classroom, and shared the opinion that knowing how to learn, problem solve, think and be flexible may be more important for students than specific disciplines and content material. The students’ role in the three examples was to explore, investigate the topic at hand, make decisions, work collaboratively, and communicate with others. Students learned to practice teamwork and gain respect for others through these projects.

These learning experiences all increased student engagement and knowledge because students were experiencing real understanding of content taught and were emotionally involved in their learning. The students were actively engaged in the learning process and were all experiencing learning instead of merely reading out of textbooks. The enthusiasm of each students learning experience was evident in the video examples. They were all emotionally attached to their projects and found meaning and value in them. I am certain that these projects will be something the students remember for many years to come. They took pride in their work because they were responsible for the content and final outcome.