AN EXAMINATION OF PROJECT BASED LEARNING AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL. Prepared by Candace Mirabile, Ph. D. Virginia Commonwealth University

Transcription

1 AN EXAMINATION OF PROJECT BASED LEARNING AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL Prepared by Candace Mirabile, Ph. D. Virginia Commonwealth University

2 WHAT IS PROJECT BASED LEARNING? A pedagogical approach characterized by a thorough study of a particular issue which simultaneously addresses content standards use of a guiding question or problem to be solved social interaction and collaboration integration of 21 st century skills production of a learning artifact or presentation

3 WHY IS PBL APPEALING TO EDUCATORS? PBL is thought to be an effective way to Engage students who are not successful in traditional learning environments Better prepare students for the 21st century workplace Transform instruction from the traditional lecture format so that it is student-centered Increase interest in STEM fields

4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK PBL is a Constructivist Approach to Learning Group collaboration allows for multiple perspectives on the topic Activities are structured yet non-linear A core assumption of constructivist theory is that learners actively construct knowledge through activity, and the goal of the learning experiences designed by teachers is to promote a deep understanding rather than superficial (and short-lived) memorization (Hernandez, 2009)

5 ROLES OF STUDENT AND TEACHER IN CONSTRUCTIVIST LEARNING Students bring unique prior knowledge and beliefs Students are active and reflective Students have more control over their learning (Technology Assistance Program, 1998) In PBL, the teacher becomes the guide on the side rather than the sage on the stage. (Moylan, 2008) Focus is on the process of teaching rather than mastery of content Some teachers are resistant to PBL out of a concern that it takes away from the content focus which is critical in the era of high stakes testing

6 IMPORTANCE OF SALIENCY TO STUDENTS PBL is a student-centered exploration where the teacher acts as facilitator. In order to get student buy in, the target content needs to be adaptable to students needs. Chemistry students learned about atomic interactions by designing heating/cooling systems to address their individual needs. They wanted something to use to avoid a cold toilet seat something to warm up my bathrobe something to cool down my bed when it s hot outside

7 EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF PBL In this review, most of the studies involved science and social studies EBSCO Host search of peer-reviewed journals using keywords Project Based Learning and Secondary I chose to focus on: Research setting and participants Increases in achievement as measured quantitatively Perceptions and attitudes of students and teachers Suggestions for replication in other environments

8 HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY 1400 students in first year of chemistry (various levels) over a 3 year period 1. Plan design 2. Explore subsystems 3. Present design and apply for patent Design a Heating/Cooling System to Meet the Needs of Individuals What evidences exists that difficult science concepts can be taught effectively through design-based units in engineering? Data Collection: Pre and post tests on knowledge Student interest survey

9 HIGH SCHOOL BIOLOGY A qualitative study of 70 ninth graders enrolled in biology with a first year teacher 1. Work in groups of three to research evolution 2. Orally share ideas on how evolution should be taught in the public school classroom Research and Debate the Presentation of Evolution In what ways did the teacher s efforts support students cognitive engagement with evolutionary theory? Data Collection: Interviews with teacher Classroom observations Audio/video tapes

10 MIDDLE SCHOOL GEOGRAPHY A qualitative study of eighth graders enrolled in geography in a small private school 1. Define civil and human rights 2. Study the geography of the chosen country 3. Complete online research Create a Museum Exhibit Which Traces One Country s History of Human Rights Violations From the perspective of students engaged in project-based learning, what influences their project work and learning? Data collection: Classroom observations Student interviews

11 MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORY Quasi-experimental design using an intervention group and a non-intervention group over a 6 week period Project components 1. Learn about primary and secondary sources 2. Practice with documentary software 3. Create documentary Create a Documentary to Interpret Historical Significance of a Time Period in the 1800 s Do eighth grade students who learn history through technology-assisted project-based learning experiences acquire more, the same, or less content knowledge than students in a comparison condition? Data Collection: Pre and post tests on knowledge Evaluation of individual scenes for extent of interpretation Assessment of documentary

12 STUDENT PERCEPTIONS: WHAT INFLUENCES STUDENTS WORK? (8 TH GRADE GEOGRAPHY) Students were overwhelmed by the wealth of information available online Students created invisible evaluations of their own abilities to determine their approach to the artifact Some ran out of energy for the projects before they were over Some were too concerned about the grade to fully engage in the learning Some chose the easier or faster way to participate

13 MORE STUDENT PERCEPTIONS: INTEREST IN ENGINEERING Apedoe,Reynolds, Ellefson & Schunn, 2008, p.462

14 MORE TEACHER PERCEPTIONS: IMPLEMENTATION AMONG PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS What do preservice teachers perceive and report as barriers or drawbacks to implementation of PBL? Pre-service teachers loosely defined PBL as group work or project with extended time One-half (n = 79) indicated that they did not use PBL (or used it rarely) during their apprenticeships On a scale of 0 to 12, the overall affinity score (enthusiasm for the PBL approach) was only 7.4 Barriers included: limited time, standardized curriculum, and lack of self-discipline among high school students

15 THE GREAT EVOLUTION DEBATE: A FIRST YEAR TEACHER TAKES ON PBL Good Choices As a controversial topic, evolution may be best learned through PBL with teacher as facilitator Students actively engaged in debate Multiple perspectives were presented Areas to Improve Teacher did not use formative assessments (student journals) to his advantage The rubric associated with summative assessment was not rigorous enough to reflect true PBL More time was needed for evaluative thinking before debating

16 TEACHERS PERCEPTIONS (INTERVIEWS WITH TRAINED, VETERAN TEACHERS IN A MIDDLE SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT) Teachers are concerned that to fully implement PBL, demands of the district with regard to content coverage will go unmet Teachers asked that a block schedule be implemented to allow more time with the same students each day Teachers noted that students need to be taught process skills (such as how to take notes from the Internet or budget time in order to meet the due date) in addition to content skills. The existing curriculum gives me what I need to teach, and PBL gives me the how to do it. (Vega, 2012)

17 POSITIVE EFFECTS ON CONTENT KNOWLEDGE Heating/Cooling Unit (High School Chemistry) 24 items from Chemical Concepts Inventory and the American Chemical Society s test item bank. Overall increase of 13 percent from pretest to posttest Teachers reported easier transition to subsequent content due to groundwork established through PBL Interpretive Documentary (Eighth Grade History) Intervention and contrasting groups completed a teacher created pretest and posttest Overall increase of 14 percent among intervention students Statewide standardized tests were also higher among intervention students

18 RESEARCHER S OBSERVATIONS While content in mathematics and language arts is integrated into PBL units, I found few examples which specifically address math, language arts, foreign language, or physical education Even among veteran teachers, there is a tendency to take short cuts with PBL or assimilate a hybrid version which includes tradition methods The natural tendency for most teachers is to overplan so that class time is filled and content is covered; relinquishing control of the class time to students is likely to be difficult for some

19 SUGGESTIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE Be sure that administrators are trained in PBL as they supervise teachers who implement it Acknowledge that a standardized testing schedule may not align with PBL; teachers need flexibility to implement PBL before being accountable for content mastery Incorporate business people as resources and cofacilitators If students are interested, foster the competitive side of PBL: Doors to Diplomacy, First Robotics League, Future City, and more

20 THANK YOU!