Blog Post 9

The article, Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning, is a need to read before dealing with Project Based Learning. The seven essentials are:

1. Need to Know- Basically just give the students the feeling of they need to know this information. Make it personal to keep them engaged in the project.

2. Driving Question- The project needs to have one main question that can be answered afterwards. This is the most important part of the project because this is the purpose behind the assignment.

3. Student Voice and Choice- Students thrive from independence because it's very rare that they get any while in school. Let the pick the subjects and let up on the reins a little bit and let them have some free choice. This will ensure the students are active and engaged in the subject.

4. 21st Century Skills- Let the students know what they're doing is important and relevant. The world will soon be completely technology based. Let them know they're practicing skills they'll need for the rest of thier life.

5. Inquiry and Innovation- The article says to use "real inquiry" which is defined as "students follow a trail that begins with their own questions, leads to a search for resources and the discovery of answers, and often ultimately leads to generating new questions, testing ideas, and drawing their own conclusions." The students must genuinely want to know the answer.

6. Feedback and Revision- The students will not always do perfect work but it's important they we help them see their mistakes and make sure they are actually learning from them.

7. A Publically Presented Project- The students will be proud of what they do and will want to show it off. Let them come to the front adnd present to the class. This will also help their confidence levels by forcing them to talk in front of people.




The video Project Based Learning for Teachers, is a short video about just that, project based learning for teachers. Even though the video is only about 3 minutes long, it got a lot of information into those 3 minutes. It talked about Common Core, what PBL actually is, and how we can benefit from project based learning. The video also talks about the driving question which is the main part of the project. The driving question is your rocket fuel for the project; your overall goal is to answer it and in that sense, it launches your project.



One doesn't really think of technology when thinking about Physical Education but the video Project Based Learning and Physical Education, Andrew Miller addresses just that. An example he gave was for the students to get together and answer the driving question of, "How can we create the best exercise program for middle school students?" The students then got together and did research and applied it to their own P.E. class.



The video PBL: What Motivates Students Today, it addresses what students are motivated most effectively by. Everyone loves to see their hard work be appreicated so do just that. Let them know what an awesome job they did and it will motivate them to do well next time. You can also use rewards like a pizza party if everyone makes an A, or individual rewards like a treat box. Some classes even have a "class bank" where they are rewarded fake money and can "buy" stuff from a class store.


The video High School Teachers Meet the Challenges of PBL Implementations, teachers are looking at the way they've always taught and implementing changes to it by incorporation proejct based learning. I know some teacehers have a problem with this. There's a saying that says, "If it isn't broke, don't fix it" but we need to get teachers out of this mindset. Yes, your way has been successful for as long as you've been teaching, but the world is changing and we must change ourselves with it to adapt.