Blog Post 9

What Can Teachers and Students Teach Us About Project Based Learning?

Reading Seven Essentials of Project - Based Learning by John Larmer and John R. Mergendoller showed good examples of how project based learning can help in the classroom. The article mentions that the finished product is not important, but the knowledge the student gains is what matters. It also mentions that students must acknowledge the project as meaningful, and it provides learning for educational purposes. I thought it was very interesting how the author gave a fictional story to help explain project based learning in the classroom. In the article there are seven essentials listed for project based learning. Essential number 1, open up an entry event such as: class discussion, field trip, quest speaker, and videos.  Essential number 2, Have the students come up with "A Driving Question" to help solve the issue. The author says the question should be open ended, complex, and linked to what the students are learning. Essential number 3, the students can create public service announcements, web pages, and brochures. Essential number four, Have the students form groups to plan and organize their projects through technology. Essential number five, the students research information and create more questions to solve. Essential number six, students can critique each others' work. At this time they can revise any problems they find with their work and fix then. Finally essential number seven, students present their projects to their peers, family, and community.

In the video Project - Based Learning for Teachers by Tony Vincent, showed us that students learn collaboration, communication, and critical thinking skills. By meeting deadlines, focusing on the process, and revising the project the students can teach themselves and others. This is just a few of what Tony Vincent put in his video. He mentions that students have a voice to create their own decisions.