The videos and readings for this week were a great follow-up to last week's learning about Project Based Learning. One of the struggles that my colleagues and I often face when including PBL into our plans is the need for grades and a clear evaluation of how the students are learning the content. The resources shared this week offered some terrific options on how to get students working hands-on and in collaborative groups, while still offering a structured system for assessing and evaluating student learning.
I had a very personal connection to the articles we read about the school design for 2050 project. When I was in high school, I aspired to be an architect as a future career. I took a couple drafting and engineering classes while in high school, and I participated in an after school club in which we worked on various technology projects to compete in a state-wide competition in the spring. I enjoyed working on an architectural model project every year, in which a team of us worked together to design a dream house. Unfortunately, a lot of these programs have been cut from high school programs recently because they are considered "technical" courses and do not translate into required courses for a college preparatory degree. I think that the projects described in the articles about using geometry and other math to design a high school of the future are an excellent idea, and would serve as a great inspiration to teachers everywhere.
Taking on a long project like the school design one requires careful planning and organization ahead of time for the activity to be successful and meaningful. The creation of careful rubrics, detailing deadlines and expectations for success, are essential for such long and complex projects to work out. When I design projects for my class, I always find that creating the rubric ahead of time, along with spending time going over the ratings with my class before they begin, leads to success for my students. Some of these ideas from the videos and articles may just inspire me to attempt a longer project with my students in the near future, such as one that has several parts for teams to work through together.
Grading group projects has been difficult for me, because like Brooks stated in his blog, a few students do most of the work while others don’t contribute as much. I’ve found that the smaller the size of the group, there is less of a chance that 1 or 2 students do the majority of the work while another student will “pass the buck.” Also in the beginning of the article “Rubrics, Portfolios, and Tests, Oh My!” the example of the teacher assessing the students for the oscillating fan project was interesting. It was clear by just having a conversation with the students that 1 student had mastered the concept while the other 3 had not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that taking on a large project takes a lot more planning and preparation for the teacher, which is why I think a lot of teachers shy away from them. While PBL projects take more planning and work up front for the teacher, I’m finding this year that the students are more engaged and working harder on them. I'm looking forward to see if they gain a deeper understanding of the content at the end of the units.
I agree that the videos and readings tied perfectly into our readings regarding PBL's from last week. It makes so much sense to create the rubric first, and then go back and create the lesson, but I never think that way! And I appreciate your insight regarding the difficulties of creating clear evaluation on PBL's. As someone who is not in the classroom, my thought is the more PBL's the better. Let's engage our students with projects that will excite and inspire. But it is obviously not a practical way to teach in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI also think it was a great example regarding your drafting classes in high school. It seemed you had real life application similar to the lessons currently being taught. I think it would be great if more high school classes could teach PBL's similar to your drafting classes.