Reading Reflection #1

Abigail Harrop

EDT 3470

Lab 4:00

Reading Reflection #1

1. Things that need to be kept in mind when starting to implement project-based learning (PBL) are:

1) Today’s students are up to the challenge. Because of the amount of technology our world has in it today, technology and the digital world are no foreign concepts for students. Although schools may be new to using technology in the classrooms, students probably have a lot of prior knowledge and are familiar with it so they will take advantage of the tools and love them.

2) Projects are worth the effort. With PBL, things will change a lot for teachers, but for the better. Lessons will be more exciting, refreshing, and may cause more overall passion for teaching. Students will enjoy it and learn more from doing hands on, relatable things with what they are learning rather than just listening to a lecture and hearing about things.

3) Students live and learn in the real world. Adding onto projects being worth the effort, it is worth the effort because students will learn more from doing hands on projects. They are more likely to remember a concept that they were taught if they had an outcome, which they enjoyed doing rather than some notes they took. The difference is that the project could be viewed again and shown to other people whereas the notes taken may end up in the trash and never consoled again.

4) New contexts encourage the project approach. Everything that they learn through PBL will be used to their benefit and will help spread the word and stories to be told about how things are done. If projects and ideas succeed then they may be passed along and other teachers can use the same concepts to see if they work for them as well.

2. One big benefit to the PBL approach is that teachers can become more authentically connected to their students’ lives. It can help students with all different backgrounds, needs, and diversity in their learning to meet instructional goals in multiple different contexts. It is also nice that this approach is not just for one set person to use in their classroom. It can be used no matter what a teacher’s background, prior knowledge, the age of the students in the class, or even the tools that are available. It is open and welcomed by anyone and everyone to use. It turns traditional learning into something more engaging, relatable to the real world, and enjoyable for both the students and the teachers. Things that work for one classroom can easily be shared for another classroom for other teachers to see and try out for themselves. If an online project library or something similar is developed then teachers can all have one place to go to look and share ideas they want to adapt and use for their own use.

3. Through projects and technologies students can use different tools for inquiry, collaboration, and communication. This connects students not only to other learners more but also to the world beyond just the classroom itself. Students will have outcomes from the project which they can revisit at a later date, show people, and will be more likely to remember than any notes that they took while listening to a lecture. It will help them in the long run because the world is becoming so much more reliant on technology. So they will be prepared in their future careers, as the business world demands employees to know how to work as a team, access and analyze information, and think creatively to solve problems. Through project based learning they will be able to do all of those things and already have had a lot of practice with them.

4. Some issues that may need to be considered is that at first for the teacher, it can be a lot of work and a big investment. It is designed to be a lot of front-loaded work because they have to invest in the preparation and planning to set the stage for the project. The teacher first has to learn how to do what they are going to teach in order to do it, so it takes a lot of work initially the first time around, but with enough determination, dedication, and persistence it can be very beneficial and rewarding. Other things teachers have to consider are that they may have to get used to interacting with their students in a different way than what they had been used to, that their classroom may be set up differently, how students will be assessed, how they will turn in their work, and how you manage the teacher will manage the class, among other things.

5. I think that New Technology High is a really good example of why project-based learning is good. The model for this school emerged after four years of research and planning, so it was not just a quick trial to see how things went. A lot of time, thought, and effort went into it. Everything that they do and did was based off of research. I think it is good that although they are very forward in technology and have the students very involved with it, it is not the main focus. I like that it is viewed as a tool rather than the whole reason and focus of learning. I think it is really good to have an example of it and be able to see that it is working and that it has good support behind it, it is not just an idea or concept that could work, it has research behind it that it is a really beneficial way of learning in the classroom.