Project Based Learning

TOMORROW BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE WHO PREPARE

FOR IT TODAY

Causes for concern why the need for

change
6 million factory jobs over the past dozen years are gone and not coming back
Routine cognitive work is outsourced
Schools were designed for an era in which 75% of people were employed in
agriculture and manufacturing
Anything that can be outsourced, automated or turned into software will be
In the 21st Century work culture, everything from the neck down is going to be
minimum wage - Thank god its Friday laborers
60% of young Australians are training for jobs that will not exist in the future

What we do know!
The evidence suggests that children:
Are born with curiosity
Are not born with the same capacities for learning the same things
Come to school with different levels of cognitive, emotional, physical and social
development due to a combination of nature and nurture
Come to school with different needs interests and abilities
Should bear the responsibility for learning
Learn best when intrinsically motivated
Are motivated when respected, encouraged and exposed to opportunities that capture
their interest and are built on previous experiences
Enjoy being recognised for their accomplishments

What's coming up Future

predictions
People will be fluent in every language
Athletes will employ robotic trainers.
Vertical farms will feed cities. There will be 9 billion people on the planet in 2050, seven out of 10 of them in
urban areas, and everyone's got to eat. Future food production will depend on farmscrapers that grow pesticidefree crops year-roundmaking it much simpler to eat local.
WITHIN 20 YEARS...
Self-driving cars will hit the mainstream market.
Battles will be waged without direct human participation (think robots or unmanned aerial vehicles).
The first fully functional brain-controlled bionic limb will arrive.
The survival skills that everyone must have are: effective communication, curiosity and critical thinking

Who would you rather be?

Project Based Learning Defined

PBL is using authentic, real world projects, based on
highly motivating and engaging questions, tasks or
problems, to teach students academic content in the
context of working cooperatively to solve the problem
and produce an artefact or presentation.

Curriculum Priorities Building

Capacity and Capability
Project Based Learning
Task Design
Higher Order Thinking Skills
Learning Dispositions
General Capabilities/Cross Curriculum Priorities
Positive Education
Numeracy/Literacy
E-Teaching and Learning

Never Give Up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5BGRCryrOU
Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this
time more intelligently Henry Ford

Research based evidence

There is strong evidence to suggest that PBL, should be the instructional approach used
in 21st Century classrooms.
Increased engagement
Higher motivation to complete personally relevant tasks
Better preparation for transition out of school
Student outcomes focused on the development of skills and motivations to willingly
engage in profitable learning
Fosters expertise in the types of technology used in the 21 st Century
Particularly effective with lower achieving students
Students take more responsibility for their own learning rather than just Watching
teachers work
http://www.edutopia.org/video/five-keys-rigorous-project-based-learning

Essential Characteristics of PBL

Anchor: Introduction and background information to set the stage and generate interest
Collaborative Teamwork: Important for making the learning experience more authentic
Driving Question: Engage interest and focus efforts
Feedback and revision: Scaffolded assistance routinely provided by either teacher or peer
evaluations
Opportunities for reflection: Should be stressed by all components of PBL
Publicly presented product: Presentation of an artefact or project results is critically important
Student Choice: Students should have some choice over how the project might be undertaken and
presented

Designing PBL Projects

A Project Anchor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fhZxGqIqEU
As student buy in is the ultimate goal, a good project anchor is crucial and should provide a compelling reason for students to want to
undertake the project.
A Driving Question
Should aim to motivate and engage the students and set parameters that guide their efforts. The driving question should also stimulate,
other, more specific questions.
Student Choice
Students are much more likely to actively participate in learning, if they have some ownership over the project. When they see they are
tackling real world problems, with real world solutions, they become even more motivated.
Collaboration and Teamwork
Knowing how to work with a group of individuals to solve problems, is one of the most important skills in 21 st century
Feedback and revision
Feedback is an essential component of PBL and as the teacher becomes more of a facilitator, there will be more time for individual and
group feedback.
Public presentation of the project
Some form of presentation is a must and publication opportunities are only limited to the teachers and students imagination

Attributes of PBL
PBL is distinguished from traditional projects by five main
attributes.
1. Research based
2. Purposeful use of technology
3. Opportunities for self and peer assessment
4. Learning from doing
5. 21st Century skill development

Preplanning questions for designing

a PBL unit
Planning a PBL unit is front loaded in terms of time
required and with the essential components of PBL in
mind, teachers can begin preplanning.
1. What standards can be covered?
2. What technology resources are available?
3. How long will preparing the instructional resources
take?
4. What other resources are available for the planned
project?
5. What is the time frame for planning?
example

How do I know it is a good project?

1. Is there a problem or a challenge being presented?
2. Is there relevance to the learners real life?
3. Are Higher Order Thinking skills required?
4. Is there potential for multiple curriculum areas to be
involved?
5. Does it cultivate skills needed in the 21st century?
6. Are there opportunities provided to use digital tools?

Advantages
Students become producers of knowledge rather than
consumers
Teachers become facilitators of learning
Students have more opportunities to engage in the
process of sorting out, comparing, organising and
critiquing ideas
Learning spaces and classroom interactions become
more dynamic rather than students receiving prepackaged knowledge from an authority, with little
choice or relevance in a sterile, non-emotional, rulebound environment

Challenges/First Steps
Depending on your comfort level, you may wish to
move into PBL in a subject area that you are
comfortable in, rather than diving into PBL projects in
every subject in every class at once.
Teachers work with a partner or mentor teacher to
undertake a project together.
Teachers serve as a facilitator, rather than an
information provider.

In a Nutshell! It is time to rethink the old system and

fundamentally reboot the education process
Nobody needs obsolete excellence
Avoid deficit thinking
Give kids problems that matter
Give them the tools to solve it
Get out of the way
Considerations for successful projects:
Relevant Interest must precede learning
HOTS connection between teaching and learning
Create active learners not passive receivers of information
1.Start with curriculum and the standard to be addressed
2.Who in the real world would encounter this
3. What would be relevant to our students lives

Embrace the challenge!

Everything will be alright in the end
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDY89LYxK0w