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Amy Smeester
I believe that my project-based learning assignment will be a valuable and vital addition
SUMMARY OF PROJECT AND PROJECT IMPACT
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to my curriculum because it will increase student motivation and engagement in the classroom.
Instead of being told what they must know, students will be able to take ownership of their
education. My students will be answering the questions, “How can we, as wildlife biologists,
create the best animal conservation techniques?” In order to help students answer this question,
they will meet with a wildlife biologist, participate in online interactive simulations about
population, observe animal interactions in a real ecosystem, conduct individual research, and
showcase their work in a science fair. Throughout this project, student engagement will increase
because they must actively seek out information and become responsible for their own learning.
There are many avenues that students can take to answer the driving question, and they have the
freedom to choose which route matters the most to them. Learning will also be enhanced because
of the active part they are taking in this assignment. They will interact more deeply with the
This year, I have 150 students who will be impacted by this project-based learning
assignment in my classroom. If this assignment goes well and is implemented in all biology
classrooms throughout the school, then in just three years that is close to 2,000 students who
have learned a new and exciting way to approach learning and to make it their own. Teachers can
take project-based learning as a way to innovate their own classroom and shift their role from a
lecturer to a facilitator of learning. By having the students participate in a public science fair at
the end of the project, the school will build community connections by allowing the public to see
the great work that our students are capable of and the resources that the school is supplying our
students with to enable them to do this work. Overall, project-based learning will have a positive