JOURNAL 4

The article, Designing to Learn, by Diane McGrath focuses on increased Project Based Learning (PBL) in classrooms. I am very much in favor of this type of learning, but as stated in the article it is vary hard to balance it with the other duties of the day and week. I have organized and carried out projects that required designing a project, planning it out, presenting it to an audience and turning in a final draft or artifact. These types of projects are fun for the students, but can become nightmares for teachers if they are not managed well. We as educators know that different students work at different paces, some are more dedicated to personal achievement than others, and most importantly students have different ideas or concepts regarding organization. The key to developing a successful artifact via a PBL is stated early on in the article. It is the teacher’s responsibility to be sure that he or she have the following skills and abilities, as well as, arm the students with these same tools. They are research skills, organizational skills, develop understanding and useful meaning of the artifact, ability to present it to an audience, self evaluate, receive peer evaluations, and willingness to revise.

Questions:

1. What if I do not have the confidence to successfully prepare my students and complete a Project Based Learning assignment or artifact?
As a teacher nobody is asking you to reinvent the wheel. Use your coworkers as help. They may have a PBL assignment for beginners that can introduce students taking on such projects. Taking baby steps in order to reach mastery of a skill is not a crime.

2. How often can I use PBL in my classroom?
That depends on you. If you feel that you teach more effectively and your students absorb information better using PBL assignments than use it that best suits your classroom and teaching techniques. It is important to be aware that the students are not getting too carried away with the project itself and keep in mind that there is a goal of mastering a specific subject matter and learning standard.