Subject: Methods and Strategies in Teaching

What is Project Based Approach?

Project Based Learning is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge

and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an

authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge. It is an instructional

approach built upon learning activities and real tasks that have brought challenges for

students to solve. PBL is generally done by groups of students working together toward

a common goal. PBL teaches students not just content, but also important skills in ways

students have to be able to function like adults in our society. These skills include

communication and presentation skills, organization and time management skills,

research and inquiry skills, self-assessment and reflection skills, group participation and

leadership skills, and critical thinking.

Performance is assessed on an individual basis, and takes into account the quality

of the product produced, the depth of content understanding demonstrated, and the

contributions made to the ongoing process of project realization. PBL allows students to

reflect upon their own ideas and opinions, and make decisions that affect project

outcomes and the learning process in general. The final product results in high quality,

authentic products and presentations. In a project-based learning approach, students

are presented with a problem or issue strongly connected to the world beyond the

classroom. In the process of exploring and engaging with the issue, students learn

content and skills because they are needed in order to solve the problem or address the

issue.
 Project-based learning connects students to their learning in ways that traditional

instruction often doesn't because they are doing work done by or for someone outside

the classroom, students see the value of their efforts. Project-based learning also

provides an opportunity for students to apply knowledge to solve a problem, think more

deeply about content, and learn to ask questions because they are necessary to solve a

problem.

Teachers who make Project Based Learning a regular part of their teaching enjoy

their new role, although for some it might take time to adjust from traditional practice.

It’s fun to get creative when designing a project, instead of just using “off the shelf”

curriculum materials. Most teachers like working collaboratively with their colleagues

when planning and implementing projects, and interacting with other adults from the

community or the wider world. PBL teachers find it rewarding to work closely alongside

students, tackling a real-world challenge or exploring a meaningful question.

When transitioning to PBL, one of the biggest hurdles for many teachers is the

need to give up some degree of control over the classroom, and trust in their students.

But even though they are more often the “guide on the side” than the “sage on the

stage,” this most certainly does not mean that teachers don’t “teach” in a PBL classroom.

Many traditional practices remain, but are reframed in the context of a project.

To help ensure students gets the main course and are engaging in quality Project

Based Learning, PBL Works promotes a research-informed model for “Gold Standard

PBL.” In Gold Standard PBL, projects are focused on students' acquiring key knowledge,

understanding, and success skills.

educators:

1. Seven Project Based Teaching Practices help teachers, schools, and

organizations improve, calibrate, and assess their practice.

2. Seven Essential Project Design Elements provide a framework for

developing high quality projects for your classroom, and

7 Teaching Practices that Lead to PBL Success:

1. Build the culture

Teachers explicitly and implicitly promote student independence and growth,

open-ended inquiry, team spirit, and attention to quality.

2. Design and plan

Teachers create or adapt a project for their context and students, and plan its

implementation from launch to culmination while allowing for some degree of

student voice and choice.

3. Align to standards

Teachers use standards to plan the project and make sure it addresses key

knowledge and understanding from subject areas to be included.

4. Manage activities
 Teachers work with students to organize tasks and schedules, set checkpoints and

deadlines, find and use resources, create products and make them public.

5. Assess student learning

Teachers use formative and summative assessments of knowledge,

understanding, and success skills, and include self and peer assessment of team

and individual work.

6. Scaffold student learning

Teachers employ a variety of lessons, tools, and instructional strategies to

support all students in reaching project goals.

7. Engage and coach

Teachers engage in learning and creating alongside students, and identify when

they need skill-building, redirection, encouragement, and celebration.

7 Essential Project Design Elements:

1. Challenging Problem or Question

The project is framed by a meaningful problem to be solved or a question to

answer, at the appropriate level of challenge.

2. Sustained Inquiry
Students engage in a rigorous, extended process of posing questions, finding

resources, and applying information.

3. Authenticity

The project involves real-world context, tasks and tools, quality standards, or

impact, or the project speaks to personal concerns, interests, and issues in the

students’ lives.

4. Student Voice & Choice

Students make some decisions about the project, including how they work and

what they create, and express their own ideas in their own voice.

5. Reflection

Students and teachers reflect on the learning, the effectiveness of their inquiry

and project activities, the quality of student work, and obstacles that arise and

strategies for overcoming them.

6. Critique & Revision

Students give, receive, and apply feedback to improve their process and products.

7. Public Product

Students make their project work public by sharing it with and explaining or

presenting it to people beyond the classroom.

The Project Based Approach enables students to learn while engaging actively

with meaningful problems. Students are given the opportunities to solve the problem

collaboratively, create mental models for learning, and form self-directed learning

habits through practice and reflection. The seven Project-Based Teaching Practices and

the Essential Project Design Elements are effective ways to make a Project-Based

Approach successful and meaningful for both students and teachers. It will serve as a

basis to determine if the teaching approach was applied and done correctly. Project-

based learning not only provides opportunities for students to collaborate or drive their

learning, but it also teaches them skills such as problem-solving and helps to develop

additional skills integral to their future, such as critical thinking and time management.

With this, students will be knowledgeable and be a better part of society. Teachers can

also determine student's ability by how they perform in a given project, and it will be

easier for a teacher to track the progress of every student. Lastly, this will also allow

both teachers and students to be known if the given project was successfully introduced

to the public.
Reference:

https://www.fsmilitary.org/pdf/Project_Based_Learning.pdf

https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl

https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl/gold-standard-teaching-practices