Project-Based Learning Final Reflection

Prior to this course, I had a fairly vague idea of what constitutes project-based learning.  I knew it was an approach that relied on long-term, in-depth projects as the focus of the unit and entered this course looking forward to learning how to ensure a project effectively addresses content standards and strategies to scaffold projects for students who have little experience working independently.

This course addressed several key points I would not have previously considered.  For example, the approach I’ve taken with projects before is to start with the content standards, then select a project which will address those standards.  I would have skipped the driving questions, a feature crucial to a good PBL unit.  By focusing on the driving question before the product students will produce, it is possible to design PBL units that are much broader with wide variation in the student products.

My most significant takeaway from this course, however, is the importance of authenticity in a PBL unit.  Like many teachers, most of my assessments are written tests which, no matter how carefully the questions are selected or written, never truly replicate the way the content is used or applied in the real world.  A PBL unit should be placed in a real-world context, allowing students to address problems that interest them or affect their community.  Students should also be given the opportunity to follow processes and produce products modeled on relevant fields.

The part of PBL that has me the most nervous at this point is classroom management.  My students have limited experience with deciding how to use their time in class, and it shows when I use inquiry activities or short-term projects.  With this in mind, I planned specific tasks students should have completed at the end of each class period since I expect my students to be more successful with a series of discrete, small goals than a large goal at the end.  Even so, my students will have significantly more time in their groups and significantly less direction than they are used to and I will need to find strategies to ensure they are making progress on the project.  I expect there is a limit to how much I can learn about classroom management in PBL until I implement a unit and face those challenges first-hand.

This year, I’ll be implementing and refining the PBL unit I developed for this course.  In the 9th grade physical science course I teach, my district has directed us to create more meaningful STEM integration and, in particular, would like to see at in-depth engineering design challenge in each term this year.  PBL very effectively builds on the principles of good engineering instruction, so I will be using strategies from this course to ensure my students get as much out of the engineering design challenge as possible.  In the future, as my district would like us to increase the number of engineering challenges in the course, so I plan to revisit what I’ve learned about PBL when it comes time to develop a second (or even third) design challenge.  I also plan to examine other projects and lessons I do, such as a presentation on the advantages and disadvantages of different energy sources, to find ways I can make improvements using the principles of PBL.  This should result in my course becoming more rigorous and my students becoming more engaged.

Theoretical Foundations of Educational Technology: Final Reflection

1. What were the most important things I learned this semester?

            The coursework I completed to obtain my teaching license included only a brief overview of educational theory.  As a result, I’ve heard terms such as constructivism, cognitive development theory, and behaviorism, but had no more than a superficial understanding of the terms.  While this course hasn’t turned me into an expert in theories of education, I now have a much clearer understanding of those terms.  This has helped me to see the purpose behind instructional approaches I’ve seen or used without knowing where it comes from or why it works.

2. How was my teaching impacted by what I learned or experienced this semester?

            Two major themes will stick with me moving forward.  First, I spent a lot of time this semester focused on constructivism, particularly discovery learning.  The approaches associated with these theories are frequently used in science and examining the theory behind these approaches has reinforced by commitment to constructivism.

3. Will I use the projects, skills, or ideas from this course in my teaching?  If so, how?

            A recurring theme in the research on discovery learning is what effective scaffolds look like.  While I’ve made some progress through trial and error, my reading this semester has helped me to understand the particular challenges students face, as well as some of the ways they can be addressed.  This understanding will also provide me a lens through which to evaluate the technology I bring into my classroom.  A clearer knowledge of what scaffolds students need to be successful in a constructivist environment, as well as a clearer understanding of what a constructivist environment looks like, will allow me to select and implement technology effectively.

4. Select three projects.  How do these projects demonstrate my mastery of the AECT standards?

            The three most significant products in this course were the learning theories overview paper, the annotated bibliography, and the synthesis paper, which all address similar AECT standards.

            First, these assignments addressed instructional systems design (1.1) in that I developed a background in different learning theories, which is required to identify the underlying theory in an instructional model and address the implications, one of the performances indicated by the AECT.  In the learning theories paper in particular, I had to identify a particular instructional model which fit with the theory I selected.

            In addition to standard 1.1, the annotated bibliography and synthesis paper also addressed computer-based technologies (2.3) and integrated technologies (2.4).   The descriptions of these two standards repeatedly mention selecting appropriate and effective technologies.  These two assignments bridged the gap between a theory of learning and technology in the classroom.  By explicitly connecting theory to technology, I am now better equipped to determine what will constitute effective and appropriate technologies for my classroom.

After the Project

If you want to improve in some domain and grow your skills, it is critical to take time to reflect after you've attempted something significant.  Project-based learning is no different.  After a project, students, teachers, and other stakeholders need opportunities to debrief and reflect on what has been learned and accomplished.  As part of planning my own PBL unit, I've spent some time considering what will happen after the unit to make sure the learning, for everyone involved, continues.

Through some contacts in my district, I'm working on arrangements for a working engineer to attend the final presentations students will deliver.  I'm hoping that once the presentations are complete, the engineer will be willing to take some time to share with my students their perspective on how the project compares or contrasts with the actual work of an engineer.  With luck, they'll even be brave enough to field some questions from my students.  I've attempted to model the project on the process a professional engineer will follow and have made frequent references to that when I've done less rigorous design challenges in the past, but my voice carries limited weight.  It will make a much more significant impression if someone actually working in the field delivers that message.

I also want students to reflect a bit on their own contributions and learning during the project.  For each unit, I provide students with a list of the learning targets that includes space for them to self-assess their understanding, both at the beginning and the end of a unit.  After the final presentations are complete, students can revisit their learning target checklist to complete the after ratings and see the improvements they have made.

I also have a goal this year to start each term with a discussion of what makes a good lab group member.  My intention is to use the results of the discussion to create a rubric for collaboration that my students and I can periodically revisit.  Right after a PBL unit seems like a perfect time to use such a rubric.  I plan to have students evaluate themselves, and each of their group members after the final presentations.

Finally, I need to consider how I will gather the data I need to continue refining the unit.  I'll be keeping notes of my observations during the project as a reference for myself.  I also developed a survey I 'll have my students complete in order to give me some feedback.   These should provide me with some good information for me to reflect on the project and determine what revisions need to happen.

My involvement with the EngrTEAMS project will give me some additional sources of data, at least during this first year of the project.  The researchers involved have developed a pre- and post-surveys designed to examine student attitudes and understandings of the engineering process.  I'll have access to my students' results, which should help me identify areas for improvement.  In addition, one of the researchers involved in the project has been working with me as an instructional coach.  As part of that, she will be observing my classroom during the project and will meet with me to support my reflection.

One of the powerful aspects of PBL is that the learning doesn't stop when the project does.  If done right, the endpoint of the project will provide a point for the students and teacher alike to reflect on their learning and identify areas for future growth.

Why Read Research?

This week, I worked on writing my synthesis paper, in which we need to connect some aspect of education theory to educational technology.  I decided to expand on my annotated bibliography  on computer simulations and discovery learning.  Writing the paper required me to spend a lot of time going back to the articles I'd located and skimmed before to re-read them much more deeply, which lead me to seek out additional articles to read in-depth and resulted in even more time spent digesting dense, dry text.  All of this time pouring over articles from the campus library and Google Scholar leads to the question, why should teachers care about reading research?

Practicing teachers may not be the intended audience of most journal articles, but we are the ones who eventually implement the results of the research.  All too often, an administrator will decide on some new initiative, maybe even bring in a guru to promote it, and tell teachers "All the research supports it!"  Teachers, perhaps with some grumbling along the way, go along with it, accepting the version which has been filtered through numerous sources since the initial research and not entirely sure of what results to expect.

By going back to the peer-reviewed articles that eventually lead to the initiative, it is possible to gain a much clearer understanding of it.  The research lets you know what the originators were trying to accomplish and why its necessary.  With this understanding, teachers can identify what are really the key features of the initiative to more effectively adapt it to their classroom.  The research gives an idea of what kind of results others achieved with the initiative, which can guide the goals a building sets.  The research is how you find out if the administrator is actually right when they say all the research supports it, or if there's more to the story and there are pitfalls you should be wary of.

Over the years, I've made use of discovery learning, tweaking my approach based on my classroom observations as I go.  By reading what the experts have to say about discovery learning, I've begun to refine and improve my discovery lessons.  When managing a classroom and dealing with the grind of the school year, it isn't always possible to make in-depth observations and thoughtful reflections, limiting how well I'm able to identify the issues in the way I approach discovery learning.  An examination of the research however, has helped me see why certain portions are difficult for my students, which means I can now take specific steps to address those issues.

The reading I did on computer simulations can also inform my classroom practice.  Even if I never design my own simulations, I still make choices about how and when to use simulations, along with which ones to use and how to structure activities around them.  Reading the articles I did gave me insight into what it is that makes some simulations so much more effective than others, which will in turn guide my future decisions about using simulations.  In addition, even when a simulation lacks features which the research has shown are effective, there may be ways I can provide similar tools to my students.  I read about several that provide simple text reminders of what makes for good experimental design, and there's no reason I can't provide something like that to my students.

Most peer-reviewed journal articles are not targeted at the practicing classroom teacher, but they are still a valuable tool.  Spending time pouring over articles has given me insights that will improve my teaching next fall.  The ideas I got from reading educational research may not be as quick or easy to implement as a neat lab from a publication like The Science Teacher, but they have the potential for a lasting impact on my practice.

The Teacher's Role in Project-Based Learning

In most school settings, teachers are viewed as dispensers of knowledge, there to pass our content expertise on to the next generation.  Project-based learning, however, requires something very different from teachers.  As students explore and discover on their own, the teacher's role becomes that of facilitator, there to use our content expertise to keep students headed in the right general direction.

I use a lot of inquiry activities in my curriculum and, with time, have gotten better at stepping back to gently guide, rather than firmly lead, my students in the desired direction.  Most of these activities last only a day or two and students explore a small topic within fairly well-defined parameters.  My PBL unit, by contrast, will likely take around three weeks with students exploring some very big ideas in a much broader way than a stand-alone inquiry lab allows.  My skills in leading inquiry will not only be utilized, but challenged and developed as I learn to take on that role when it comes to the big picture, not just the daily learning target.

There are two key skills I've used when teaching inquiry lessons that will be very useful when I try PBL.  First, I've gotten better at asking the right questions.  The right question can get students to put the pieces together, get a group unstuck, or push a student to a deeper understanding, all without the teacher actually providing any information.  A good question from the teacher helps students see alternative ways to think about a problem without actually telling them what to do.  The skill of asking students just the right question is critical in any form of inquiry, including PBL.

Second, I've had to learn to keep my hands off (both literally and metaphorically).  Every teacher knows the moments when a student just can't seem to reach the big idea behind an activity or when a kid simply doesn't get how to perform some task, whether on paper or with equipment in the lab.  At those times, it can seem irresistible to write something for the student, manipulate the equipment for them, or just give them the answer.  But any of these actions will reduce the student's sense of ownership over their work and take responsibility for learning away from the student.  Part of the point of using PBL is to give students ownership and responsibility for their learning, so teachers must be especially careful to avoid diluting that sense. 

To make it possible to keep your hands in your pockets, you need to make sure students have the skills to be successful.  This means a lot of scaffolding.  My physical science students have had very limited exposure to PBL and other open-ended, inquiry-based instructional methods, meaning the challenge can seem overwhelming at first glance.  Currently, I provide significant scaffolding for the inquiry labs early in the term, and gradually remove supports as students become more skilled.  I plan to take a similar approach with my PBL unit.  The first days of the project are relatively structured, but as the project progresses, students have more flexibility in how they approach a given stage.  I've also decided to include daily tasks to ensure that groups stay on pace to complete the project in the allotted time.  I will need to be on alert for any struggles that many groups are facing so I can provide brief instruction or additional scaffolding as needed.  I also should be prepared for groups to go in a direction I did not expect, which may require me to remove some planned scaffolding or adjust my daily checkpoints to accommodate.

Teaching in a PBL or other inquiry environment is a very different challenge than the classic sage on the stage, but the benefits to students make it well worth trying a new approach.  I can't wait to get out of my students' way and let their curiosity and creativity drive the classroom.

Scaffolding in Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning calls for students to work independently on high-level tasks.  The trick is this requires a variety of skills, including organization, reflection, self-assessment, communication, and collaboration to name just a few and most students, including the top ones, have a limited capacity with these skills.  If the instructor simply defines the final product and turns students loose to work on it, the result will most likely be a disaster.  As a result, a thoughtful teacher will provide scaffolding, giving students the support they need to reach the goals of the project.  Jamie McKenzie sets out eight characteristics of scaffolding, each of which I've tried to integrate into my PBL unit.

1. Scaffolding provides clear directions

Directions are the road maps that let students know exactly what is expected of them.  Since my project asks students to apply a version of the engineering design process, I plan to make that process explicit to students by sharing a diagram of the process with them as part of the entry event.  Throughout the project, the engineering design process can then be revisited to remind students of where they are at and where they are going.

For individual lessons within the unit, I've tried to vary the level of directions provided.  For some lessons, such as the Newton's 2nd Law Lab, I created detailed step-by-step directions that allow students to focus their attention on the analysis required and the potential application of what they are learning.  For other days, such as the days spent building or testing a product, I've identified what each group and each individual should have by the end of the class period, but have left it open how that product will be produced.

2. Scaffolding clarifies purpose

Students do best when they know the reason behind a task.  The entry event for the unit is an attempt to provide a real-world context for the project at the center of the unit.  Each activity is then designed to support students in completing the project.  In addition, each lesson has a learning target which will be presented to students to ensure they know what they should be getting from each lesson.

3. Scaffolding keeps students on task

People of all ages are naturally curious and can easily go off on a tangent when something is interesting.  In order to complete the project, students need a balance between room to explore and clear checkpoints to keep them from wandering too far off.  In my project, I've set a task for teams to complete each day.  By setting a clear objective for the day, students know what they should be working on, but have room for inquiry and creativity within the task.

4. Scaffolding offers assessment to clarify expectations

Assessments are not just for the instructor; a good assessment will also allow students to track their progress.  For two of the key products, an oral presentation and a team journal, I've created rubrics which will be used to assess the work.  These rubrics will be provided to students as they start these products to ensure they are aware of the criteria. 

5. Scaffolding points students to worthy sources

The Internet is an incredible repository of information, but not all of it is worthwhile or credible.  For students learning how to perform effective research, a few good resources provided by the instructor can serve as a starting point for the research.  Since my project includes minimal research in the traditional sense, this type of scaffolding still needs to be fleshed out in my project.  I plan to include a day for students to explore technologies currently used to reduce impact forces and to consider how these might be adapted to their own designs.  I can provide sources to students using a class website and Diigo, a social bookmarking tool.  One of the advantages of Diigo is students can add worthwhile sources they've found, providing their peers with a larger library of sources in the process.

6. Scaffolding reduces uncertainly, surprise, and disappointment

In order for a lesson to be effective, it should be tested as thoroughly as possible before students complete the lesson.  Even after this testing, lessons should continue to be revised and refined based on feedback and observations of the implementation.  This summer, I've been working on a version of this project as part of a professional development opportunity.  My writing partner and I have been testing many of the details of the engineering challenge used as a centerpiece of this unit in order to ensure all aspects work as predicted.  In August, we will be piloting portions of this unit with students in a STEM camp and using our observations to further refine the lessons and materials.  While I expect to further refine the unit each time I implement it in the classroom, significant testing of key lessons will inform even my first implementation.

7. Scaffolding delivers efficiency

Every action students take during a PBL unit should contribute to completing the project.  The use of the engineering design process as a framework for the unit will help students to focus on the path they are following to reach the ultimate goal.  In addition, the daily tasks assigned to students during the project will ensure that students know how to remain focused and efficient as they progress through the project.

8. Scaffolding creates momentum

As students progress through the project, their confidence and excitement for the material should build.  This form of scaffolding is less concrete than the others, but I have designed the unit to begin with relatively simple tasks which build to more complex.  Students will also move from presenting informally ideas to just a few peers to presenting to the entire class and a guest engineer able to provide real-world expertise in evaluating student products.  In other words, as students get closer to the end of the project, the stakes get higher.  At the same time, as students practice the skills which will be required at the end, they should find they are able to conquer the more complex tasks with confidence, in spite of a larger audience.

Supporting Discovery Learning

Armed with a bit of background on theories of learning, I decided to explore how discovery learning, and especially its criticisms, have influenced the design of simulations.  I selected simulations because they are the technology most closely associated with discovery learning.  A lot of teachers use a wide variety of technology, such as probeware and data analysis software, in discovery learning, but much of this technology can just as easily be used for "cookbook" applications in which students are asked to verify information already provided by the teacher or complete an experiment designed by the teacher or a publishing company.  When a simulation is used, it is almost always to have students try and discover the underlying model.

There are a number of scaffolding options that researchers have demonstrated can be effective in supporting discovery learning in simulations.  I found numerous examples of assistance for what could be considered the planning phase of discovery, in which students develop a hypothesis and plan an experiment.  Simple reminders of what makes a good hypothesis or things to keep in mind when planning an experiment can have a significant effect on student learning.  The other scaffolding I saw many examples of was a knowledge base.  In discovery learning, students must build on their prior knowledge in order to develop their own version of the model in the simulation.  Many of the simulations provided a built-in knowledge base which could provide that background when it was needed.  Again, this simple feature resulted in significantly more student learning than the pure discovery condition.  As I select simulations to use in my classroom, these kinds of features will be important to look for.

Many simulations, however, leave out scaffolding in an effort to be as flexible as possible.  This does not mean that my students would not benefit from these sorts of tools.  I could provide similar scaffolding to my students by posing information on a course website to be viewed during a simulation or by leading a class discussion to remind students of key points prior to them working on a simulation.  Many simulations can also be embedded in a webpage, which would allow me to provide supports in the same place where students will access the simulation.  Regardless of the method, the benefits of providing these kinds of scaffolds is clear.

Assessment in Project-Based Learning

This week, I began planning the key assessments for my PBL unit.  One of the most exciting, as well as most challenging, aspects of PBL is the opportunity for an authentic, in-depth assessments.  The organization What Kids Can Do has identified four key principles for assessment that provided an excellent guide for developing my own assessments.

Assessment is for Students

An assessment shouldn't just be for the teacher to determine what students know.  It should be relevant to students, as well as provide a sense of ownership over the learning process and an opportunity to develop confidence in articulating the new knowledge.  In this project, students will be designing, building, and testing a cargo container which can keep an egg intact and contained in a head-on collision.  This project will be connected to real world applications, such as the safety features in cars, to provide a context for the task.  Students will also have multiple opportunities to develop and document their own ideas for use in the product as well as to practice justifying their ideas using the science content.  Through the use of a journal on Google Drive which can be shared with the teacher, as well as informal oral interactions throughout the project, I will be able to provide feedback to students to help them develop their skills and confidence in communicating the connection between Newton's Laws and their design decisions.  In addition to developing their own design ideas, students will have opportunities to plan their own tests on materials or prototypes as well as determine their own design process within certain limits.

Assessment is Faithful to the Work Students Actually Do

In order to represent what students are doing, assessment should include the process students are following, not just the final product they produce.  As part of this, students should have opportunities to reflect on and discuss their work as the project progresses.  In order to meet this element, I've included both an individual and a team journal as formative assessments.  Throughout the project, students will be presented with prompts to reflect individually on various aspects of the content and the process.  Entries in the team journal will be produced through discussion within the group.

Assessment is Public

In order for the assessment to be public, students should have input in developing assessment tools, the criteria should be accessible to students throughout the project, and the performances should be viewed by a broad group of people.  In this project, students will be designing and building a cargo container to protect an egg in a collision.  As part of the entry even for the project, students can help to set the criteria for what is considered a successful design.  These criteria will then be available on a class website throughout the project.

As a summative assessment, each group will deliver an oral presentation summarizing their design process and evaluating the performance of their final product.  While I will develop the rubric for assessing these presentations, I will review it with students at the start of the project and make sure a copy is available on a class website so students will have a clear idea of what is expected of them.  These presentations will not only be done in front of the rest of the class, but an engineer from a nearby company will be invited to give the students feedback to ensure several perspectives.

Assessment Promotes Ongoing Self-Reflection and Critical Inquiry

Students and teachers alike should be able to communicate what a quality product looks like, as well as how students can get there, and the expectations for a quality product should reflect what professionals in the field would produce.  By establishing clear criteria for each of the major assessments in the project and discussing those criteria with students, each of us should develop a clear idea of what students should be striving for.  In time, I also intend to build a library of exemplars of student work which can add further depth to these discussions.  The products, in particular the oral presentation and journals, are based on what professional engineers produce as part of their jobs in order to give students a simulated taste of what an engineer does.