This section contains all the projects for the school year. It contains the relating standards, expert's contact information, needed material and planning/project forms. Click on any of the projects to the right or click on table of contents to see all the projects by standards. You can also get templates, courtesy of Buck Institute, under the Project Management Tools page and Project Planning Forms page.

Projects are the foundation to the classroom and the ultimate assessment tool for learning. Projects must be a real problem that could be faced or are being faced by people. Projects are in the form of project based learning and problem based learning models.  It is designed using the format of the Buck Institute of Education (www.bie.org). I also use How to Use Problem-Based Learning in the Classroom by Robert Delisle and Re-Inventing Project Based Learning by Jane Krauss and Suzy Boss as a reference.

To help understand Project(Problem)-Based Learning, I am posting a discussion from a book club review of Reinventing Project-Based Learning by Jane Krauss and Suzy Boss. Below is a conversation posted by Sara McPherson, the faciliator of the book club, and John Mergendoller, executive director of Buck Institute for Education.

Conversation

Sarah McPherson: There is a question regarding the diference in Problem-based Learning and Project-based Learning. According the the Samford Center for Problem-based Learning can be defined as:

Definitions

There are numerous definitions and interpretations of Problem-Based Learning. Some faculty and institutions ascribe to the original definition which is: PBL is both a curriculum and a process. The curriculum consists of carefully selected and designed problems that demand from the learner acquisition of critical knowledge, problem solving proficiency, self-directed learning strategies, and team participation skills. The process replicates the commonly used systemic approach to resolving problems or meeting challenges that are encountered in life and career (Barrows & Kelson).

Other definitions abound. A key point to designing, implementing and assessing the student outcomes achievable with PBL is to determine the definition that best fits your teaching philosophy and your institution's mission. Some of the PBL definitions generated include:

PBL is an approach to structuring the curriculum which involves confronting students with problems from practice which provides a stimulus for learning (Boud & Feletti, 1991).

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional method that challenges students to "learn to learn," working cooperatively in groups to seek solutions to real world problems. These problems are used to engage students' curiosity and initiate learning the subject matter. PBL prepares students to think critically and analytically, and to find and use appropriate learning resources (Duch,1995). Problem-based learning is a development and instructional approach built around an ill-structured problem which is mess and complex in nature; requires inquiry, information-gathering, and reflection; is changing and tentative; and has no simple, fixed, formulaic, "right" solution (Finkle & Torp, 1995). Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy that promotes active learning. PBL can be used as a framework for modules, courses, programs, or curricula (Samford, 1998).

How does this compare with the definitions of Project-based Learning?

John Mergendoller: At BIE (Buck Institute for Education), we have wrestled for years with the distinctions and similarities between Problem-based and Project-based learning, as we have created problem-based units for high school economics and government and have also written the Project Based Learning Handbook.

In our way of thinking, Project Based Learning is the more inclusive category, and Problem Based Learning is one type of Project Based Learning. (Confusing, no?)

The general definition we use for Project Based Learning is:

A systematic teaching method that engages students in learning essential knowledge and life-enhancing skills through an extended, student-influenced inquiry process that is structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks.

You can read more about the problems of defining PBL at http://www.bie.org/files/Managing_PBL_Chapter_22-2.pdf. The discussion begins on page 585.

One distinction I make as an individual (this is not BIE-speak) is that problem-based learning tends to focus more on solving problems -- student produced artifacts, exhibitions, etc. generally are less important. Thus in our problem based economics units, students play roles that require them to solve carefully constructed problems -- e.g., you are the high school student council charged with the problem of choosing restaurants for a high school food court. Which 4 restaurants do you select out of the 10 that want to establish stalls at the school? This requires students to learn about supply, demand, price, profit, etc -- it's an economics unit and can be downloaded free from the BIE site if you want more info.

I find project based learning generally emphasizes the ultimate product more than the problems that must be solved to produce those projects. And, of course, there are exceptions and complexities -- p. 585 referenced above discusses some of these. But as a general rule, I think the distinction between the pbls is one of emphasis -- problem-solving vs. product creation.

Sarah McPherson: Thank you so much for the explanation. I think I get it. Your expertise clarifies my thinking and hopefully that of others. I knew they are not interchangeable althougth related and both worthy approaches to 'performance-based learning', yet another pbl. The idea I take about from both is active learning with a great deal of higher order thinking.

John Mergendoller: Yes--active learning with a great deal of higher order thinking--that certainly is the common goal, and I believe all 3 pbls (including performance) have more in common than they are different. We settled on PROJECT based learning as the uber-category to try to simplify things, and also because a project usually takes a while (whereas a problem, although it can go on and on, often does not) to complete, and during a project teachers and students do all sorts of things -- take tests, draw maps, email, use the web, give lectures, solve problems, give presentations, make decisions--projects just sound bigger to us, big enough to include problems.

Sarah McPherson: I agree that the project-based seems more comprehensive. I had a comment earlier today from one of the participants that she works with teachers on project-based learning and they only do bits and pieces and she's frustrated that she may never see a 'project'. What advise would you have? My first thought is to look at the planning, but I also wonder if the expectations are too high. Since you mentioned the assortment of activities and the time commitment, do you think that a 'project' should be multi-faceted, intensive, and extensive to qualify as 'project-based learning'?

John Mergendoller: Doing PBL well is hard -- or at least time consuming as one learns from one's mistakes. I think with teachers new to PBL it's important to set the bar low. We are now working on a PBL Starter Kit that is modeled on the "For Dummies" series and tries to guide a teacher who is brand new to PBL to create implement and revise their first project. I, personally, would rather see a teacher try a 2-day project and feel that it is possible to then try a 5 day project than for someone to jump into a 2 week project and see it fall apart on day 5.

One of the beefs I have with PBL videos that we have made (pbl-online.org) and GLEF has made is that the projects are generally big deals. I'm sure some people look at the videos and say, "OMG, I can't do that! Where did they ever get the time to plan it." If you look at the aviation high video on PBL-online, you can see how much planning and thought went into the project AND they had a PBL coach guiding the teachers along.

One thing that we do in our PD workshops is to distinguish between "Projects" (actually, I think they say PBL) and "Activities" The activities are either "bits and pieces" or they are "bits and pieces put together" but not organized by a driving question, big idea, give no student voice/choice, etc. We describe two classrooms and then have participants use the definition of PBL to decide whether the classroom is doing PBL or activities.

Our advice is to start small. As CES famously says, "Less is more." small wins. build. Try to catch the pbl disease and develop a vision for what can be.

So, to answer your question, in the best of all possible worlds, a project goes on for weeks, incorporates many higher-order and collaborative activities, brings in the outside community, results in a public exhibition, yields a web site, etc. etc. But that either requires a masterful teacher or much practice. There are not enough readily available supports, examples, videos, conversations, guidebooks, assessments, etc. to make it easy for novice PBLers to succeed. We will try to remedy this over the next few years AND we welcome all to help. I think these discussions will definitely add to the effort, and I really like . That site will be a gold mine for all of us. (Don't be surprised if you see some of those links appearing on a redesigned BIE website (under construction as I write).