u02a1 - Why PBL?...Justification.

Explain the pedagogical justifications for using project-based learning.

In the last thirty years or so, there has been a shift in the focus of science education. Instead of science classrooms being a place where students memorized the periodic table and did twenty different Mendelian crosses science classrooms of today have students developing and predicting trends in the periodic table properties and investigating the genetics of different ethnic groups and how this relates to global economics. The central idea in this shift of educational thought was that if science was a more hands-on experience then student would be able to make better use of their learning experiences. Students must be active participants in the learning process and they must be encouraged to take an active role in the development of their scientific intellect, students should no longer be thought of as sponges in our classrooms. Instead students construct and reconstruct their views of the world through their own mental activity and as a result of experiences with hands-on learning experiences and through collaborations with others.

At the very heart of project-based learning (PBL) is the educational theory of constructivism. Learning in a constructivist manner means incorporating many of the skills that are in demand in today’s workplace. By allowing students to experience authentic real world problems through PBL, it forces them not only to learn facts and figures but also skills that can be transferable beyond the classroom walls. By focusing on a constructivist approach to learning, students should no longer ask “Why do I have to learn this?” or “How does this help me in real life?” PBL places learning into context so that students are involved in real-world problems and require them to use real-world skills and resources to develop strategies to solve these problems.

“Project-based learning – powered by contemporary technologies – is a strategy certain to turn traditional classrooms upside down. When students learn by engaging in real-world projects, nearly every aspect of their experience changes” (Boss & Kraus, 2008, p. 11). Students are no longer just sitting in desks listening to teachers lecture instead they are involving themselves in authentic learning experiences that are more meaningful and therefore creating long lasting learning opportunities. PBL promotes learning for understanding. “Learning for understanding requires that curriculum and instruction address three different but interrelated academic goals: helping students (1) acquire important information and skills, (2) make meaning of that content, and (3) effectively transfer their learning to new situations both within school and beyond it” (Wiggins & McTighe, 2008, ¶ 6). Learning for understanding through the use of PBL better prepares students for the future as it coaches them how to think critically, how to collaborate and how to use technology as a tool for solving problems.

It is important to remember that PBL learning in science does not just mean students involved in a hands-on activity, it must also be a minds-on activity. A PBL activity must challenge the students to find unique solutions to situations that do not already have a ready answer. PBL activities should promote the acquisition of skills at the higher levels of Bloom’s hierarchy of cognitive domain objectives – application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation (Clark & Starr, 1991). Traditionally these were skills that were only thought to be obtained by the more gifted students. However, PBL with the right supports allow all students to develop and apply these higher order thinking skills to situations both inside and outside of the classroom.
A PBL science curriculum places great emphasis on the social nature of both science and the learning process. As educators we must remind ourselves that there cannot be only one means of educating students, PBL must be used in conjunction with a variety of other instructional methods so that all students can be reached in a classroom and benefit in the learning environment. After all, the process of learning is like completing a puzzle, there are many different ways of proceeding, but a similar goal exists - for all students to attain successful completion and acquisition of knowledge and skills.



References

Boss, S. & Kraus, J. (2008). Reinventing project-based learning: Your field guide to real-world projects in the digital age. Washington, D.C.: International Society for Technology in Education.

Clark, L. H. & Starr, I. S. (1991). Secondary and middle school teaching method. New York: MacMillan Publishing.

Edutopia Staff (2001, January 11). PBL research summary: Studies validate project-based learning. Retrieved March 14, 2009 from http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-research

Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2008). Put understanding first. Educational Leadership, 65(8), 36- 41. Retrieved March 14, 2009 from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/may08/vol65/num08/Put_Understanding_First.aspx