Chapter one is all about project based learning and how it originated. It was started by teachers who could look back at what they learned in school and realized they didn't remember ever doing one project in their school career. They remembered tests but nothing that they could recall in their brains that they remembered specifically learning in school. They decided that they needed to teach students the subjects necessary but without being dependent on text books. They came up with learning through experience and doing projects that helped the students learn by solving their own problems and overcoming obstacles. This took all of the focus off the teachers and the children ended up with more responsibility in the classroom.
I think this extra responsibility is important for students to experience. This is preparing them for life after school. There won't always be someone to guide everyone through life. Project based learning is helping those students become prepared to problem solve through situations when they don't have someone there to help them every step of the way. I wish that my teachers would have used this type of teaching. PBL would have been more interesting than sitting through my boring classes struggling to stay awake and having to read from 4 inch thick Biology books in high school full of words I didn't understand. I am a hands on learner and PBL would have been perfect for me in order to understand a lot of things I had to memorize in school. I don't remember a lot of things I memorized because once the test was over, I didn't have to know the material anymore. I would say a lot of students do this with information that they learn in school, but if there was something unique that they could remember doing in school then they would be able to keep that information in their brains the rest of their lives.
I agree that PBL would be difficult to use in a classroom if the rest of the school was not on board as well. I feel that the students may get irritated at the teacher using PBL because it is so much work and not a lot of people like to work in groups. This would be a big obstacle to overcome and have the students cooperate with the teachers requests. I like the fact that there are schools that are completely run using PBL and all of the teachers are cooperating with one another. The fact that all the teachers share their ideas with each other is nice and they are all on a database that can be accessed at any time in order to use, reuse or change to their individual liking.
Overall I think PBL is something that is important for teachers to start using across the board in order to help students learn more meaningful information and continue to retain the information well after test day!
I too am a hands on learner, and it is hard to grasp what the book, or even the teacher, is saying when it has no "life" to it. I really like PBL because it is so hands on, that you have to truly understand the subject in order to interact with it. When students use PBL, they focus on and must incorporate real life application skills. Just like you said, it is very important for teachers everywhere to start using PBL so students can get more from class time.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it would be hard to do PBL if the rest of the school wasnt on board. Having the support from other teachers and the principal is important. It would be a learning experience for the the teachers and the students. This is a new idea to most students as well, so they need to get used to managing their time and discovering answers to their own questions. Teachers will need to be very patient at first. I think it would be neat to work in a school that is PBL focused.
ReplyDeleteI like how you discussed the fact that some students do not like to work in groups. Although this may be true I like how PBL pushes and encourages children to learn how to work well with each other. Teaching students to work in groups is one of the prime examples that PBL focuses on and I agree with it 100 percent.
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