Hello everyone, this is Aya again and I am making a blog post about Project Based Learning.
As a novice educator, I have been doing research on new materials including formative and summative assessments as well as PBL.
What is PBL?
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." (2019)
https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl
Note that PBL is not a set of “project” in the traditional sense, but is an opportunity for students to collaboration as they investigate a problem, propose a solution, and present their findings.
As my instructor says, "Any project that is already designed for them in terms of the tasks and final product is not authentically PBL because it misses the most important element: student control and experimentation. "
That being said, PBL is a completely different form of learning, and that its main purpose is to help students help themselves to learn and understand.
Here, I would like to provide a sample of a PBL lesson plan.
In every PBL, they must include...
Driving questions:
How do you define being “mean to someone”?
What are some vocabulary words that describe bullying?
What are some types of bullying?
How would you differentiate “joking” and “bullying”, and what are the boundaries?
(aka. What is “funny” and “not funny”)
What are the effects of bullying, and what should we do to stop it?
(For mature learners: How do you talk about a person humorously without being harmful? )
Step 1:
The hook: Have them watch a video clip from a movie:
Suggested discussion questions:
1)What was the main culprit of the problem?
2)How did the “book” create problems?
3)How do you think Regina and Cady felt when Janise confessed her plans and mistakes? 4)Why was everyone cheering for Janise?
2) If students still seem to have trouble understanding the concept of the issue, I would provide them a Worksheet activity as a quick warmup:
Next, students will, in groups, fill in a worksheet which would help them further brainstorm why bullying occurs and what to do in order to prevent them.
The best way to reflect and elicit student’s responses would be to have them speak in pairs, or in groups. Later, the teacher will ask them to present their findings among their groups.
The worksheets can be derived from:
http://www.thenedshow.com/assets/a4-bullying-prevention-activity.pdf
Next, I will have them, in groups, brainstorm the driving questions mentioned previously.
Step 2:
Implementation:
After brainstorming ideas, they will present their work that would answer the question, “What is bullying, and how is it different from joking?”. In groups, students will differentiate “joshing” and “bullying”, by making a youtube video, a powerpoint presentation, or any other format they wish to present.
Students will be expected to fulfill the requirements by answering all the driving questions.
21st Century skills students will display:
Collaboration: brainstorming definitions and perspectives on bullying and joshing.
Communication: discuss with the teacher and classmates.
Critical thinking: think about why and how bullying occurs
Creativity: thinking of ways to present the issue by showing the differences between joking and bullying are and what we should do to stop it. Creating a slogan.
Any comments? Suggestions?