Project-Based Assessment Research Paper

Project Based Learning is a teaching method that allows students to gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. Through this approach students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Beautiful Stuff! is a book written by Cathy Weisman Topal and Lella Gandini that shares the journey of real teachers in a real school who were inspired by educators from Reggio Emilia, Italy. Cathy Topal spent two mornings a week in the preschool and kindergarten as a visual aid teacher. Lella Gandini consulted with teachers about aspects of the Reggio Emilia approach. The teachers in book Rite Harris and Debbie Grubbs observed and recorded what happens when the focus is on process rather than product in project- based learning. The book provides approaches on how to nurture the creativity of children, which is a key part in a child’s development. In my paper I will summarize the five chapters within the book, along with providing two researched based article on project based learning (PBL), and give insight into my beliefs of project work with children.

Speaking- Students will present their projects to the class and participate in a book club based on books from the text set.

In my class website, their icons are Superman and Batman. They are very big fans of these superheroes. We even got Social Norms on the board. "You don´t get what you want, you get what you work for. ¨ It is in our classroom on the wall close to the door. Success is not always about greatness, It´s about Consistent. Consistent HARD WORK gains success. Greatness will come. It is a quote. In Project Based Learning, you got to apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. And in Textbooks, you understand and remember. I like Project Based Learning more than Textbooks. All of the projects we were done were, Planter Boxes, Road Trip, Website, Newtons Cradle, Respect Skit, Pay it Forward, Footbridge Model, Government Mural, Biomes, Poetry, Native American Story, Cooking, Timeline of the United States, Flood Plan Newspaper Department well as a teacher. They both have a way of making Mountain Home Idaho a better place. On the May 19th, we will be having a big surprise party when the Mayor walks

The article “Project-Based Instruction: A Great Match for Informational Texts” by Nell K. Duke, discusses the concept of implementing project based learning and how it can markedly improve student’s education. According to Duke, project based instruction involves “working over an extended time period for a purpose beyond satisfying a school requirement” (Duke 2016). This includes doing projects in order to “build something, to create something, to respond to a question [students] have, or to solve a real problem” (Duke 2016). The article maintains the benefits of this type of instruction and includes specific examples of how it can be implemented in the school curriculum and Common Core State Standards. Duke also emphasizes how the projects should serve a real- life purpose so students can feel more engaged knowing their work will be seen by

The assessment task is due on the date specified by your assessor. Any variations to this arrangement must be approved in writing by your assessor.

“Project Approach is an in-depth investigation of a topic worth learning more about” (Morrison, 2012). A small group of children within a class, sometimes a whole class, and occasionally an individual child carry out an investigation with the purpose to search for answers to questions about a topic worth learning more about, something the children are interested in (Morrison, 2012). It benefits the children due to the fact that it makes them thinking in a higher level. Children’s enthusiasm for a specific subject convey them to ask questions, make decisions about what they are going to do keeping in mind the end goal to research and use real life experience.

I think Project Based Learning has a more positive impact on learning and understanding than traditional learning. When I was an elementary student, I always enjoyed projects more than lectures because I was never bored. When I’m being talked at in a lecture about new information the important points tend to go in one ear and out the other. I also know that I understand a concept better when I’m shown an example or when I try it out myself.

My practicum project is to develop a strategic plan for the four-year program that began in April 2016 at my practicum site. The organizations can have a chance to recognize themselves through strategic planning because it would show the goals, missions, interests, strengths, and limitations of the organizations. I will collect the information about the kindergarten I’m working for such as the history, cost, and problem as well as the four-year program such as their curriculum so that I can use the information to analyze. Understanding the current situation is the first step of the strategic planning. Therefore, I will monitor the progress of the program through the semester. If the kindergarten

"Teachers compile and summarize classroom data to integrate and distill information from different sources, contexts, and methods, reduce it to a manageable size; and keep past assessments accessible for continued analysis and interpretation" (McAfee & Leong, 2016, p. 98). Portfolios represent one common strategy for achieving these goals. Review pages 98-100 of Assessing and Guiding Young Children's Development and Learning. Explain the role portfolios play in an effective assessment system.

Throughout high school, I learned I was interested in Engineering, but I couldn’t decide which field. At the high school I attended, there was an Engineering class called Project Lead the Way. The course allowed me to experience multiple fields of Engineering. A component of the class was experiencing computer code. The teacher would decide who had strengths in computer code and in building. He would divide the class into groups based on their abilities. I was always the group member who would write code. I quickly realized, I enjoyed Computer Science and Engineering, which directed me to Computer Engineering.

This project was one that I really found intriguing. The task was to spend fifteen thousand dollars on manipulatives and materials for our classroom while building a dramatic play, science, and mathematics learning center. My group and I also incorporated literacy into all of these subjects. Spending this money was going to be harder than I thought, in a good way. I immediately figured we would need to eliminate items due to being over budget, but I soon found out we were nowhere close to our maximum. It eventually became hard to find age-appropriate items that we did not already have listed and we began to look at items for students who may have developmental delays or students who may be developing faster than their peers. Doing this

The “Five Keys” of PBL (project based learning), as shown in the video were: real world connections, core to learning, structured collaboration, student driven, and multifaceted assessments. For me, the most important keys are the: real world connections, student driven, and structured collaboration. The reason is simple, the goal of education is to ready an upcoming population into the workforce. For those with great aptitude, education provides the means to further one’s self. Everyone should strive for academic excellence, but some people lack the willpower of necessary cognitive skills to do so. This is where having an education system based on student driven learning comes into play. PBL incorporates this by having the students solving real world problems or by allowing real world project to be created. The student learns something they can see an end goal for, thusly creating their drive to carry it out. Structured collaboration allows for the students to work together while staying on track. Going back to the early comment, I said I particularly enjoyed three of the five keys. Putting them into perspective for life after school: a self driven person will achieve more, having them focus on real world task i.e. getting money or going about their job will push this self-motivation forward. The structured collaboration key comes into play here, as students learn to talk and work

Children respond in a variety of positive ways to extracurricular projects and projects that use creativity. Extracurricular projects are any projects done by the students that are outside the realm school curriculum. These projects serve the purpose of inspiring learning, growth, and knowledge to students. Projects that are organized outside of the school curriculum remove pressure from children to perform for a grade and ensure that they are working in their full realm of creativity. This is important because according to Luttrell & Parker (2001) children value creativity

For this article it is about the steps for a teacher to prepare a project they are about to give out to students they are about to do. For the first step the teacher need to identify the project and see if it will be effective to the students. If she picks any kind of project, that won’t help the student learn anything. The project must something about you are learning or about to learn. Then that’s when the teacher has to teach the lessons about the project or give them a more exciting way to learn it.

Alternative assessments may include student projects, portfolios of collected work samples, and real problem solving activities. Alternative assessment is being used a lot more today than in previous years. Although the