Project Based Instruction : A Great Match For Informational Texts By Nell K. Duke Essay

ACTE’s journal “CTE’s Role in Adolescent Literacy”, explains the best way to involve students in their learning is to teach the students something in which they are interested. Many high school students do not get excited about going to their math or English class; CTE courses are there to enhance student learning. While reading and writing has become more common in CTE classrooms, math is also becoming more common. Multiple career paths in CTE require math skills like health science, finance, accounting, nutrition, personal finance, agriculture to only name a few. A common instructional strategy used in CTE is project-based learning which incorporates multiple core subject areas (Brand, Browning, Valent, 2013).

As a Middle School Coordinator at Roxby Downs Area School (RDAS) I have focused my research on creating an effective implementation plan to support RDAS with a pedagogical approach to project based learning (PBL) in the middle school years. This approach aims to better support students in their senior schooling. As the senior school currently aim to promote an adult learning environment which will incorporate project days, I have focused my direction on preparing students for this environment that will also assist in the development of 21st century learning. The implementation plan details the actions necessary to support the school in implementing and sustaining a PBL approach which serves as one of the key instructional methodologies to support the targeted middle school priorities identified in the school

(1) The article “Project-Based Instruction: A Great Match for Informational Texts” by Nell K. Duke, discusses the idea of implementing project based learning and how it can greatly 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”. This includes doing projects in order to “build something, to create something, to respond to a question [students] have, to solve a real problem, or to address a real need” (Duke 1). The article talks about the benefits of this type of instruction and specific examples of how it can be implemented in the school curriculum and Common Core State Standards. Duke also emphasizes how the projects that are implemented should serve a real- life purpose so that students feel more engaged knowing their work will be seen by others outside the classroom and can even help solve a real-life

This will allow for feedback to be obtained by the teachers on how project-based learning and as well as obstacles teachers faced in the implementation of project-based learning. This serves two purposes, one to find out in which sites project-based learning was implemented and to what extent and secondly what factors were obstacles so they can be addressed.

Educators are often required to impart a large amount of information to students in limited timeframes which may be conducive to higher test scores in the immediate present, but doesn’t necessarily transition to long term internalization of the material. Additionally, the need to teach for specific subject matter relevant to standardized tests oftentimes does not allow for a comprehensive and well-rounded exposure to a myriad of other subjects or activities, and does not support creative or individual expression.

Eighth Grade Project was what our school was known for. Eighth graders were given the better part of a year to decide on a topic for their project, get into groups of their choosing (or stay alone), and prepare. The actual project was first to write a 4 page essay to demonstrate our knowledge about our topic. Then, for 2 hours each day for a week, we were to teach kindergarteners all the way up to 6th graders about our topic. We had to come up with our own lesson plans and activities, and the actual teachers were not allowed to help us teach. Throughout the week different teachers would evaluate us as we taught, and our final grade was determined by averaging the grades all the teachers gave us. The stakes were high for this project because not only was this fifty percent of our grade, if we failed to do it, we wouldn 't be able to go on the end of the year trip to Great America.

Project Based Learning is a way of teaching without textbooks and homework. It is all based on projects. You have to learn how to collaborate with other people, interacting with people in your community, be responsible, be respectful, and even more life skills. It still teaches the academics we need, too. It is an amazing style of learning for all ages.

When I create a project, I use standards and set objectives, goals, and benchmarks with specific quantifiable results using a rubric. Students must demonstrate their skills and perform activities to their ability (within a range on the rubric). However, I leave room students to adapt the project so that they have some element of investment and accountability that is uniquely theirs. Students are required to reflect on the results and their own learning experience that push them toward being a better learner, and at times a productive citizen in their

In this article the focus is on providing an environment where students can collaborate and solve real world problems. In the article they discuss how students should interact when solving real world problems. The focus is clearly on the tools needed to ensure that project based learning is successful in schools. This article is relevant to my topic as it give

To conclude, despite the challenges project approach face, it is a great way to develop in-depth thinking while engaging the heart and minds of young children. Project work offers a wide variety of opportunities for young children’s ideas to be appreciated, their creativity to be encouraged, their interests to be fostered, and for their learning needs to be met in order to develop a life-long love of learning and understand the interconnected relationship of all things. These are the unique characteristics of project

How many times have you dreaded when the teacher assigns you a project-based assessment, especially when it is a large portion of your grade? It is just a useless activity, no learning involved, right? Although these assignments can be stressful burdens, they can be learning opportunities, too. They can also express one's unique creativity and help participation grades. Most of all, however, project-based assessments can provoke learning.

One flaw of the american public school system is that it does not actually teach learning the material, rather memory for a test. Topics and lessons

Bloom’s Taxonomy was developed in 1956 to establish a framework that organizes instructional objectives (Blooms 1956). This framework consists of six categories, including knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Traditional cognitive learning, in which the instructors focus on using tests to access the lower levels of the taxonomy, has been shown to be a less favorable teaching method (McCarthy and Anderson 2000). Conversely, research by Garavalia et al. (1999) indicated that knowledge is better retained when students handle the subject at the higher level of the taxonomy.

A well designed project begins with what students must learn, and the learning targets are delineated in the content standards of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Students develop conceptual understanding of key knowledge and learn how to apply them to real world situations, to solve problems, answer complex questions and create high quality products. In the process of acquiring knowledge and learning how to apply them, students develop critical thinking skills, learn to work well with others, and become effective self–managers (BIE, 2015).

For students to receive a more effective and meaningful academic experience, a diverse pedagogical methodology for enhanced and relevant learning is required. Various strategies are available to engage adolescent students toward a more fruitful learning experience. The jigsaw method, a cooperative learning device, is a project-based exercise whereby students assume specific roles for content mastery and conduct tasks with an interdependence on one another for deeper learning on multiple aspects of a subject toward better comprehension and fully reaching the intended objectives. This strategy is useful in putting students in an active role while investigating subject matter. It is also a chance for teachers to allow students to discover and find options to fit their own learning styles and presentational preferences. Not all teachers prefer this method nor find it most applicable to their discipline, however. Students often may find that evaluation based on peer project completion is not representative of their personal abilities. Applied appropriately and accordingly, the jigsaw method has the potential to create interdisciplinary relevance of the topic, widen a student’s breadth of subject analysis, and change their classroom outlook from dread to enthusiasm.