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

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.

A project according to Capella University is the Capstone project. The project for the Doctor of Education degree was developed to reflect the longstanding vision and mission of the university to be a leader in helping higher education remain relevant, responsive, and rewarding. The project is required for all new learners, recommended for those currently enrolled in the 8300 series of education courses, and optional for all others. The project enables learners to demonstrate scholarship within a specialization through systematic inquiry that may or may not apply the scientific method for the purpose of conducting a research study to find solutions to problems encountered in practice.

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).

This project was quite expeditious due to the number of alternate subjects studied within the constraints of school. This made it quite difficult to complete because time limits were evident and tested. This could have had a substantial impact on the project itself, however, it did not because of skill and precision. Working individually could be beneficial in certain circumstances if one is smart, advantages might include independence and personal idea. Although, it was not easy coming up with good ideas and multi-tasking in different areas individually. In addition, working in a class group was helpful due to the amount of

in-class teaching strategies that aim to build on individual strengths and interests, such as through project-based learning

In today’s classroom, it is common to see a teacher monotonously lecturing for the entirety of the class—only stopping to mention when something will be on a test and to list the long homework assignments due at the beginning of class the next day. With so much pressure placed upon teacher’s shoulders to teach the material on the test, very few interactive projects take place—making it easier for students to forget what they have learned. “As students put projects together, create crafts, or use familiar materials in new ways, they 're constructing meaning” (Cleaver). If the Common Core program were to revise its standards and create a more interactive classroom, students would benefit immensely and learn more than the provided test material. It is pointless for a student to go to school to learn, if they will eventually forget everything they were taught after completing the test.

In today’s classroom, it is common to see a teacher monotonously lecturing for the entirety of the class—only stopping to mention when something will be on a test and to list the long homework assignments due at the beginning of class the next day. With so much pressure placed upon teacher’s shoulders to teach the material on the test, very few interactive projects take place—making it easier for students to forget what they have learned. “As students put projects together, create crafts, or use familiar materials in new ways, they 're constructing meaning” (Cleaver). If the Common Core program were to revise its standards and create a more interactive classroom, students would benefit immensely and learn more than the provided test material. It is pointless for a student to go to school to learn, if they will soon forget everything they have been taught once completing the test.

Teachers now give out projects to help us learn better. They also try and relate things to real life examples and make topics interesting. John Dewey played a part in this.

Learning by definition is any relatively permanent change in behavior that is brought on by experience or practice. The “Relatively Permanent” part of the definition refers to the fact that when people learn anything, some part of their brain is physically changed to record what they have learned. (Farmer et., 2013; Loftus & Loftus, 1980). This is actually a process of memory, for without the ability to remember what happens people cannot learn anything. It is thought that once a person learns something it is present somewhere in their brain in physical form even if they cant get to it. As for the inclusion of experience or practice in the definition of learning this is seen in the fact that if we do something and have a negative experience such as pain we are likely not to do it again where as if we have a positive outcome after doing something we are more likely to do it again. Other changes in the brain are caused by growing. This is controlled by our genetic blueprint. This is called maturation.

The two concepts that I resonated with are Memory and the Psychodynamic theory. Starting with the Psychodynamic theory is an approach to psychology that studies the psychological forces underlying human behavior, feelings, and emotions, and how they may relate to early childhood experience. This theory is most closely associated with the work of Sigmund Freud, and with psychoanalysis, a type of psychotherapy that attempts to explore the patient’s unconscious thoughts and emotions so that the person is better able to understand him or herself. The second one is Memory; understanding how memory works will help you improves your memory. Which is an essential key to attaining knowledge. Memory is one of the important cognitive processes. Memory involves remembering and forgetting. I chose the two concepts because throughout the class they stood out to the most. Understanding the conscious, subconscious mind and also memory. I’m interested in understanding the human behavior.

2. Cooperative learning directed towards focusing on students’ team work while doing their project assignments.

Part of the Elementary school teaching there must be a course that teaches children as young as grade 1 or 2 how to do homework. This has to include how to break down a project into manageable pieces so that a child will know how to meet deadlines for major projects once

A range of different and useful topics have been discussed since the start of Pathways to lifelong learning, some of which I found to be of particular help. The college expectations which we learned towards the beginning of the course was especially helpful to learning how to become a critical thinker, something that was not very touched upon throughout my time in high school. I now use Bloom’s Taxonomy when beginning to prepare for an important paper or presentation. In addition to the first chapter, I had also found great help in the second chapter on the skills needed to succeed in school. In the past, I used rehearsal as my main strategy to memorize for any upcoming tests or exams, however that often resulted in either retrieval failure or ineffective encoding. I now use chunking and elaboration as my main strategies to studying as I find it most effective when studying and retrieving information, especially when I am needing to memorize and learn a big amount of material.

This paper includes an outline of a presentation, command terms and definitions, examples of graphs and a Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS) on project management, and presented to the class at Crescent View High School. The focus will be on how to plan, schedule, monitor, and report on projects. Also included are the project management methodologies, tools and techniques used. The discussion to the class will begin with an opening statement that provides an overview of project management, terms and definitions, and an example of buying a house utilizing project management to manage activities.

It makes more the students be interested in the topic and motivated to learn. Nowadays, it is usually used by teachers in teaching their subject. 21st century learners are techy and computer literate, the passages of information is faster. The more you used technology and unique programs, the more they listen and participate