Project Based Learning

One afternoon while lining up for recess, several of my students noticed a number of different birds at the bird feeder outside our window. Transfixed, they watched as the birds fed, noting the number and various species represented. Suddenly, the outside door burst open and several classes of elementary students ran onto the playground, causing the birds to scatter.  My students were disappointed, but at the same time, they began asking questions: What kind of bird was that at the top of the feeder?  Do the birds only feed when kids aren’t on the playground, or will they come back when they aren’t startled? Would more birds come if we used different food? Would more birds feed if the feeder wasn’t located on the playground?  How do birds get food when they don’t live near a bird feeder?  I decided to follow their lead and allow some class time to investigate their questions. By the end of the school year, my students had designed and implemented investigations to determine whether certain types of food draws more species of birds, whether changing the location of the bird feeder will result in more birds feeding, and what types of feeders the birds seem to prefer. We summarized our findings in a class portfolio so that others could build upon what we learned.

As multiple choice state assessments continue to drive instruction toward the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (i.e., knowledge and comprehension), teachers are often led to believe there’s not time in their curriculum to teach higher-level thinking through projects like the one we conducted that year. However, as most teachers know, children understand and retain more information when learning about something they feel is important. Known as Project-Based Learning (PBL), these types of projects can actually allow students to learn required standards by exploring real world problems and challenges in which they are interested.  Studies have validated this type of teaching, and many educators who use PBL report that their students’ test scores actually increase when this method is utilized in the classroom. 

Throughout our study of birds, my students honed skills in the scientific process, comparing/contrasting, observing, drawing inferences, expository reading and writing, measurement, graphing, finding the mean, and a whole host of others. The biggest difference? They actually had a reason to work on these skills, rather than completing questions in a textbook or on a worksheet. 

If you are interested in teaching through Project-Based Learning, check out the following websites and lesson plans to get started.

Project-Based Lesson Plans:

Edutopia 

Edutopia is a division of the George Lucas Education Foundation, and it is dedicated to promoting what works in education.  From this site, find Problem-Based Learning lesson plans, classroom management strategies, and educational research to back it up.

Oil Crisis Challenge

This site is a template that can be used for a challenge-based learning activity on the oil disaster in the Gulf Coast.  Students collaboratively gather, evaluate information and analyze data in order to understand the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the resulting issues surrounding the spill for our nation and the world. 

The Teddy Bears Partied in Kindergarten - an iMovie Experience

Students participate in a community service project. Students conduct a party with a teddy bear. They prepare a presentation and iMovie explaining what the teddy bear did at the party. Students donate the teddy bear and iMovie to Children and Family Services for abused and neglected children.

Land Assessment

High school students work in small groups on a problem-based learning activity. Students are presented with a problem of buying land to use for educational purposes only and must determine if it is feasible to buy it based on soil analysis and plant growth. Students present their findings to the class in the form of PowerPoint presentations.

Problem Based Lesson Plans
Explore even more project lesson plans on our site.