Sunday, October 1, 2017

Implementing 21st Century Skills in Problem Based Learning

After reading this week’s readings for our Weekly Investment, I have this urge of wanting a classroom and students to be forward thinkers and career driven. I realize that this means I must be innovative by creating inquiry, applicable and discovery. However, all this will engage students’ minds for Project-Based Learning.

Although the readings were very informative, I chose to share the five points that stood out to me the most about project-based learning and inquiry in the classroom.

1. 21st Century Skills: Project-based learning naturally develops 21st Century Skills into interactive and innovative outcome. In addition, project-based learning enhances problem-solving and other Life and Career Skills. This teaching method also cultivates collaboration, technological, communication and other incredibly valuable and marketable 21st Century Skills that I want to see my students gain from an agricultural science classroom.


2. Effective Questioning: Multiple readings shared how the success for project-based learning is credited to asking the right questions. A good 'Driving Question' captures the heart of the project in clear, compelling language, which gives students a sense of purpose and challenge. The Question should be provocative, open-ended, complex, and linked to the core of what you want students to learn. Questioning can help strategically scaffold throughout the project-based learning process. Lastly, questioning can help facilitate reflection and revision throughout the learning process.


3. Student Voice and Choice: I am thrilled that project-based and inquiry based learning gives students ownership on their learning experience. It provides chances for hands-on application, which is something that agricultural education classes do quite well through incorporation of classroom instruction and SAE. The discovery that happens through this method provides power and purpose to student's learning. It allows them to feel as if they are the drivers of their education that leads them into a journey with a successful destination.

4. Keep It In Context: To keep it in context means to allow yourself to create and make connections from the project or problem needing solved directly to a real-life application or situation that students in my agricultural program can understand the relevance. According to the reading, I can accomplish this by aligning the process with goals, or essentially learning objectives. Keeping the last point in mind, it would be best to have these goals designed by students, in efforts to keep them invested through ownership in their learning process. 

5. Feedback Creates Purpose: There is a difference between doing projects and doing project-based learning. The completion of the project should require that students are learning the material presented. In addition, formalizing a process for feedback and revision during a project makes learning meaningful because it emphasizes that creating high-quality products and performances is an important purpose, and often times requires more than one attempt. I want my students to know it is okay to face error, as long as they are willing to fix their mistakes to be successful in the future. 

Reference:

John Larmer & John R. Mergendoller PhD. (2010) 8 Essentials for Project Based Learning. Retrieved October 1, 2017, from http://www.sbcss.k12.ca.us/attachments/article/1058/8_Essentials_article_small_file_size_Oct2012version.pdf

1 comment:

  1. Halee, you are spot on with your things that you found to be important from all that we covered this week. Which do you think will be the most challenging to implement and why? Which do you see yourself having the easiest time with? Glad to see that you are focused on "them" and creating the best learning environment possible for their success!

    ReplyDelete