Project Based Learning

Project Based Learning is a teaching method for the 21^st century. PBL is in essence student directed learning. The teacher acts as a guide; the students are driving the project.

Student Driven

The teacher begins with an idea. He or she introduces a topic, based on the state standards, and facilitates a discussion. The goal is for the students to have an idea of their project by the end of the discussion. The students choose their topic and research it. They might work as a group or individually. The point of the project is it is student driven. The teacher gives some guidelines and feedback, but the student decides on the course of action.

21^st Century Skills

The students develop and use 21^st century skills during the project. They are developing critical thinking skills and learning to collaborate with others. They learn to self-manage. These are all qualities needed to be college ready and needed for today’s workplace.  

Driving Question

The project begins with an engaging challenge or a question with real world applications. This will be the thesis or the driving question of the project. The teacher can begin with a discussion using an open-ended question. Have the students brain storm the question and discuss a variety of solutions. The students can then narrow down the subject and determine the direction they wish to take.

Inquiry and Innovation

The students then research their topic. They might interview experts, find resources in the library, explore resources on the internet, or visiting a site. The students are now detectives following a trail. Sometimes the trail will lead to a dead end and they need to step back and look at it again which leads us to the next step.

Revision and Feedback

Not all parts of the research will work. The students need to use their critical thinking skills and decide what works and what doesn’t. They need to collaborate with other students to work out ideas. They need to seek advice from their teacher, peers, or experts in the subject. The students need to reflect on their work. Before one workshop session, the teacher might want to lead a short discussion asking the students to reflect on how their research is going? What is working? What is not working? Besides reflecting on the process of the research, they should also reflect on the research itself. What have they found fascinating about the topic? With reflection and feedback during the discussion, the students will be able to understand more of what they are doing and learning.  

Going Public

The final result of the project should not stay between the teacher and the student. It needs to be seen publicly. This gives a feeling of authenticity to the project and encourages better work. A public showing of the work emphasizes a learning community. The students can teach their peers about their subject and they can share their project with parents. The class might have worked on a city issue. They can invite a city official in to see their presentation.

Resources on Project Based Learning

Three great blog posts on project based learning are  Gold Standard PBL, How Does Project Based Learning Work? and Seven Essentials for PBL.

This video explains the steps of PBL.

Helping the Teacher Plan

As I plan a project based learning activity, I am never sure I have covered all the elements. On the Buck Institute for Education website, I found a  checklist to ensure I have all the essential elements of a PBL activity. The checklist is downloadable as a PDF. Now, I have it on my computer to print as I need it. As I develop the activity, I can look at the checklist and ask: Do I have a driving question? Is this project authentic? As I go down the list, I know what needs to be addressed. As I become more of an expert at PBL, I won’t need a checklist. But, at this point, I am a novice. 

Project Based Frameworks

PBL can be used cross curricula. Researchers in Michigan used PBL to combine literacy and social studies. By studying classes that used PBL and those that didn’t, the researchers found that the students in classes using PBL scored higher on the end of the year tests. They found that combining the curricula into PBL groups, the students were more engaged, seeing the connection between what they do and what they are learning. The students are in 2^nd grade and are learning critical thinking. Project Based Learning is not just for older students. 

Project Based Learning Ideas

Students in this first grade class take an idea from a story and create a science lesson.

Charles Drew Charter School takes one PBL project each quarter that covers all subjects in the school. 

Reading Comprehension Strategies for Upper Elementary

In one of my classes, another student noted in a discussion that 25% of people in the United States couldn't read well enough to understand simple instructions listed on packaging. There was no data to back up this number, and I have found no evidence to support this statement. It did start me thinking--  how many people out there cannot read? Is it 10%? 20%? Per the website, the Statistic Brain, 14% of adults in The United States cannot read.

As a teacher, I find this appalling. Reading is such an important skill. How does one fill out a job application or get a job without being able to read? It must be frightening to live in a world where you are unable to understand everything around you. It is no wonder why so many inmates cannot read. They had little choice but revert to a life of crime without education.

Besides the basics of everyday life, a person should read because it helps develop the mind. Reading engages critical thinking and imagination. Reading gives a person a better self image and initiates creativity.

How can a upper elementary teacher help a student to read? Let's start by picking a book.

Picking a Book

Mims has a great post on how students pick books. The article states that too much choice in books is too overwhelming for the student. They walk into a library packed with books and have no idea where to start. Students will then most likely go to an area in which they have had success in the past. This is why Geronimo Stilton is so popular. (The librarian at my school takes all the Geronimo Stilton books off the shelves one month out of the year, "Geronimo is on vacation," she tells the students. This forces the students to look elsewhere for a book.

When starting a literature group in class, the teacher should pick three or four books for each group in that group's reading level. The students can look at the books and decide, as a group, which book to read.

Other sites, such as Reading Rockets, teach students to use the "5 finger rule." Using this rule, kids find a book they are interested in and open up to any page. As they read that page, they count the number of words that they don't know. At 3 words, the book is beginning to be a little challenging for the student.

However, some teachers say that if a child wants to read a book that is above his or her reading level, it might be best to give the OK. Sanjay is looking forward to reading Harry Potter because all of his friends have read it already, but Sanjay is a low level reader. As his teacher, I would encourage him to read it and let him know if he is having a hard time to come to me. Desire to read helps a student break past barriers. As teacher, I can take him aside and talk to him about the book and help him with the parts that are difficult for him.

Reading Strategies

Reading the words in a book and understanding the concept of the book are two different things. When a child begins to read, all he or she sees is the words. How to comprehend the passages must be taught.

Beginning a passage

Reading Rockets has a step by step guide for teachers to teach comprehension. 

First, look at the book. What might it be about? 

As they read, the teacher should teach the students to ask questions about the text and to summarize important ideas. They can integrate the text with their background knowledge. They can visualize characters and setting. After the reading, the students should learn to summarize what they have read. They need to discuss the text and extend the ideas to other texts and real life situations. 

The website continues with many  activities a teacher can use to teach reading comprehension.

The Crazy Professor Reading Game

Chris Rekstad brings reading to life in his Crazy Professor Reading Game. The teacher uses whole brain teaching to promote reading comprehension. The students read aloud in a dramatic way. They read aloud using hand gestures. Then the students explain to their neighbor the passage. The final part is the Crazy Professor and the Eager Student. One person who gets excited about teaching the Eager Student about passage and the Student is so excited, he or she encourages the Crazy Professor. The students are excited to play the game while reading. They use their whole body to act out parts. They are a part of the story. In the end, they understand the reading and they remember what they have learned.

Anchor Charts

In a previous post, I wrote about Literature Groups.  When working with literature groups, the teacher gives a mini lesson to help reading comprehension before the students break into their groups. We Are Teachers has a fabulous post on anchor charts. The anchor charts are a visual guide to help students understand the teacher's mini lesson. When the students begin reading their text, they can look up at the anchor chart and ask, "What am I supposed to do when trying to figure out the word?"

Teaching about cause and effect? Finding the main idea? Making inferences? There are sample charts on 25 different reading comprehension subjects for a teacher to use.

Focus on Language

In this video, teacher Clara Gonzales-Espinoza teaches reading comprehension to her 5th grade students. She begins with a mini lesson on idioms which will help them understand when story. While reading the story to her class, she pauses to help them comprehend the text. The Cinderella story is filled with rich text. Gonzales-Espinoza stops for one difficult sentence, asking the students to identify the key words. She breaks down the sentence, defining the words. Then the students use the context clues to understand the meaning of the sentence. She believes that the students need to hear the complexity of the language. Don't dumb it down. Simply continue to repeat until they understand.

While watching the video, I noticed that Gonzales-Espinoza didn't just read the story to the students and discuss it at the end. The discussion took place during the reading of the text. The questions she asked were not simple questions, but questions meant to get them thinking. Gonzales-Espinoza engaged higher level thinking with her students.

Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers can be maps to the text. The student can learn to make notes that organizes the information in a visual way, creating more learning and more retention.

Erin Lowry gave a presentation, from Skeptic to Believer: The Power of Graphic Organizers. Her slide deck offers a great overview of graphic organizers.

How do we teach students to create a graphic organizers? There are plenty of sites that will provide the instructor with a worksheet for the students to fill in as they read. Reading A-Z offers an array of charts for its members. Lowry believes that these ready made charts do not allow the students to organize in their own way and engage independent thinking. They seem to be a good way to start your students out and give them ideas of types of organizers there are.

When introducing graphic organizers to the students, the teacher should model the process and explain the purpose. The students need to understand that creating a graphic organizer will mean less work for them in the future.

Before reading, the teacher needs to give a little instruction and background on the topic of the text. As the students read, they search for important pieces of information and organize them. They need to create the organizer in a way that makes sense for them based on their learning style. After the reading, add a summary.

Once the students begin using graphic organizers, they will understand how helpful this technique can be.

Scaffolding

Patricia Babbitt, in her article Scaffolding: Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension, states that with scaffolding of eight basic strategies for reading comprehension, the struggling reader will begin to understand. 

The 8 most effective strategies for reading comprehension are:

• comprehension monitoring
• cooperative learning
• graphic organizers
• story structure 
• question answering
• question generating
• summarizing
• multiple strategy

Scaffolding supports the reader before, during, and after the read. As the students work with the teacher using these techniques, they soon become independent readers. 

These are just a few ideas to help your students in reading comprehension. If you have a favorite strategy, please share it. I am always looking for more ideas.