Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting, and Learning

Andrighetto, Kourtney

Blumenfeld, P. C., Soloway, E., Marx, R. W., Krajcik, J. S., Guzdial, M., & Palincsar, A. (1991). Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting the Learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(3/4), 369.

CA, ET- Project-based learning

Summary

Educational theories, curriculum development, and assessment are shifting from teacher centered to student centered, project-based learning instruction. Project-based learning has gained much attention in the field of education due to self- directed learning methodologies and opportunities for students to engage in problem-solving and evaluation. This article provides an overview of project-based learning theories and how it contributes to learner motivation and relevance in the 21st-century. The authors note that in order for project-based learning to be successful, the selected topics must be high-interest and valuable to learners. In addition, project-based units must be structured to allow students opportunities for activity, creativity, and interaction with technology. When students are moving, doing, and collaborating, high-yield learning will take place.

Evaluation

This source provides an in-depth explanation of project-based learning theories and how technology integration may boost student learning. For teacher librarians, the discoveries in this article highlight opportunities for co-teaching and unit planning with classroom teachers across content areas.

ET-Project-Based Learning: Rigor and Relevance in High Schools

Emily Ratica

ET

Harada, V. H., Kirio, C., & Yamamoto, S. (2008). Project-based learning: Rigor and relevance in

high schools. (Cover story). Library Media Connection, 26(6), 14-20.

This article provides an excellent introduction to and several examples of Project Based Learning. This practice fits well with the greater implementation of the inquiry process in schools. Students pick projects that extend their understanding and relate to the real world they will soon encounter, and provides them more control over their own learning. During projects, teachers become facilitators who share the educational control with their students instead of simply directing it to them. This articles shows how using projects increases student engagement and encourages students and teachers to move beyond the traditional lecture/note taking model. It also advocates for the increased role of the teacher librarian, as they can "assist the teacher with the process or thinking skills necessary for students to create meaning for themselves. The synergy of working together provides a learning frame that can be a seamless blend" (20).  Project based learning is a perfect example of how educators can better implement 21st century skills that will help students truly be college and career ready.

PBL is best done in an environment of collaboration between teacher and librarian. This article makes what feels like a complicated task, managable. The examples are thorough and doable without having a huge amount of training or experience using PBL. After reading it, I am excited to share it with my colleagues and see what projects we can work on together with our students.

Project-Based Learning: Success Start to Finish

Karen Rogers

CA = Curriculum Assessment
CO = Collaboration

 Edutopia. (2012, May 23). Project-Based Learning: Success Start to Finish. Retrieved July 13, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OWX6KZQDoE 

Summary:  This is a great video about Manor New Technology High School where they have a completely project-based learning program.  The video demonstrates how teachers implement and create the projects for the classroom.  It gives a great amount of information about why you should choose project-based learning and how to assess the projects.

Reflection:  This video was very useful and I think it would be a great video to show staff who have doubts about delving into project-based learning because it actually shows the planning process and thought process behind teaching in this way.  A lot of the fear around this type of learning deals with teachers not having the knowledge on how to start planning or implementing these types of lessons.  Most educators agree that this type of learning is best for helping students to engage and learn in the classroom, but they don't know how.

Genius Hour in the Library

Debbie Gibbons

IL

Rush, E. B. (2015). Genius hour in the library. Teacher Librarian, 43(2), 26-30. Retrieved from

http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=llf&AN=111875244&site=ehost-live

Summary:

This is a reflection by one elementary librarian on her first year of implementing a Genius Hour in her school library. Students in grades 3 - 5 were allowed to explore, research, or study any topic during their weekly library period. The librarian, the classroom teacher, and the students all had responsibility for monitoring and evaluating the process and progress. One key factor was to encourage the students to take risks and turn “failures” into learning opportunities. The article offers a checklist to implement a Genius Hour in your own school.

Review:

In the same way that students were encouraged to take risks, the author took on a new endeavor in starting a Genius Hour in her library. She admits that not everything was perfect, and there were things that she would do differently the second year. The checklist allows the reader to learn from the author’s missteps. I especially appreciate that she revealed that there were a handful of students who looked like they were diligently working all along and then had no work to show at the end of the project. She then offers a practical suggestion for how to better support those students the next year.

Are School Librarians Part of Your PBL Dream Team?

Debbie Gibbons

IL

Boss, S. (2013, October 28). Are school librarians part of your PBL dream team?. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-librarians-part-pbl-team-dream-suzie-boss

Summary:

The school librarian has an understanding of information literacy and digital citizenship, and also knows about students’ outside interests through independent reading choices. This combined knowledge makes them a key collaborator in all stages of project-based learning (PBL). In the planning stage, the school librarian can offer the classroom teacher specific feedback on project plans and offer literature connections and digital media resources. Mini lessons on smarter searching and critical thinking prompts to consider accuracy and reliability of sources will help guide student research. Access to Skype or Google Hangout can connect students with experts. The library or learning commons will be a laboratory for connected learning that encourages teamwork and creativity. And at the culmination of a project, the library can be a place to display student work.

Review:

This article was written for the classroom teacher, suggesting ways they could seek support from their school librarian. But as a media center teacher, I found the article an informative list of things I could do to foster project-based learning. It is sometimes difficult to find time to collaborate, but this article inspires me to offer support to the teachers by integrating computer lab and library curriculum with the classroom content.

7 Things You Should Know About Personal Learning Environments (PLE)

Friel, Holly

Educause Learning Iniative. (2009). 7 Things You Should Know About Personal Learning Environments. Educause. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7049.pdf

Summary:

This article defines a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) as “the tools, communities, and services that constitute the individual educational platforms learners use to direct their own learning and pursue educational goals.” A PLE is an interactive environment (often online, such as a blog or site where a lot of other blogs, sites, newsfeeds, can be connected) created by a learner, where that learner can post their own work, connect with others who share related interests, receive feedback from their peers, collaborate on projects, etc. PLEs represent a shift from the traditional teaching model of teacher-transmitting-information to student and into a student-centered, student-driven “collaborative exercise in collection, orchestration, remixing, and integration of data into knowledge building.”

Review:

Through repetition of concrete examples, this short article really helped me to understand – and see the value of – Personal Learning Environments. 

Teaching the Scientific Literature Review: Collaborative Lessons for Guided Inquiry

dTeaching the Scientific Literature Review: Collaborative Lessons for Guided Inquiry
by Randell K. Schmidt, Maureen M. Smyth, and Virginia K. Kowalski

While not the most important, I think my favorite line in the whole book is, "Don't go crazy with the highlighter."  Clearly written by people who actually teach kids, this book, like A Guided Inquiry Approach to High School Inquiry, provides an excellent balance between structure and freedom.  Students are guided through a process in which the first access general press article about a subject they are interested in researching.

Even after they have collected the six required gp articles, they are still not required to have defined their research question.  They use these articles to build background and to develop a vocabulary that will enable to navigate a search on a database.  I find this so satisfyingly brilliant after nearly a year and a half of watching teachers tell kids to, "Submit your research question, now!" after only a period of browsing.  We never expect this of ourselves.  Realistically, I frequently hit Wikipedia before engaging in formal or recreational research simply to gather search terms, including famous names in  a field, discoveries, significant historical events, and so forth.  Then I go about searching gp articles, and, if I am doing formal or professionally-oriented research, I will comb peer reviewed literature. They are guided through the process of highlighting, hence the exhortation at the beginning of this post, and annotating.  Using these articles, students are required to generate a reference list that is graded early on in the process, ensuring they understand how to use and double check EasyBib so they can continue adding to this list throughout the process.  In addition, students are required to keep track of search terms as they go.  I created a document to assist students in doing this as they go.

Students are guided through the process of writing an introduction, searching for and taking notes on peer-reviewed articles, researching in the collection stage and presentation stage, writing a methodology, creating a table, writing an abstract, crating a title and completing the cover page and much more.  A sample and an empty graphic, such as the one that follows helps students track studies for their methodology section:

	Study 1 Citation:	Study 2  Citation:	Study 3 Citation:	Study 4 Citation:	Study 5 Citation:	Study 6 Citation:
Questions driving study
Groups studied
Methods
Findings-Results of Each Study
How was the study analyzed:  (Why did the  researchers think they found what they found?)
Recommendations  (include any omissions)

This graph is what students will use to analyze their research.

I love these books because they provide structure and guidance that allows students to teach themselves content and ready themselves for college.

Hands-On Science With Squishy Circuits

Elizabeth Brown

ET - Learning Styles
IL - Critical Thinking
Z - Fun

Thomas, A.M. (2013). Hands-on science with squishy circuits. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/annmariethomassquishycircuits.html

Summary
In this Ted talk, Thomas proposes having children use play dough to create their own "squishy circuits" and learn about electricity in the process. Specifically, she suggests making home-made play dough for this project, including two different recipes. The first one calls for flour, salt, vegetable oil, and cream of tartar. While the other is the same except that it calls for sugar instead of salt. Thomas explains that when the different play dough's are incorporated  the sugar dough "has a resistance 150 times that of the salty dough," while the "salty dough conducts electricity." The end result is that circuits have been created. She displays the play dough on a table and later in the presentation demonstrates the different things that can be done with it. For instance, she connects wires which causes the circuit to light up. Thomas also connects a piece of play dough to a motor, creating a spinning-tail motor in the process.

Evaluation 
This is a great example of project-based learning. I can see how this project would be both fun and educational for children. Its amazing that children are doing such complex work: designing circuits, but are doing it in a creative, age - appropriate way. My friend recently completed a lesson on electricity for 5th graders. I plan on recommending this talk and lesson to her. Perhaps she can use it next year.