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This computer science resource was developed through a collaboration between IBM Corporation and CSTA. 1

Project-Based Learning for Computing Teachers


Topics

• Objectives, Slide 3

• What is Project-Based Learning (PBL)?, Slides 4–8

• Why Project-Based Learning?, Slide 9

• What Constitutes a Good Project?, Slides 10–19

• PBL in Action—5 Basic Steps, Slides 20–27

• For More Information, Slide 28

• Appendix A—Creating and Managing Teams, Slides 29–38

• Appendix B—Assessment and Evaluation, Slides 39–41

• Acknowledgements, Slide 42


Objectives

• Define Project-Based Learning (PBL)

• Describe the benefits of PBL and its impact on student achievement

• Create a project that includes student instructions, assessment, and time lines

• Implement PBL

Home


Tell me—and I will forget.

Show me—and I may remember.

Involve me—and I will understand.

Confucius (450 B.C.)

What is Project-Based Learning?


Lecture

Reading

Audio-visual

Demonstration

Discussion group

Practice by doing

Teach others

Involve Me and I Will Understand

Average Retention Rate

5%

10%

20%

30%

50%

75%

90%

From: National Training Laboratories, Bethel Maine



Studentsactively engaged in learning

Teachersas facilitators and coaches



Project-based learning (PBL) is an instructional method that challenges students to:

• learn to learn

• seek solutions to real-world problems

Problems and projects are used to engage students’ curiosity and increase desire to learn the subject matter

PBL prepares students to: • think critically and analytically

• find and use appropriate learning resources

University of Delaware, www.udel.edu/pbl, downloaded 8/3/05.

http://www.udel.edu/pbl



Students acquire new knowledge and skills in the process of: – Designing– Planning– Producing

some new product or performance.

PBL fosters• Communication• Planning• Problem solving • Teamwork

Project-Based Learning with Multimedia, The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project, San Mateo County Office of Education, http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/overview/25800/index.html, downloaded 8/3/05. Home

http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/overview/25800/index.html


Why Project-Based Learning?

• Promotes life-long learning

• Accommodates students with varied learning styles and levels

• Impacts student learning/achievement

• Makes students active participants rather than passive observers in their own learning

• Supports self-directed learning

• Allows students to be risk-takers

• Reinforces that there are multiple ways to solve problems Home


What Constitutes a Good Project?

“When you design a project you are designing for learning rather

than planning for teaching.”

Constructivist Learning Design, George W. Gagnon, Jr., and Michelle Collay, www.prainbow.com/cld/cldp.html, Downloaded 8/3/05.

http://www.prainbow.com/cld/cldp.html



• Promotes higher-order thinking

• Challenging • Open-ended• Student-centered• Requires self-directed

learning

• Emulates the real world• Relevant to the student• May be collaborative• Learning in action• Teaching in Action


Promotes higher-order thinking • Requires students not just to recall, but to analyze,

synthesize, and evaluate information• Provides opportunities to solve predictable and

unpredictable problems• Asks questions to get students thinking/headed in right

direction• Project activities build upon each other to guide

students through the process




• No one right answer• No one right path• Requires problem-solving

• Requires exploration • Facilitates risk-taking

Challenging• Designed to challenge learners just beyond current

abilities• Composed of multiple activities, each activity related to

the larger project goal• Requires students to seek out and use information in a

variety of new ways

Open-ended


Student Centered: • Students are at the center of the learning environment• Progressively given choices (ownership) in how project

will develop and emerge• Project requirements are based on students’ real-world

experiences• Teacher guides students based on individual student

needs

Teacher Centered: • They'll get this lecture today because it represents the

next chapter in the book or because it interests me!



Self-directed Learning: • Empowers students to take ownership of own learning• Develops learning skills instead of spoon-feeding

answers • Learning can occur with or without help of others

Real-world and Relevant: • Based on life situations scaled to student ability level• Reflects real-world—messy everyday problems and

tasks• May cross several disciplines• Are meaningful to the student• Facilitates transfer of learning




Collaborative • Reflective of work situation in the

real world• Enhances social skills and interaction:

– group decision-making– conflict management– communication

• Provides opportunities in leadership

Projects can reflect individual student effort and need not be collaborative.



Learning in Action

Students become active participants, not passive observers

• Develops a problem-solving process that can be used throughout life:

– Synthesize independent ideas/knowledge into a useful product

– Construct meaning from answers and solutions

– Higher congruency with workplace needs

• Develops planning and organizational skills as well as interpersonal and communication skills



Learning in Action (cont.)

Students become active participants, not passive observers

• Supports the development of personal and social responsibility

• Builds critical and creative thinking

• Motivates students to perform at a higher level

• Empowers students to control their destiny

• Increases student interest



Teaching in Action• PBL provides a new approach to teaching that can:

– Revitalize

– Reenergize

– Excite

• Once up-front planning is complete, teachers can focus on facilitating:– Less daily explanation

– More direct interaction with students

• Provides a better sense of what students are actually learning Home


PBL in Action—5 Basic Steps

• Step 1—Brainstorm a project• Step 2—Prepare student handout• Step 3—Review student handout• Step 4—Facilitate project• Step 5—Final thoughts



?Step 1—Brainstorm a Project• What do you want the students to learn?• How will you assess the learning?• How can you challenge them to get there?• How much time can you dedicate?• How can individual activities “come together”?

View the PBL Teacher Info and Template.doc file for planning ideas, questions, suggestions, and a template that

can help plan the project.



Step 2—Prepare student handout• Student instructions

• Student evaluation

View the PBL Student Instruction Template.doc file for a blank template and an example of completed templates.

Step 3—Review student handout• Review the student instructions to be sure they clearly

represent the project requirements.

• Review the Evaluation sheet to ensure the evaluation measures accurately reflect the learning anticipated.



Step 4—Facilitate Project• Distribute the Student Handout and discuss the

requirements:– Reinforce the importance of deadlines, if appropriate. – Assist with team formation, if applicable. More on teams in

Appendix A.• Facilitate student learning:

– Guide the learner to resources where the answer may be discovered.

– Coach and encourage students to become self-directed learners.

– Keep students focused and directed in their learning– Make time for feedback.



Step 4—Facilitate Project (cont.)

• Provide ongoing opportunities for student self-assessment.

View the Student Reports.doc file for examples of individual and team assessment/reflection reports.

• Reflect on the project at various stages and make necessary alterations to ensure maximum student learning.

• Evaluate student products.

More on Assessment and Evaluation in Appendix B.




• Share Learning:– Demonstrate product and process.– Recognize the various creative solutions offered for the

same problem.

• Overcome challenges:– Try to anticipate problems.

– Early intervention may help.

– Do not wait for problems to become critical.

– Discuss strategies for project management with other teachers.



Karen Ngeow, Yoon-San Kong, Learning to Learn: Preparing Teachers and Students for Problem Based Learning, Eric Digest #163, 2001, http://reading.indiana.edu/ieo/digests/d163.html, Downloaded 8/4/05.


Overcome Challenges

“PBL requires students to take on active learning strategies and adopt a self-directed learning disposition. Some students find it difficult to cope when asked to transform into active critical thinkers.

PBL teachers may also face difficulty as they prepare to facilitate discussion, provide coaching, challenge student thinking and manage group work.”



Step 5—Final thoughts• Review final student reflections.

• Reflect on the project.

• Improve the project for future use.

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More Information

View the Resources-Sample Lessons and Assessment.doc file for sample lessons, templates, and assessment

resources for PBL.

Examples of Ready-Made Projectsand

Additional Reading

Available in the Resources documents

View the Resources-Project Based Learning.doc file for readings and references about PBL.

Home


Appendix A Creating and Managing Teams


Creating and Managing Teams

What makes a good team?

• Members have common goals.• Regular interaction can occur.• Team members perceive their interdependence.• Each team member understands the value of his/her

own contribution.• The team is motivated to succeed:

– Internal motivation/self-worth

– External motivation/grades



What makes a good team? (cont.)

• Heterogeneous teams:– Create alternative perspectives to knowledge and

learning.– Emulate the real-world workplace.– Include students with varied strengths and abilities.

• Homogeneous teams;– Provide opportunity for teachers to reinforce specific

skill gaps.– Enable students on the same ability level to work

together.



Team Selection Issues

Self selected vs. Teacher selected

• Teacher selected teams distribute ability among groups but interaction may be more difficult– Emulates real-world environment

• Student self-selected teams reinforce the decision-making process– Teams may be more cohesive or can become more

argumentative

– May cause conflict among friends



Team Selection Issues (continued)

• Consider using different approaches (teacher vs. self select) for various projects

• Team Size—3–5 students works well:– Partnerships may be appropriate depending on the project.

– Larger groups tend to increase challenges.

– Smaller groups may have a dominate member.

– Teachers should monitor teams closely by meeting with them on a regular basis for feedback.



Discuss Expectations for Team Interaction

• Regular dialogue:

– Builds collective meanings and definitions of a problem

– Shares learning

• Consensus decision making

• Equal contribution from each team member

• Positive interactions


Possible Team Problems

• Social Loafing• Domineering teammates• Destructive Criticism• Failure to resolve conflict• Uneven distribution of workload

Computer Science and Information Technology Symposium, June 28, 2005, Abigail Gonzales, Northface University.




Possible Team Solutions

Review Expectations

• Social Loafing– Build in individual accountability

• Domineering Teammates– Role rotation if possible

– Teacher mediation

• Destructive Criticism

– Model constructive criticism



Possible Team Solutions (cont.)

• Failure to Resolve Conflict:

– Recognize it won’t go away on its own

– Encourage discussion

– Teacher mediation

• Uneven Distribution of Workload:

– Assist students to identify functional roles

– Rotate roles if possible

– Provide ongoing review and feedback


Questions to Consider• How can I ensure students will make optimal use of team time

and resources?

• What can I do to help students organize responsibility and work tasks resulting in equal distribution among team members?

• Will a team approach result in segmented learning?– Is it important that all students participate in each activity?

• How do I assess individual effort versus team effort and provide appropriate feedback?

• What percentage distribution of the final project grade should be attributed to individual versus team effort?


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Appendix B Assessment and Evaluation


Assessment and Evaluation

• Assessment:– Ongoing– Provides constant feedback– Occurs throughout the project

• Evaluation:– Occurs at the completion of the project or at the

completion of each activity within the project – Determines whether project met specific criteria and

standards– Provides grades


Assessment and Evaluation

• Observations • Essays • Interviews • Exhibitions and

Demonstrations • Reflections and Journals

• Rubrics • Checklists• Activity Logs • Portfolios • Performance Tasks• Teacher-created Tests

Types—Self, Peer, Teacher

Methods and Tools

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Acknowledgements

• Northface University, www.northface.edu

• IBM Mentor Place, www.mentorplace.org

• Esch, Camille, Project-Based and Problem-Based: The same or different?, Project-Based Learning with Multimedia, The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project, San Mateo County Office of Education, 1998, http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/PBLGuide/PBL&PBL.htm Downloaded 9/9/05.

Home

http://www.northface.edu/

http://www.mentorplace.org/