Project Based Learning

Project Based Learning

• Shifts from traditional teacher based instruction.
• Is used to provide hands on activities geared toward problem solving.
• Enhances the QUALITY of learning through the projects/activities.
• Helps student's learn to solve problems themselves, become critical thinkers and make substantial academic growth.

Project Based Learning

• A great example for project based learning is the Red Queen lab experiment. My Students were learning about the various adaptations that help animals and plants survive in the wild.
• Students were given a variety of tools (spoon, tweezers, butterknife) which represented the beak of their bird.

Example Cont.

• Students were then tasked with eating as many different sized seeds as possible in competition with themselves. They then compared the data and were able to conclude which birds would be most likely to survive and why.

Inquiry Based Learning

In inquiry based learning, teachers act as facilitators and allows the students to drive the learning process. Students pose questions, come up with problems and solutions with the modeled assistance of the teacher.

Contains 5 "E" steps

• Problem posed to ENGAGE students
• Hands on activities that allow students to EXPLORE the problem.
• Students try to solve the problem and EXPLAIN their learning and process.
• Activities presented to students to allow them to expand and ELABORATE their learning.
• Student's learning is EVALUATED.

Inquiry Based Learning example

• Students would be presented with a question regarding the red queen experiment.
• "study the physical characteristics of your bird, what do you believed helped or hindered you in the task?
• Students would then have to determine why the physical features of their bird ( short beak, long beak, etc) were useful or detremental to their survival in the given environment.

Socratic Method Learning

• Based on the asking and answering of questions between students (how, why).
• These questions are used to stimulate higher Depth of Knowledge and critical thinking
• challenges students to think critically about difficult issues
• gradual release of responsibility, begins with teacher led and as the students progress they take more control.

Steps to Socrates Method

• Examine a claim or statement (usually open ended)
• question that claim
• Discover the truth

example

• One example i have used regarding the socratic method was during S.E.L.
• students were asked to define "what does it mean to be a good person"
• this is a difficult question to answer as everyones view on what is good and what is not can differ.

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