Double Entry Journal #6

Edutopia article

      The "dominant paradigm" that is beginning to wear includes the traditional ways to teach, using teacher and textbook. It uses lectures, discussions and readings to educate students. This article will give several other ways to give students the knowledge and experiences they need to succeed.

      In Project-based learning, students participate in large projects with groups or in the context of the whole class. The students design and engage in a project with real world subject matter, or with a practical use later. It is based on a pre- and post-test model, where students retest what they have learned by doing the project. One benefit of this approach is increase in critical thinking and a confidence in learning, as with Shepard's (1998) study. Another benefit is that it helps students with conceptual questions within tests and life. Boaler's (1997, 1998) study used a control group of traditionally taught students, and followed this group and a group of students in a project-based learning environment and rated them in tests. The PBL students rated equal in the mathematics section as the control, but higher in the conceptual problems. They learned a more useful approach to math rather than following rules. Another study (Penuel, Means, and Simkins, 2000), found that students who engaged in a multimedia project classroom had better content mastery, sensitivity to audience, and their coherent design.
    Students who may not do well in the traditional classroom have been found to excel in project based learning environments, as the approaches may be closer aligned with these students' preferred learning styles.

      In Problem-based learning, the students are given a practical problem, or situation, and must work together to hypothesize, experiment, or research solutions to the problem. It is a way of learning that involves full engagement in the situation, creating a sense of a real researcher or scientist, in students. It promotes problem-solving, in that students learn the correct way to approach each situation presented and the fact that there is no "right" way to answer it. The problems always have several different approaches to different answers that could be accepted if the students justify. The students teach themselves while the teacher is more of a facilitator for that knowledge, guiding the students using questions, and keeping the students involved. This approach helps with scientific understanding (Williams, Hemstreet, Liu, and Smith, 1998), through increased accuracy of hypothesis and critical thinking.

      In Learning by design, Students create projects. But with these projects, the learning comes from the planning and execution of these projects rather than the actual project itself. Students plan, research, learn, and build a project that is asked for by the teacher. In one study (Hmelo, Holton, and Koldner, 2000), students had a better understanding of complex systems and a better grasp of how each part of the respiratory system worked together. Another benefit is that students take more ownership of their knowledge and are more motivated to learn (Fortus, et al, 2004).

      I feel that the most important part about all three of these approaches is that the students are doing the teaching. The teacher sets the tone for learning, helps guide it, and is available for assistance to the students learning of concepts. These approaches are as successful as the students make it, if the teacher can instill an understanding of excitement in the subject matter into the students, and the students want to do the projects, then they can teach themselves by doing the projects, or solving the problems.