"Five Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning" by Edutopia
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Star Trek Project-Based Learning!
The fabulous 5th grade teachers, Erin Curtiss and Erin Hutchins, designed a science project-based learning (PBL) unit based on the beloved TV show, Star Trek. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYy8o4nXZEY] Here is the driving question of the PBL unit: How can you, as Starfleet Academy Cadets, arrange the items on the ship’s manifest for teleportation using the physical and chemical properties of matter, and knowledge of compounds and changes in matter? The students will have to organize items into specific shipments based on physical or chemical properties. If the items are not placed in correct shipment containers, the teleportation of the items will not occur. I decided to create a Google Slides template for the students to use to organize their items into correct shipments. The "Shipment" slides contain an image of a "teleport" room, a shape designated for the items, a text box for the name of the shipment, and a text b...
Use Tubric to Develop Driving Question for PBL Unit
A trainer from Buck Institute for Education visited our campus for a 3-day Project-Based Learning (PBL) workshop. An essential component of PBL is the driving question. A driving question helps your students focus the inquiry and guide them in the culminating challenge. Tubric.org provides you with a tool that helps you develop an effective driving question. Steps in Creating Your Tubric 1. Print out the sheet from BIE.org , laminate, and then cut out the pieces. 2. Use a cutting tool (X-Acto knife) to cut the dotted lines. 3. Roll up and staple the laminated paper. Slide the slips of paper into the slits you created with your knife.
Reinventing a Public High School with PBL (Edutopia)
Sammamish High School was given a federal grant to redesign their curriculum and school with project-based learning (PBL). The school plans to transition the whole school to a PBL curriculum by 2015. Edutopia created this video to document the school's first year of PBL implementation. Here are some of the things Edutopia found out: All disciplines and grade levels are shifting from teacher-centered instruction to student-centered learning. There is a great focus in engaging students with authentic challenges. Students are learning academic content through the process of finding the solutions to authentic problems. The hands-on experiences also help students to retain information better. Students were motivated to created quality work when clients were involved. Teachers are required to attend a five-day professional development on PBL in the beginning of the year. ELLs can benefit from projects that require them to work in groups. These ...