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Blogs on Project-Based Learning

More Blogs on Project-Based LearningRSS
6
Implementing Mutuality in the Composition Classroom
Kerri FlinchbaughMay 5, 2011
Tags Classroom Management, Curriculum, Literacy, Project-Based Learning, Student Engagement, Teacher Development, High (9-12), English Language Arts

It is tempting. Every time I sit face-to-face with a student who seems desperate to please, a momentary urge comes over me to take the pen out of her hand and write for her. Then I remember I want what is best for her and resist. If I grab the pen, I will be the one writing, talking, and creating as the student sits idle. But if students are allowed room to discuss their writing, explore their process, make thoughtful decisions about their revisions, and explain their choices, the students are the ones creating and learning. And when I take a step back to look at the big picture, all we are is two writers sitting face-to-face, thinking and talking about writing.

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11
Project-Based Learning Made Easy
Bob LenzApril 28, 2011
Tags Project-Based Learning, All Grades

"Project-based learning is great but it is too hard for teachers to do well." I have heard this belief stated more times than I can count. Is PBL really so difficult that only a select number of masterful teachers, innovative schools, and dynamic school leaders can pull off high quality projects? I don't think so.

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4
Elementary Art and Service Learning Projects for Earth Day and Beyond
Gaetan PappalardoApril 22, 2011
Tags Lesson Plans, Primary (K-2), Project-Based Learning, Service Learning, Teacher Development, Upper Elementary (3-5), English Language Arts, Geography, Science, Visual Arts, New Jersey

Be not simply good - be good for something.
Henry David Thoreau

"Valentine's Day is for suckers." I usually get a nasty look when I exercise my freedom of speech on heart day. Don't get me wrong, I'm romantic and sensitive -- I am a writer, remember? I just feel that a holiday celebrating love really shouldn't be a holiday at all. We should love each other all year, not just on February 14th. So, I'm against V-day and all its evil. No harm, no foul. Hallmark is not getting a dime out of me. But what about Earth Day? In my ten years of teaching I've done some pretty cool stuff on April 22nd, nothing earth-shattering or innovative, just an all day celebration of the Earth. Some cute ideas that I've fancied are below.

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18
Using Project-Based Learning to Teach World Languages
Don Doehla, MA, NBCTApril 21, 2011
Tags Curriculum, Diversity, Global Education, Lesson Plans, Project-Based Learning, Travel, High (9-12), California, Geography, World Language Learning

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Don Doehla, French teacher and instructional coach at Vintage High School in Napa, California. Don recently stepped up to become the new facilitator of our World Languages group. He's got some great ideas for teaching world languages, including the use of project-based learning. He shares a few of these tips today. We hope you'll join him in the World Languages group as well.

The world may be small and flat, but it is also multilingual, multicultural, and more and more, it is an interconnected world. Consequently, cross cultural communicative competencies are increasingly important for mutual understanding and cooperation - how is that for some alliteration?! Our students' need to be able to communicate with their neighbors, here and abroad, is increasing with every moment which passes! The borders separating our countries are diminishing in importance as the global culture emerges. The definition of who my neighbor is has changed as well. No longer are we isolated from what is happening across the globe. Recent events demonstrate this quite well! Examples abound for everyone on the planet. We must be able to communicate well and proficiently across the kilometers which separate us.

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8
From Groups to Teams: The Key to Powering up PBL
Thom MarkhamApril 13, 2011
Tags Curriculum, Project-Based Learning, Student Engagement, High (9-12)

Editor's note: Today's guest blogger is Thom Markham, a psychologist, educator, and president of Global Redesigns, an international consulting organization focused on project-based learning, social-emotional learning, youth development, and 21st-century school design.

Editor's note: Today's guest blogger is Thom Markham, a psychologist, educator, and president of Global Redesigns, an international consulting organization focused on project-based learning, social-emotional learning, youth development, and 21st-century school design. Read More

7
New Guide Offers Assessment Tips for the Classroom
Suzie BossMarch 24, 2011
Tags Primary (K-2), Project-Based Learning, Upper Elementary (3-5), Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

Recently, I watched a team of ninth-graders share their vision for a city of the future. They had clearly done their research, investigating everything from the politics of ancient Athens to the principles of sustainable design in the 21st century.

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2
The Department of Education's Karen Cator Answers Your Questions about the National EdTech Plan
Betty RayMarch 9, 2011
Tags Assistive Technology, Classroom Technology, Comprehensive Assessment, Education Reform, Media Literacy, Multiple Intelligences, Performance Assessment, Project-Based Learning, Teacher Development, Technology Integration, All Grades

In November of last year, the Department of Education released its National Education Technology Plan (NETP) after 18 months of input from educators, government officials, and industry people.

Earlier this year here on Edutopia, blogger Audrey Watters reviewed the plan and solicited questions from the Edutopia community about the plan. We sent the highest-ranking questions to DOE's Karen Cator who answered each of them -- on video -- here.

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5
Strategies for Embedding Project-Based Learning into STEM Education
Thom MarkhamMarch 7, 2011
Tags Curriculum, Project-Based Learning, High (9-12), All Grades, Math, Science

Editor's note: Today's guest blogger is Thom Markham, a psychologist, educator, and president of Global Redesigns, an international consulting organization focused on project-based learning, social-emotional learning, youth development, and 21st-century school design. He formerly directed the Buck Institute for Education's national training program in PBL and is the primary author of BIE's Handbook on Project Based Learning.

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3
Criteria for Effective Assessment in Project-Based Learning
Andrew MillerFebruary 28, 2011
Tags Comprehensive Assessment, Formative Assessment, Performance Assessment, Project-Based Learning, Standardized Testing, Middle (6-8), High (9-12)

One of the greatest potentials for PBL is that it calls for authentic assessment. In a well-designed PBL project, the culminating product is presented publicly for a real audience. PBL is also standards-based pedagogy. Oftentimes when I consult and coach teachers in PBL, they ask about the assessment of standards. With the pressures of high stakes testing and traditional assessments, teachers and administrators need to make sure they accurately design projects that target the standards they need students to know and be able to do.

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39
Join the Movement to Transform Learning: A Guest Blog by George Lucas
George LucasFebruary 27, 2011
Tags Career and Technical Education, Classroom Technology, Project-Based Learning, Student Engagement, Technology Integration, All Grades

I didn't enjoy school very much. Occasionally, I had a teacher who would inspire me. But as an adult, as I began working with computer technology to tell stories through film, I began to wonder, "Why couldn't we use these new technologies to help improve the learning process?"

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