The Edutopia Poll
by Sara Bernard
Our recent Readers' Survey asked participants to name the Worst Old-School Teaching Tool That Should Be Tossed. Chalkboards came up the "winner," but textbooks were one of the runners-up. Indeed, textbooks seem to be losing popularity tests far and wide, while many educators believe project-based learning is a much better means of teaching. We're interested in your opinion.
Is project-based learning superior to textbook-based learning?
Yes
88% (1395 votes)
No
12% (199 votes)
Total votes: 1594
Some of the kids in my last
Submitted by G.T. Griffin (5th grade teacher) (not verified) on June 18, 2006 - 01:37.
Some of the kids in my last year's class could not read the SS text proficiently. But after listening to a lesson on tape, or watching a video, they were able to perform a skit, draw a picture, or verbally explain what I was trying to teach. Project-based learning is the way for all kids to succeed in NCLB.
It would be great to assume
Submitted by Dennis (not verified) on May 31, 2006 - 17:01.
It would be great to assume that all teachers are skilled enough to make project-based education work. But in reality many teachers are not skilled at breaking from tradition and "easy". Project-based education demands creative and assertive teachers. Until those qualities are mandated it may be disasterous to toss the text. Many districts are shallow enough to have pacing calendars that are enforced leaving little time for creative teaching. It is easy to see why the districts do this. The continuity of teaching helps make sure NCLB in academia. But the love of learning and dreams of creating are ebbing from students and teachers alike.
Project-based education does not mean "no textbook". It means creative teaching with lots of diagnosing and prescribing.
I think PBL is a wonderful
Submitted by Terry (not verified) on May 12, 2006 - 16:00.
I think PBL is a wonderful concept. I wish my elementary aged children had experiences like this at our school. Although, I do feel text books have their place. I wonder, though, how many teachers are really qualified (not to mention motivated) to teach this way. It requires not only strong competence and confidence, but also the ability to truly facilitate a process. I think we have to look at our principals' philosophies (as well as higher up the administration chain). Why change from, "this is how we've always done it", to something so out of the box, when it would require so much change, creativity and a progressive state of mind? I'm sad to say that it would never work at our school.
Project based learning
Submitted by Lois (not verified) on May 9, 2006 - 23:46.
Project based learning assists students to delve into topics where they have to think deeply. This is higher order thinking that usually engages varied and multiple instuctional strategies that are active in nature. On the contrary, reading from a text is a passive activity and is most often a lower order thinking activity. Educators know that lower order learning is not retained. Higher order thinking correspondingly accommodates learning. Schema is remodeled and learning is most often retained. There is no question which model of learning is best practice.
I let the learning situation
Submitted by Nicholas K. La Bruno (not verified) on May 9, 2006 - 19:27.
I let the learning situation dictate which to use for each has its merits and drawbacks. In general, the students are more engaged and challenged during project-based learning. My role in project-based learning affords me to become guide along the journey which in turn allows the students to become risk-taking explorers.
I agree that project-based
Submitted by Laurie Ollhoff (not verified) on May 8, 2006 - 18:16.
I agree that project-based learning is better than textbook learning. Through project-based learning students gain skills for information management, they find connections between content areas, they learn to think, they learn innovation, and they learn to be self-managing. If the project is small group based the student also learn social skills.
I guess this is all assuming the teachers have the skills to facilitate this type of learning.
If we want to move our education system to a more project-based system we will need to help our students build the skills to learn effectively in this system. The skill set for students, as well as for teachers, will be different.
I recently asked my 13 year old son what he was learning in social studies. He said, "Nothing, we are just reading from the textbook." This same 13 year old taught himself the movie maker computer program as a way to present a book report. It wasn't required he was just bored with the "old" book report style.
Laurie
This is an interesting
Submitted by Robert Cole (not verified) on May 8, 2006 - 13:47.
This is an interesting question. It is interesting because we are examining this very narrowly. I do not see this as a yes or no question, but rather as a question that leads to others. For example, shouldn't we take into consideration learning styles? This may very well be great but for some, perhaps not for all based on how they learn best. Teaching style is also a consideration. What of those that lack understanding of this process but indeed think that they grasp the complex nature of this curricular undertaking. There are simply too many variables to answer this yes or no. I feel in many situations that this method is in fact superior to more traditional methods. I also feel deeply however, the more traditional methods have a place as well. I have been telling my students for years and I maintain, there is no one way, no one right way. There are many ways to teach and to create opportunities for learning. Our job is to identify what they are for the group of learners we are currently leading trough their education and to provide those opportunities in that context.
I do not feel that you have
Submitted by Brendan Breen (not verified) on May 8, 2006 - 11:46.
I do not feel that you have to be 100% behind either project learning or textbook learning. I have seen students become immersed in their projects and excited about learning through project based learning but I do not feel it completely replaces textbooks. I do agree with the love metaphor but to go further with it the two work best when they work together like a good marriage.
Project based instruction is
Submitted by Sharyn Loshakoff (not verified) on May 8, 2006 - 05:26.
Project based instruction is superior to textbook based instruction. However, laptops should never replace books; laptops should replace pencils. Anytime, a student can create a project from scratch using different types of intelligence and learning styles with varying materials,supplies and resource, that's superior to reading and answering questions from a book.
Most of the previously
Submitted by David Wolinsky (not verified) on May 7, 2006 - 22:50.
Most of the previously posted observations are anything from agreeable to acute, but I would like to speak for projects as a way of taking a whack at the traditional notion of academic disciplines. For practical purposes we categorize reality and short-change multisensory and cognitive ventures of all sorts. We also then tend to take ourselves far too seriously and create fictitious empires based our small amounts of soi-disant knowledge.
And then we find the results are not all that practical... except in academia itself. Sure declarative knowledge is nice and even sometimes graceful. And sure, when we get to a certain level, specialization severely limits not only the mode of "work", in a field, but even possible audiences. Nonetheless, the main reason for a solid grounding in a discipline is so that a great thinker, or a great teacher, or that great 12-year-old you see third period can leap across categories to actually KNOW and DO something.
Incidentally, that's why performance-based "subjects" are both more amenable to authentic assessment yet always fighting for a place in the curricular sun. It's also why traditional secondary-school instruction in a foreign languages can be so spectacularly ineffective.
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