WELCOME:
Today, I would like to lead a discussion on assessment in the realm of PBL (Project Based Learning). I encourage you to post any thoughts on Twitter via #PBLChat217
Welcome Work (Read these short articles by clicking on the following links):
Most of you may be in the same "boat" as this teacher : How do I grade PBL?
After reading, tweet out a thought on the article/s with hashtag #PBLChat217
Let us frame our discussion:
I don't think that there is any "silver bullet" in the pedagogical utility belt. In fact, I think a variety of techniques that allows for engagement of students in their education, where engagement means a chance to look critically and creatively at the material they are being presented. No way of teaching should be done, "just to say you did it" or without thought about the end goals. Students should have a variety of ways to summarize and take notes, analyze, compare and contrast, re-state ideas in their own words, and apply that information in new ways. Essentially taking the ideas of Marzano, 9 High Yield Instructional Strategies, as linked to a nice summary by Palm Beach Public Schools, and embedding them in the teaching strategy that works well with your personality and that of your audience. However, it is important to stretch yourself from time-to-time and grow as an educator - this will allow for more growth for your students as well!
Why PBL? I believe that PBL is a great method to help teach 21st Century Skills (also known as the 4 C's, NEA)
1. Creativity
2. Collaboration
3. Critical Thinking
4. Communication
Personally, I think that creativity is the least taught in our schools. Which could be because of 2 reasons (as I see it).
1. A lack of understanding about what creativity is and how to teach it
2. A lack of tools to reinforce creativity in a culture that expects "right and wrong" answers - or a lack of clear grading systems to promote creativity.
1st: What is Creativity? Some would argue that there is no such thing as a creative idea. This may be true, but one way to frame creativity is to take the whole sum of your knowledge and experiences and apply it in a different way. With this definition, it may be more apparent to see ways of encouraging and grading creative thinking. In fact, there is a whole field of robotics and artificial intelligence that focuses on creativity and how to write algorithms for creative thinking:
See:
2nd: We have to be able to allow for creativity in our grading practices, ways to encourage students who take positive risks in how they relate to and apply their learning. I think students are generally timid about taking risks (being creative) because they fear being wrong (i.e. get a bad grade) and failing. Failure of a task, shouldn't be an automatic failure of a grade. However, this is something that I am still working on and adjusting in my current practice.
An Introduction to PBL: Show and Tell
How do I implement Project Based Learning, grading practices, checkpoints? How do I mix in more traditional units and drill and skill practice?
Build a Speaker Project (ICP)
Hand Warmer Project (Advanced Chemistry)
Biofuel Project (Advanced Chemistry)
States of Matter (Chemistry)
