Pros and Cons of Time Constraints

While setting up projects, it is often common to allocate a certain amount of time for each section of a project to be completed. For example, a student will have one day to research online, one day for drafting a report, one day for editing, one day for sharing, etc. Timelines are an important part of the planning process, and teachers use them to avoid wasting as little of their precious classroom time as possible. But beyond efficient use of time, deadlines also provide students with a clear objective and goal for each day. Unfortunately, teachers are not always able to predict how much time a task takes. Technology problems, lack of resources, confusion, and a myriad of other problems can strike when least expected. Then there is the problem all teachers face with students working at different paces. Some may finish quickly while others will struggle to meet the deadline. It's a delicate balancing act that will require teachers to be prepared and to think ahead.

Inquiry Based Learning

Inquiry Based Learning revolves around asking questions to gain new knowledge and understanding of something new. Although we may not realize it, we live our life through inquiry. For students to become problem solvers, teachers need to examine their methods of teaching to see if they are incorporating enough inquiry activities. Let students ask questions, test out their hypothesis', and then figure out what to do with the information they have learned. Drill and practice has it's place, but it should never be exclusively used. As technology and the Internet expand, it will become increasingly more important for students to be able to synthesize and understand the wealth of information available to them.

As teachers, we are the experts in our classrooms. It is our job to share our knowledge with our students. But what happens if we give our students the information, but then they do not know what to do with it? Also, what good is it to 'know' something without understanding how it came to be known? It is very important for teachers to show students different views from a variety of perspectives. A historian might have a different take than an artist or scientist when it comes to a certain subject. How did the historian come to that point? What kinds of questions did he ask?

Traditional methods of teaching focus on getting specific results. What is the one right answer to the test, or how can I get my students ready for the next grade level? Inquiry learning is more about problem solving and is student-centered rather than teacher-centered. It becomes less about what specifically is known and more about how do we know what we know.

"Well-designed inquiry-learning activities and interactions should be set in a conceptual context so as to help students accumulate knowledge as they progress from grade to grade. Inquiry in education should be about a greater understanding of the world in which they live, learn, communicate, and work."

One of my biggest issues with public school in general is the all important standardized tests. I feel like so much emphasis is put on learning how to take a test, that students miss out on a lot. It should be more about learning skills rather than accumulating information. I want my students to understand why something works the way it does rather than just knowing that it works. Problem solving skills are incredibly important. If our students cannot learn to be good problem solvers, then they are going to struggle when it comes to real life applications. Inquiry is important and should never be overlooked.

Howard Gardner and PBL

One of my favorite educational theorists is Howard Gardner. His theory of multiple intelligences proposes that there are eight different intelligences that people have. A person can be outstanding at one of the intelligences and yet not so great at another intelligence. They include bodily-kinestetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, naturalistic, and spatial intelligences. The reason I like love this theory is its ability to explain why a student would excel in mathematics and struggle in English. As a teacher, I can use this theory to create projects that would allow students to utilize what they are good at as well as work with students who have different intelligences.

I was looking into a holiday greeting card project and I wanted to examine it through the eyes of Howard Gardner. What would he think? Is it a project that gives children an opportunity to use their different intelligences?

In this greeting card project, students will create and mail out a large number of greeting cards to their friends and family. In order to get to the point of being able to actually get cards mailed out, students will have to:

1. Create a mailing list - Who do you add to the list? What are you going to use to write the list (paper or computer)? How will you get addresses?
2. Content - What will the cards look like? Will there be multiple cards? Will you include an newsletter? What about personalized notes?
3. What materials will you need? Paper, paints, envelopes, stamps, etc. ?
4. Addressing envelopes - Check the inside of the card to make sure everything is there. Decide if some cards will be e-mailed to save on postage.
5. Affixing stamps and mailing out cards; e-mailing cards.
6. How much will it all cost? How can the money be raised?
7. How much time will this take?

Gardner would think this is a pretty good project. The students who are in charge of creating the cards will be using their bodily-kinesthetic intelligence as well as their spatial reasoning. Students with good interpersonal skills will be able to think about what kinds of cards to create to send out to the people on the mailing list. Writing the inside greeting will utilize the students' linguistic intelligence. And the logical-mathematical students can create a budget and figure out what supplies to buy. The teacher can also get more specific with the project, which seems to be very flexible, and bring in more intelligences.

Web 2.0 Tools: Protagonize

While looking for a way to get my students to collaborate on projects together, I came across a web 2.0 tool called Protagonize. I immediately starting thinking about a fun way to introduce the program to them while also trying out a new teaching strategy. Since we are at the beginning of a new school year, I decided to combine Protagonize with the Bio-Poem teaching strategy.

Protagonize is a creative writing collaborative tool. An author starts a story, and then anyone can add on a new chapter to that story. Bio-poems are short little poems that enable students to share little pieces of themselves with their classmates. They follow this basic form:
Line 1: First name
Line 2: daughter/ son of....
Line 3: Four words that describe yourself
Line 4: lover of (3 things or ideas)
Line 5: who believed (1 or more ideas)
Line 6: Who wanted (3 things)
Line 7: Who is really good at (2 or more things)
Line 8: Who said (quote youself)
Line 9: Last name

I set up a story that my students could add on to. The first chapter showed them what format to follow, and the second chapter was an example, using my information. Besides showing them how I want their peom to look, they also get to know me a little better.

Check out the first few chapters here. (You will have to have an account to view)

Exploring PBL Projects

The Project Registry is a useful searchable database of current and future and current projects. Teachers can search by age, subject, technology used, and type of collaboration used. While investigating this registry, I found several projects that I would be interested in using in my classroom.

The first project I wish to share is Crossing Borders. Using e-mail, regular mail, stories, videos, tapes, and essays, students from across the globe can not only share about their lives, but students can interact and ask questions. I can see many uses for this project in my room. What better way to teach about a culture than to get to interview and interact with someone from that culture. This is also an interdisciplinary lesson. While learning about a new place (Social Studies), students also learn geography skills, utilize writing and questioning techniques, and even learn about eating habits and customs.

Planetfesto is another project listed in the Project registry. Planetfesto seeks to create a virtual ribbon around the globe of photos and stories of ways we love and can help the environment. This is a great brainstorming activity where students can think of ways they can help the environment and then turn them into actions. They can then post photos of themselves helping the environment.

And finally, The Day I Was Born project challenges students to research events that happened on the day they were born. Students can then create a virtual history book of information about the day in history that they came into the world. I know I personally would have loved to have been involved in a project like this. It's a fun way to teach researching skills, timelines, and historical events. And the best part is getting to share with everyone else the special things that happened the day you were born.

I encourage you all to spend some time looking into the projects available. Use and adapt them to meet your needs.

The Global Schoolhouse

"Global SchoolNet's mission is to support 21st century learning and improve academic performance through content driven collaboration."

Global SchoolNet is an online resource for teachers and parents who wish to engage their students and children in problem based learning. All projects are either web based or are on CD-ROMs. If you are not familiar with the concept of project based learning, I recommend you visit the 'About Us' section of the web site to view videos and frequently asked questions that will give you a better understanding of what is offered.

At the Global SchoolNet site, teachers can collaborate on projects with other classrooms across the globe. Their project registry has been around since 1995, and contains over 3,000 listings. Teachers can search the project registry by subject, technologies utilized, and collaborations used. There is also an opportunity for schools to get involved in an international Cyberfair. Students spend time researching various topics and then publishing what they find on the Internet. For more information on Cyberfair, visit this link.

One last thing I wish to mention is Global SchoolNet's Doors to Diplomacy program. Sponsored by the U.S. State Department, this scholarship program is a challenge to middle and high school students to " to produce web projects that teach others about the importance of international affairs and diplomacy." The students have an opportunity to earn a $2000 scholarship, and their school gets a $500 cash award.

Introducing Problem Based Learning

This semester we will be focusing on problem based learning and how to incorporate it into a classroom. Problem based learning (PBL for short) is simply focusing on a problem to be learned and a task to be solved. "The single most important ideas in solving problems and accomplishing tasks is that you build on your previous work and the work of others (prior knowledge)."

Teams are a great way for students to work together to build and share their own knowledge. Because a complex problem or task is easier to solve when students can work together, I believe this concept of team is an important one. By working together in groups of three or four, students can utilize more tools to extend their mental and physical capabilities, as well as their formal and informal education. These tools can be anything from libraries, the Internet, and computers to airplanes, microscopes, and telephones.

Teachers love to give projects, so I've had my fair share of them. One that I remember the best was a model of a Native American village that we made in fourth grade. I can't remember which tribe my group had, but we researched and studied about how the people lived. We then made a 3D model of what their housing looked like, the area they lived in, and we even made little clay figures of people. Each group had a different tribe, and when we were done, we presented the models to the class and also at open house. We not only learned about Native Americans, we also were able to take pride in working together to make a representation of what we had learned.

One final note to remember: "PBL is learner-centered, task and problem oriented, and has authentic assessment."