Understanding PBL

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ParraBLUNDERSTANDING PROJECT BASED LEARNING


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motivated

lifelong learner

Are a reective and self-directed learner

who can understand communicate effectively,

colloborateand thinkfor themselves.

creativeJust what the 21st century is looking for!

Parramatta Marist PBL Students:


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THE VISION

Equipping students with the necessary skills to

become active members of the 21st century.

THE MISSION

To help all students to become lifelong learners.

Providing a holistic education that focuses on the

values of Marcellin Champagnat.


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PresenceSimplicity

Family SpiritLove of Work

The Way of Mary

To educate the children well, we must love them, and lovethem all equally.-- Marcellin Chanpagnat


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We are attempting to educate and prepare students today so that

they are ready to solve future problems, not yet identied, using

technologies not yet invented, based on scientic knowledge not

yet discovered.

-- Professor Joseph Lagowski


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The Principals Vision

Education is the midst of great change. Industrial age classrooms are

failing to provide students with the necessary skills to be competitiveand successful in the 21st century. Businesses and organisations

require individuals who can demonstrate skills in critical thinking,

creativity and problem solving. They must also be procient at

working teams and display presentation skills and exhibit effective

leadership qualities.

The following concepts are integral for the vision of the school:

Parramatta Marist will continue to be at the forefront

forinnovation and excellence in teaching and

learning.

Students will be given unique opportunities to

improve and nurture essential 21st century skills such

as creativity, problem solving, collaboration and

presentation skills.

Staff will be given extensive opportunities to enhance

professional practices in terms of team teachings, PBL

and the integration of ICT.

Schools are learning environments that provide

students with authentic learning experiences. These

experiences require the support of the local school

community to create effective links between theclassroom environment and the real world.

All students at Parramatta Marist High School will become lifelong

learners.

Brother Patrick Howlett

UNDERSTANDING PROJECT BASED LEARNING 5


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Rationale behind Project-Based Learning

The current focus of education encourages knowledge attainment

but fails to provide students with the necessary skills to use knowledgeeffectively. Despite the fact that test scores are high, standardised

assessments are often a poor indicator of future success. Currently,

students are disengaged and unmotivated with the education

process. They see education as a collection of facts that have no

relevance or importance to the outside world.

The problem is that in schools students are told what

to learn not how to learn.

Project Based Learning is a rigorous, relevant, and engaging

education model that promotes self-directed learning and helps

make learning relevant and useful to students by establishing

connections to life outside

the classroom, addressing

real-world concerns, anddeveloping real world

skills.

The implementation of

Project Based Learning

redenes the classroom

environment as teachers

are no longer distributors

of knowledge, but they

are participates in the

learning process with the students. The focus of Project-Based

Learning involves planting a seed in students and watching it grow

as they retain what they learn rather than forget it as soon as they

disgorge it for a test.



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Benefts to Students

Students who participate in Project-Based Learning become

lifelong learners. They gain increased motivation towards their own

education because Project-Based Learning provides opportunities

for students to pursue their own interests and questions and make

decisions about how they will nd answers and solve problems.

The ability to collaborate and work as a team is a skill that is

imperative in any environment. Project-Based Learning creates an

environment where students learn how to collaborate, and their

social skills improve. They are more condent talking to groups of

people, including adults. Consequently, students who participate

in Project-Based Learning will develop collaborative skills that

traditional instruction fails to provide.

Education is not just about content coverage, but

about the development of essential skills that will

prepare our students for the post-school world.



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Underlying Principles o PBL

In order fully understand the unique educational opportunities

offered at Parramatta Marist it is necessary to outline seven principlesthat make up the PBL model.

Principle 1

Focusing on soft skills

Principle 2

The role of technology

Principle 3

Externalising the enemy

Principle 4

Removing repetition

Principle 5

Changing the way we teach

Principle 6

Assessment for learning



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Principle 1

Focusing on soft skills

Technology has changed the way the world works.

As technology evolves, so must the skill sets of

those who use it. In order to remain competitive

tomorrow, todays students need to develop

techniques that readily adapt to changes as theyoccur. These skills are often difcult to identify and

more importantly assess student achievement.

However, that are becoming increasingly important

to the 21st century student.


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Focusing on the sot skills

Given the rapid rate of change, the vast amount of information to

be managed, and the inuence of technology on life in general,students need to apply current skill sets, as well as develop new skill

sets to cope and to thrive in this changing society. These new skills

sets are called 21st century skills orsoft skills. No longer is acquisition

of knowledge enough for academic success. Students need to

know how to use their knowledge and skills by thinking critically,

applying knowledge to new situations, analyzing information,

comprehending new ideas, communicating, collaborating, solving

problems, and making decisions.

We need to prepare students for THEIR future not

OUR past

PBL focuses on helping students gain experience and understanding

in developing these new skills that will benet students in the

completion of their HSC, university degree or acquire a position in

their preferred profession.



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In each project students will be assessed not only on acquisition of

knowledge but also other skills. Difcult questions will be asked of thestudents and feedback given on areas of improvement required.

The list below include FOUR identied areas of focus:

1. Work Ethic and Organisation

Does a student hand work on time?

How do they organise themselves?

Do they demonstrate initiative?

Are they willing to support others?

2. Presentation Skills

Can they communicate within small groups?

Can they present in front of large audiences?

How professional are student presentations?

Are they able to answer questions appropriately?

3. Written Communication

How effective can they communicate?

Can they employ appropriate grammar and diction?

Are they able to communicate via multiple forms?

4. Teamwork

How effective are they in working in groups?

Do they share ideas?

Do they promote a positive group environment?

Are they able to take on different roles?


Focusing on the sot skills


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Principle 2

The role of technology

Recognising that technology is and will continue

to be a important facet of the 21st century. The

Internet has changed the way in which we acquire

knowledge. We can now learn anything, anytime,

anywhere.


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The role o technology

Schools are becoming increasingly aware that todays generation

of learners are different. Disengaged with traditional methods theyare withdrawing from their studies and longing for activities that

are more engaging and interactive. Technology is an essential tool

in connecting to so called Digital Natives.

Technology is only technology to those who were

born before it.

The PBL model at Parramatta Marist uses technology as a major

tool used to assist the delivery of the curriculum. It must be stressed

that the technology is only a tool and PBL could be implemented

without the technology. However, the way in which technology is

used is what makes the Parramatta Marist model so unique.

A strong focus has been placed on the use of web2.0 tools in PBL

classroom. Examples of these tools include:

Blogs

Wikis

Social Bookmarking

Social Network Sites

Discussion Forums

Through the use of these tools students are able to expand their

learning potential. Students are able to discover through social

bookmarking, collaborate using wikis, reect on learning progress

through social networking and present via their blog. The potential

is endless.



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Also, as well as the use of the web2.0 tools students also use an

online learning management system. This organises the essential

aspects of the project. Students can access this resource anytime

and a variety of resources are at their disposal. These include:

Organisational toolbar

Online Calendar

Internal Messaging System

File Submission Application

Online Exams

Online Teaching Activities

The role o technology



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Project Snapshot

Students are immersed in web2.0 tools that provide them with unique

opportunities gather, analyse and present their ndings. In social studies

students participated in a project titled Greenup2145. This was an authentic

project that required students to analyse their local Westmead area looking

at environmental issues including air quality, land and water management

and urban growth. From their nding students were asked to redesign the

Westmead area to make it more environmentally friendly.

During the course of the project students used a online social networking site

called NING (Shown below) to share ideas, ndings and relevant resources.

Each student was required to construct their own personal blog outlining thelearning that was taking place during the project. This provide students with

an appropriate forum to share and collaborate and then nally build their

own knowledge bases.

The end product for this project was a visual representation of their designs for

Westmead featuring images, animations, text and audio. This was presented

to the local member for Parramatta Ms Julie Owens MP.


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Principle 3

Externalising the Enemy

By providing students with authentic learning

experiences that are relevant to their lives and the

real world increases their engagement, motivation

and understanding regarding why learning is

relevant.


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Externalising the enermy

Students are given unique opportunities not offered in traditional

instruction to present their projects to external entities. These entitiesare often experts in their eld and provide relevant and informative

feedback to students. This gives teachers the opportunity to

externalise themselves and facilitate the students in the completion

of the project.

Throughout the course of the year we have had the following people

in to assist in providing feedback for student presentations:

Julie Owens (Member for Parramatta)

Bishop Kevin Manning

Darryl Melham (MP for Banks)



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Project Snapshot

The prospect of presenting to someone else other than a teacher is often a very

daunting prospect for most students. However, this opportunity often provides

the platform for students to produce their best work. In CathTECH studentsparticipated in the Images of Jesus project. This required students to submit an

entry into the Blake Societies prize for religious art. Students were asked to study

the various art periods signicant to religious art and they included Byzantine,

baroque and renaissance. Students were also provided with opportunities to

master the software program Adobe Photoshop.

Using their newly discovered knowledge and skills students were required to

apply this and create their own image of Jesus. This reected how they sawJesus in either contemporary society or in their life. Finally, students created

a art caption which asked

them to outline the reasons

why they had created the

image which is not often an

easy task.

The end product for this

project was an art exhibition

of student work. Students

presented their art works to

a panel including Bishop

Manning. The Bishop was most

impressed by the students

maturity and ability to discuss

how their religious ideas have

been shaped.

This project required high

levels of creativity and critical

thinking. The answers to

project where not something

that the students could

google, they were their own ideas, thoughts and images and required a

unique justication.


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Principle 4

Removing repetition

Subjects alone often cover the same skills or

educational outcomes over an academic year. This

for students is a primary factor in disengagement

and confusion. As students are asked to complete

certain activities throughout multiple subjects.


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Removing repetition

At Parramatta Marist High we have implemented subject

integration as part of our PBL model. These subjects that havebeen integrated often share similar content or skills. Therefore,

we have the following subject groups in PBL:

1. Social Studies

English has been linked with Human Society and its Environment

(HSIE). Both subjects share similar skill sets and content can used

from both to assess the required skills. Projects will assess outcomesfrom both disciplines primarily focusing on the content derived

from HSIE and the skills required for English analysis.

2. CathTECH

Catholic Studies has been linked with Information Software

Technology (IST). As with social studies the content within Catholic

studies is integrated with the skills derived from within IST. This is avery unique partnership as traditional IST has been an elective

and is now a compulsory subject which provides students with

essential skills in the use of the technology.

3. Science

Science is a stand alone subject that allows students to

participate in smaller classroom environments. Due the laboratory

requirements this provides students with excellent opportunities to

focus on inquiry based learning within the science curriculum.

To repeat what others have said, requires

education; to challenge it, requires brains.



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Principle 5


Students need to know how to use their knowledge

and skills-by thinking critically, applying

knowledge to new situations, analyzing information,

comprehending new ideas, communicating,

collaborating, solving problems, and makingdecisions


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Know more than ever the is the teacher more critical to the

development of the educational ability of a student. Unfortunately,

we are unable to compete with the Internet regarding capacity

of knowledge. However, a successful education requires the ability

to nd relevant information from multiple sources, checking the

information for validity, sharing that information with others and

publishing the information in a new context.

Teaching is no longer about knowledge retention and rote

learning. A teacher in the 21st century must be exible able to

work in large groups, small groups and one to one with studentsasking a multitude of questions. Students must be pushed to be

more creative, demonstrate higher levels of work ethic, present

and share ideas more frequently and of higher quality. The student

of the 21st century is able to solve complex problems by sharing

knowledge gained, working with other students and breaking

problems down into more manageable parts.

Students dont want to consume, they want to

produce. We must move away the idea that the

teacher is the Sage on the Stage.

The truth is teachers have had to change the way they teach. No

longer are we doing our students justice by spoon feeding them

the information, we must teach them to think. Acquiring knowl-

edge for most students is the easy part, however knowing what it

means or what to do with it is the difcult part.



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Assessment or learning

In PBL students are denitely assessed more than in traditional

classrooms. This provides both teachers and students with thenecessary feedback required to achieve sound educational

progress. In every project students are assessed regarding FOUR

categories, these include:

Content

This is 50% of the nal grade for the project and for integrated

subjects it is 25% each.

Work Ethic and Organisation

This is 20% of the nal grade.

Presentation Skills OR Written Communication

This is 20% of the nal grade and only one is selected to be

assessed.

Teamwork

This is 10% of the nal grade which is a peer evaluation,

moderated by the teacher for consistency.

Students are given clear instructions in their assessment rubric on what

is required to achieve each grade standard from A - E. Assessment

items are broken up during the project to provide students with

feedback during the project and to avoid large amounts of work

being due at the same time.

Finally, assessment marks are uploaded online to provide parents

with a thorough breakdown of student achievement. All marks

will correlate with assessment breakdown outlined above. Parents

are able to view the students gradebook anytime and it is located

online.



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Assessment or learning

Below is an example of the student gradebook:


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He is wise who knows the sources of

knowledge - who knows who has written

and where it is to be found.

Understanding PBL

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