Week 7 Blog One

Project Based Learning

So much of the literature about project based learning seems intuitive, like teachers should just know this as a part of who we are. I am trying to think about why then is there not more of this going on in schools, or rather, why are schools not structured around this concept? It seems that sometimes teaching is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. So much of what we are required to “cover” doesn’t make sense from day to day, but sometimes we luck out and are able to plan a great project. I needed a shot in the arm and set to work on finding some ideas and ways to bring more of this into the classroom. Before the internet, my life as a teacher was much harder. I can’t believe how many resources are available to teachers now; I’m just trying to soak it all in.

Here are some links that I found to be helpful.
A sample project-planning form—Makes you think about the learning outcome before you plan activities.


Make Your Own Project-Based Lesson Plan—Wow. The steps are presented here with plenty of information about the entire process.

Project Based Learning Checklists—how to evaluate the learning.

Project-Based Learning –includes a lesson bank and sample lessons.

Is it possible that teachers have information overload and then just shut down? How do we keep the kids interested when many times as they receive too much information, they just shut down. How much of that is just being a teenager, or needing more time to process? We know that students will be motivated when they “own it” so how to we structure a classroom around that model when the traditional high school is often very different? Just thinking out loud because these are the questions my school and staff are grappling with right now.