PROJECT BASED LEARNING (PBL)

Weighing the pros and cons

Why teachers avoid project-based assessments… They’re harder to manage than traditional

forms of assessments So much preparation for the teacher (front

loading)… More difficult to assess whether the

individual meets curriculum outcomes Students tend to lean on their strengths Time-consuming

Weighing the pros and cons

Why teachers should consider PBL… Student learns:

…how to do …how to trust

Teacher learns: …about his/her students

Relationships Teacher-student Student-student

Enculturation (sino-canadian bridge):

Doing avoids rote-memorization experiences are more readily available and stay

with students longer Students have both experience (abstract) and

tangible product Easier to evaluate the source of

misconceptions Language-based Concept-based

Students have more fun Working with friends Personally relevant

Solving for “X”

Not knowing what "X" represents or what "X" means makes the task of solving for "X" meaningless and inapplicable. Where does this "X" dwell in nature? Can you see this "X" occurring, or even better, can you experience the "X?" Plus, this process for solving for “X” is already being introduced to my students in Chinese as most Math 11 curriculum has already been learned by the students.

Our unique role…

My position is that there should not be a repeat performance of the system of learning that Chinese students already receive. The rules of engagement with ideas ought to shift so that students learn of the functionality of ideas. What I like to see in the classroom is how students operate with these concepts. Its not "learning" them but "using" them that becomes the focus. Because teachers in an International School Program have the luxury of working with smaller class sizes as compared to a typical Chinese classroom, we can afford to take the time to focus on application, and language development is a natural side-effect to this method. In a way, the students become intimate with the concepts they learn. As a result, the education process becomes more meaningful. We would not be taking full advantage of our unique opportunity as International teachers if all we provide is the same education Chinese students already receive save that it is in English.

Am I preaching to the choir?

Example 1

The sinusoidal project Assume front-loading has already occurred

Group Project

Tom, Sandy, and Bob

Method1. Height of swing from ground at rest (distance from x-axis to minimum peak)2. Height of swing from ground where swing reaches its highest point (distance from x-axis to maximum peak)3. Time for one complete cycle (period), which is the swing moving from center-forward to center-back and back to center.

EXPLANATIONS - (see next slide)

x 1 2 3 4

y 34 44 98 898

Equations Question

CalculationsSolution

REQUIRED: DATA TABLE GRAPH EQUATION (both in Sine and Cosine) CALCULATIONS (apply your equation to some

question - "What is the height of the swing after 3.5 minutes?")

Explanation of the concepts in nature causing the real-life event (for example: an Earth-Space science concept - "Gravity from the moon pulls on the ocean, creating high tides and low tides. It occurs in a predictable cycle that is dependent on the location of the moon and the Earth's rotation. The tide is high on the side of the Earth that is closest to the moon. It is low tide on the side of the Earth facing away from the sun." )

Explanation of how the sinusoidal function is applied (back to our example - "A Cosine function can be used to represent how far inland the waterline is during high tide and low tide. This will be the y-coordinate. Time is represented by x-coordinate. The complete wave represents a full cycle from high tide to low tide and back."

Note that variables are clearly stated.

REQUIRED (continued)

Explanation of how data was retrieved show where you got your measurements ("Our data is a tide

chart of the Kitty Hawk Bay in the U.S.A. Datat was retrieved from http://www.twiddy.com/tide-charts.aspx")

If you took your own measurements you must describe your method (for example: with the swing-set concept, it would look like:

Method1. Height of swing from ground at rest (distance from x-axis to minimum peak)2. Height of swing from ground where swing reaches its highest point (distance from x-axis to maximum peak)3. Horizontal Distance on ground from swing at rest to the place where swing reaches its highest point4. Time for one complete one complete cycle (period), which is the swing moving from center-forward to center-back and back to center.

SPECIAL NOTES:

You will work in the groups you are currently in

You will be graded on originality, accuracy, and by using the most efficient method to find your solution

RUBRIC

Ah-hah moments

Basically, I set up the target parameter and they are set free to work with it as they seem fit

The cool thing about this project is that students just go about their lives.

Then, the moment comes when they abstractly associate variables to their surrounding and they realize they are experiencing or witnessing periodic motion.

Go to the board…

Lesson learned by teacher…

I had not put into place any checkpoints to safeguard against groups missing their target Some projects crashed and burned like a

bullet train that had derailed on its way to Beijing from Shijiazhuang

Example 2

Statistics project

tu

Student-designed surveys

With interval width included

Student-designed surveys

No interval width

I checked this by having groups show me artifacts documenting their sampling prcedure. In addition, they had to produce all their completed surveys and have a meeting with me prior to continuing the project

Conducted second interview