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| New from the George Lucas Educational Foundation |
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A BLOG about PBL!
Edutopia (from GLEF.org) now has something called the Spiral Notebook within its site. Here you will find the question raised by Diane Demee-Benoit: Does project-based learning lead to higher student achievement? As of June 9th, there were 21 posts in response to this call for evidence. As we all know, we have been waiting for the evidence that will show non-PBL teachers that PBL works better for students and does not hold students back on the high stakes tests that teachers now have to worry about. |
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Update on Edutopia
This free online (and paper) magazine now has some new features on the website and via email. In addition to the BLOG (above), it now has an Exhibit Hall with examples of technology-supported learning environments; a section on Teaching Modules (including PBL); and an opportunity to subscribe to weekly email-delivered newsletters, including one on PBL. If you haven’t visited this site in a while, it’s time to drop by. |
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| Articles |
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Creating Mathematical Futures through an Equitable Teaching Approach
This 2005 article, subtitled The Case of Railside School, will leave a deep impression with you as you follow their study of 700 mathematics students from 3 high schools. Here is some of the evidence we have been waiting for! In “Railside”, a school from the “wrong side of the tracks”, students learned more than those at the other two schools, “enjoyed mathematics more and progressed to higher mathematical levels”. The article discusses the nature of the teaching and learning environment, which I think you will find to fit pretty closely with what we know as Project-based Learning! |
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Getting a Grip on Project-based Learning: Theory, Cases, and Recommendations
Michael. Grant’s article appears in Meridian: Middle School Computer Technologies Journal, 5(1), 2002. It discusses PBL in terms of constructionism, and analyzes webquests as a type of PBL. |
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Technology Supports for Project-Based Learning
This brief tech report (Part 8 of Technology and Education Reform: Technical Research Report - August 1995) is archived. It gives examples, and discusses findings from a research study on technology’s role in PBL. The article distinguishes between aspects of PBL that are directly “stimulated” by technology and those that may be either neutral or supported by technology. This report also recognizes that PBL demands a lot from teachers, and that adding technology to the mix increases the energy required to carry out this kind of teaching. Nevertheless the authors report that teachers are increasingly taking the plunge and paint a positive picture of technology-supported PBL. |
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| Websites |
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Harnessing the Web
Website of GlobalSchoolNet. Several PBL sections:
Introduction to Networked Project-Based Learning (Pedagogy, examples, success stories, and resources); Introduction to Finding Projects, Partners & Collaborative Tools; Introduction to Making Collaborative Learning Projects; and a Library of Resources (this section is empty at this time).
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Project-Based Learning: A Web site for the Exploration of PBL and Technology
K. Kahler and E. Schnellert published this site in 2003. The background comes from the now-familiar GLEF, BIE, and ISTE sources. It gives good examples and discusses assessment and gives resources. |
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| PBL for Adult Learners |
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P5BL: Problem Project Product Process People –Based Learning (Engineering)
This site is for university level students and instructors and focuses on research and curriculum development in civil and environmental engineering. I include this link because many people are looking for applications to a more adult population, and this is one of the few I have found. Their objectives are impressive, and you can download very recent project PowerPoints to get an idea of what they are accomplishing. |
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Project-based Learning (Adult Literacy)
The Literacy Assistance Center of New York City has a PBL website for adult learning in an effort to promote skills of communication, teamwork, applying “personal skills and knowledge to real-life situations.” Examples are available of projects drawing on cultural ways of knowing, publishing projects, a variety of other possibilities. Resources links are also provided. |
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