Project Based Learning with ICT Assoc. Prof. Petya Asenova, PhD Computer Science Department New Bulgarian University 1.08.2014

Introduction What is project based learning Benefits/inappropriate sites Roles in project based learning Final delivery Assessment Challenges Example Topics

Introduction This is the reason for the increased interest in learning activities in which students are actively involved. Such type of activity is learning through projects. 3 Students are active constructors of their knowledge They apply them in practical activities More effective acquiring knowledge

Introduction Some history Confucius (6-5 c.BC): Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand. John Dewey supported "learning by doing, the end of the 19th century This sentiment is also reflected in constructivism 4 Educational research has advanced this idea of teaching and learning into a methodology known as "project-based learning - PBL."

What is project based learning (PBL) PBL approach is a valid instructional strategy that promote active learning and engage the learners in higher-order thinking 5

What is project based learning (PBL) Opinion [Blumenfeld et al, 1991, in Educational Psychologist, 26(3&4)]: "Project-based learning is a comprehensive perspective focused on teaching by engaging students in investigation. Within this framework, students pursue solutions to nontrivial problems by asking and refining questions, debating ideas, making predictions, designing plans and/or experiments, collecting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions, communicating their ideas and findings to others, asking new questions, and creating artifacts. 6

What is project based learning (PBL) Opinion [Thomas, Mergendoller, Michaelson, 1999]: Projects are complex tasks, based on challenging questions or problems, that involve students in design, problem-solving, decision making, or investigative activities; give students the opportunity to work relatively autonomously over extended periods of time; culminate in realistic products or presentations. 7

What is project based learning (PBL) Opinion [ Greeno, J. G. (2006) in The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences]: Project-based learning has been associated with the "situated learning. 8

What is project based learning (PBL) Opinion [Stephanie Bell (2010), in Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas]: PBL is a student-driven, teacher-facilitated approach to learning. Learners pursue knowledge by asking questions that have piqued their natural curiosity. The genesis of a project is an inquiry. Students develop a question and are guided through research under the teachers supervision. PBL is not a supplementary activity to support learning. It is the basis of the curriculum. 9

What is project based learning (PBL) Opinion [Markham, T. (2011) in Teacher Librarian, 39(2)]: PBL integrates knowing and doing. Students learn knowledge and elements of the core curriculum, but also apply what they know to solve authentic problems and produce results that matter. PBL students take advantage of digital tools to produce high quality, collaborative products. PBL refocuses education on the student, not the curriculum These cannot be taught out of a textbook, but must be activated through experience. 10

What is project based learning (PBL) Thomas, J. offered five criteria what must a project have in order to be considered PBL: centrality, driving question, constructive investigations, autonomy, and realism. [Thomas, J. (2000). A Review of the Research on Project-Based Learning] 11

What is project based learning (PBL) Kriterion 1: PBL projects are central, not peripheral to the curriculum. This means: PBL projects are the curriculum. In PBL, the project is the central teaching strategy trough which students cover elements of the curriculum. If the project provide illustrations, examples, additional practice, or practical applications for material taught already, it is not example of PBL. Project in which students learn things that are outside the curriculum ("enrichment" projects) it is not example of PBL. Example? 12

What is project based learning (PBL) Kriterion 2: PBL projects are focused on questions or problems that "drive" students to meet the central concepts and principles of a discipline. It means the project must provide such activities for students to learn new knowledge of a discipline/disciplines. This is done with a "driving question". Example? 13

What is project based learning (PBL) Kriterion 3: Projects involve students in a constructive investigation. An investigation is a goaldirected process that involves inquiry and knowledge building. Investigations may be design, decision-making, problem-finding, problem-solving, discovery, or model-building processes. To be considered as a PBL project, the central activities must involve transformation and construction of knowledge. If the project activities represent no difficulty to the student or provide application of already-learned information or skills, the project is an exercise, not a PBL project. 14

What is project based learning (PBL) Kriterion 3: Projects involve students in a constructive investigation. Example: given a right triangle (the black one) with sites a, b, c, where c is hypotenuse. Prove that: a2 + b2 = c2 (Pythagoras theorem) It is involved in the curriculum but students have not learned it before. Have to discover. After additional drawing given on the figure, Using previous knowledge (S and S ) they can prove the new formulae a2 + b2 = c2 15

What is project based learning (PBL) Kriterion 4: Projects are student-driven to some significant degree PBL project are supervised by the teacher. Doing students have autonomy, choice, unsupervised work time, and responsibility. If laboratory exercises and instructional booklets are PBL projects? 16

What is project based learning (PBL) Kriterion 5: Projects are realistic, not school- like. It means: Authenticity in everything: real topics and tasks, real roles that students play, real context of working, real collaboration, real product produced with potential to be implemented. Assessment according to real criteria. 17

Group activity: You are teachers and have to create a PBL project around a driving question. Having in mind the curriculum, what students have learned and what have not, find out a driving question. What is project based learning (PBL)

What is project based learning (PBL) Collaboration is essential Sharing information between members in the group. Each individual share what he or she has learned and how that information might impact on developing a solution. Sharing products produced by individuals. These products are combined in a common product of the whole team. 19

What is project based learning (PBL) Using ICT is essential. It gives: Tools (software, hardware) to develop project Skills to use technology Sources of information Communication tools Presentation tools 20

What is project based learning (PBL) Using ICT is essential. It gives: Cognitive tools: semantic organization tools (e.g., databases) dynamic modeling tools (e.g., spreadsheets) visualization tools (e.g., MathLab, Geometry Tutor) knowledge construction tools (e.g., a multimedia authoring tool) socially shared cognitive tools (e.g., computer conferencing, forums and computer-supported collaborative tools) [Kim and Reeves (2007:226)] 21

Benefits/inappropriate sites Benefits: Students are more active doing project Students are more responsible in their learning Students have more autonomy to propose and find solutions Students can use their previous experience 22

Benefits/inappropriate sites Benefits: Every student can participate according his/her learning style, according to his/her strong sites and will achieve better results Students are more motivated to discover, more confident that can be useful PBL stimulate cognitive development and critical thinking PBL helps students to develop a variety of social skills as communication and collaboration, working in group, negotiation 23

Benefits/inappropriate sites Benefits: Accommodates different kinds of intelligence Encourages the mastery of technological tools PBL make students better prepared for the real life 24

Benefits/inappropriate sites Inappropriate sites: Heterogeneous group as level of knowledge and skills Different quality of the products produced wich have to be assembled into one common product The nonworking students could hide themselves behind the active students 25

Benefits/inappropriate sites Inappropriate sites: PBL request more time than traditional strategies It is not easy to create appropriate projects of PBL It is difficult to assess students working in a group Very often only the product is assessed, not the process 26

Roles in PBL What students do: Work in groups having autonomy Choose a leader Plan the activities, deadlines and responsibilities to achieve the aim Search information, experiment, analyze, make hypotheses and conclusions, proves and interprete 27

Roles in PBL What students do: Debate and choose resources, tools, solutions Share information and products Manage and control each step, results and deadlines Present the result 28

Roles in PBL What teachers do: Find out a driving question and create appropriate projects instruct and coach rather than teach, provide expert guidance, feedback and suggestions for better Looking for the communication between students in the group - if students shared information and products 29

Roles in PBL What teachers do : Give students autonomy and freedom Control each activity, deadlines and results and make corrections if needed Resolve conflicts if needed 30

Final Deliveries Presentations Project product Reports 31

Final Delivery Presentation: Present the plan and first project ideas Present one mid-term report about the project progress (if the project needs a long time) Final presentation - each student report his part 32

Final Delivery Project product: Each group at the end demonstrates the final product how the functionalities work 33

Final Delivery Project report: Some projects require writing documentation. Each group submit a final report to layout the structure of the project and to give detailed information. Each group has to report about the contribution of each group member. It is difficult to find out the truth but it is easy for the lecturer to assess students. 34

Assessment Students need to be assessed on both process and results The process assessment: mid-term results, communication, deadlines Final result assessment : knowledge/skills covered, product, report, presentation skills 35

Assessment Students could be assessed in a group or as individuals (example: group - 80% and individual - 20%) Appropriate for group assessment: deliverables related to the development process, final product, report Appropriate for individual assessment: individual tasks, communication, deadlines, presentation skills 36

Assessment Self- and peer-assessment could take place The final grade of the members of the same group may vary. 37

Challenges Related to implementation: To incorporate PBL in school curriculum To find driving questions To create appropriate projects The real time needed for the project development could be longer than the planned time 38

Challenges Related to implementation: To provide all needed resources for students by the school Setting of common deliverables for disparate projects. Not all projects follow the same scheme, but students have to work in equality 39

Challenges Students challenges: Managing their time and activities Developing logical arguments to support their claims Participating in the project based on personal preferences rather than questions needed Collecting data needed not always full data collection 40

Challenges Teacher challenges: To find a driving question To develop appropriate projects To involve the PBL project in the curricula To plan the assessment - define assessment criteria 41

Challenges Teacher challenges: To assess students working in different projects (with different complexity) the same way To find a balance between supervise students and to give them enough freedom they to work independence 42

Example school project Subject: IT, grade 6, unit Multimedia presentations Driving Question: How to add audio and video in power point presentation Task definition: To create a multimedia book for young children on a chosen field (Geography, Literature, History, Music, etc) involving text, audio and video materials. Time: 6 hours Team: 3 students (, B C) 43

Example school project Activities planned by teacher leading to new knowledge: - Investigating how to embed audio and video files in a Power Point presentation 44

Example school project Example of working plan (students work): 45 Activities Period 1 /hours Period 2 . Responsi ble person 1. Planning activities x A, B, C 2. Product design x x A, B, C 3. Creating/Collecting materials: - Text - Images - Audio - Video x x x x A A B C

Example school project Resources (students work): Information resources Human resources Software Hardware 46

Example school project Deliverables: Task definition, target group, team Working plan Product design how text, images, audio, video contribute the idea Final product Report: details how the project is done technologically; list of contribution of each member; new knowledge (description); list of information sources used 47

Example school project Assessment: Example it is made by the teacher 48 Individual Assessment 25 % Group Assessment 75 % Individual tasks 10 % Mid-term deliverables - 15 % Deadlines 5 % Final product 50 % Communication 5 % Report 10 % Presentation skills 5 %

Example school project Group activity on your project: Imagine you are teacher. Have to produce for the project Multimedia book the following components: Working plan Resources Deliverables Assessment 49