7 Essentials PBL Buck

7/30/2019 7 Essentials PBL Buck

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/7-essentials-pbl-buck 1/4

E d u c a t i o n a l l E a d E r s h i p / s E p t E m b E r 2 0 1 0

John Larmer andJohn R. Mergendoller

As Ms. McIntyre walkedaround her high schoolscience classroom, sheplopped a packet of papers on each student’s

desk and announced a “project.” Eachstudent would create a poster abouta water-borne bacterium that can beharmful to humans, the bacterium’seffects, and disease prevention andtreatment. The handouts included anassignment sheet with due dates andgrading policy, a guide for designingthe poster, and a list of websites andbooks. The teacher would display thebest posters.

• • •

7 Essentials forProject-BasedLearning

Some “projects” border on busywork. Others involvemeaningful inquiry that engages students’ minds.

SEPTEMBER 2010VOL. 68 NO. 1

WWW.ASCD.ORG

A N N E D O W I E P H O T O G R A P H Y

Students at Mare Island Technical Academy in Vallejo present their project work to an audience.







and revision during a project makeslearning meaningful because it empha-sizes that creating high-quality productsand performances is an importantpurpose of the endeavor. Students needto learn that most people’s first attemptsdon’t result in high quality and thatrevision is a frequent feature of real-world work.

In addition to providing directfeedback, the teacher should coachstudents in using rubrics or other setsof criteria to critique one another’swork. Teachers can arrange for experts

or adult mentors to provide feedback,which is especially meaningful to stu-dents because of the source.

7. A Publicly Presented ProductIn Ms. McIntyre’s class, teams presentedtheir analyses of water contaminationissues and proposals for addressingthe problem at an exhibition night.The invited audience included parents,peers, and representatives of com-munity, business, and government

organizations. Students answered ques-tions and reflected on how they com-pleted the project, next steps they mighttake, and what they gained in terms of knowledge and skills—and pride.

• • •

Schoolwork is more meaning ful whenit’s not done only for the teacher or thetest. When students present their workto a real audience, they care more aboutits quality. Once again, it’s “the more,the better” when it comes to authen-ticity. Students might replicate the kinds

of tasks done by professionals—buteven better, they might create realproducts that people outside school use.

The Rest of the StoryThe hypothetical project described here

was inspired by a real project, “MediaSaves the Beach,” carried out by stu-dents at High Tech High in San Diego,California. In this real-life project,students worked alongside establishedlocal groups to advocate cleaner sea-shores. Several government agencieseventually came through with fundingfor water monitoring at local beaches.

In truth, one of the products studentscreated was a poster. What made thatposter different from the meaning-liteone Ms. McIntyre assigned? The HighTech High students chose to do their

poster because it was an effective way tocommunicate their message at Exhi-bition Night—and the team stoodnearby to explain it. To create theposter, students engaged in an extendedprocess of inquiry, critique, and

revision. They learned important thingsin the process. In short, even a postercan be meaning-heavy if it’s part of aproject embodying the seven essentialelements of project-based learning. EL

Authors’ note: Individual and some placenames in this article are pseudonyms.

John Larmer (415-883-0122; [email protected]) is director of productdevelopment and John R. Mergendoller ([email protected]) is executive director atthe Buck Institute for Education, 18Commercial Blvd., Novato, CA 94949.

Students at Tamalpais High School in California study U.S. History in a project.

A N N E D O W I E P H O T O G R A P H Y

Reprinted with permission from Educational Leadership, Volume 68, Number 1,September 2010by The Reprint Outsource, 717-394-7350.

For more information about Educational Leadership, go to www.ascd.org or call 703-578-9600.

Buck Institute for Education18 Commercial Blvd.Novato, CA, USA 94949ph: 415-883-0122www.bie.orgyoutube.com/biepbltwitter.com/biepbl

Documents

7 Essentials PBL Buck