What are the impacts of Project Based Learning?

I have heard of Project Based Learning in the past from teaching friends and read some information about what it is. I knew it was implemented in some schools in New Zealand but I did not have a lot of in depth knowledge about it.

When we made the decision to implement Project Based Learning in my class, it was after a discussion what our data has been saying for the past years, gathering student voice and most of all we were looking at trying something new. My biggest worry was, I felt as a teacher I was losing the autonomy of planning learning activities, looking for resources which I believed will benefit my students and using the Learn, Create, Share pedagogy in my classroom. 

However, we are now into the second unit of Project Based Learning in my class and I am learning that although the topics are given from the Project Based Learning programme, I still have a lot of input in the implementation of the learning through the task design. 

Our first unit was following what the Project Based Learning Programme gave us in materials. The second uni of Architecture which we are working on now is following what the programme has given us and also implementing our own learning activities. I feel we are are finding our way and taking more control of how we implement Project Based Learning in the classroom. 

I wanted to learn more about the impacts of Project Based Learning in schools where it has been implemented for many years. A reading was given to me which discussed the impacts of Project Based Learning which I will discuss in this blog post. The article was written by the Buck Institute of Education. It was a collation of studies and analysis of the Project Based Learning. Is it also important to note that this analysis was of school in the United States implementing Project Based Learning. 

What the article discusses:

• Research shows that PBL (Project Based Learning) can promote learning and is more effective than traditional instruction in social Studies, science, mathematics and literacy 

• The demographics of the schools in the study is relevant to our school. We are situated in a low socio economic area

• In social studies, students gained more academic success in PBL than when they were learning Social Studies in a traditional classroom

• The social studies unit focussed on real world challenges and the students learnt about the unit in an extended period of time

• Projected embedded opportunities for collaboration and choice for students

• PBL was more effective than traditional approaches for students with average verbal ability=

• In science, students showed an increased ability to apply information to new situations and draw relationships between concepts

• Students showed significant gains in science between pre tests and post tests

• PBL provided opportunities for integrated learning and using technology in learning 

• In maths, PBL students did not have greater knowledge of maths facts, procedures and rules but were better able to make more use of math in different situations

• In literacy PBL students made significant gains in informational reading but did not in writing

• The analysis highlighted the lack of information and classroom instruction in some classrooms where PBL was implemented

After reading through this article, I reflected on what I had already seen and discussed with my students about PBL. My students like that they have choice in which activities they can do and when they would do the activities. They liked having a deadline they were working towards for their big project hand in. When I read that PBL was more effective than traditional classrooms, I reflected on the fact that as a Manaiakalani school and a one to one classroom, my classroom was not your TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM. Our students learn in a digital classroom where they are able to utilise digital tools to accelerate their learning and also share their learning with a wider audience that would not be possible without the use of digital tools.

I can also understand the point discussed about the lack of classroom instruction as mentioned in the article. With PBL, students work on projects which take five weeks to complete. Each curriculum area has tasks which need to be completed by the end of the five weeks. I feel it is really up to the teacher and how they implement PBL to ensure sufficient classroom instruction and support is given to students. Although PBL provides a lot of opportunities for self directed study, there is still a great need for the teacher to fully participate and support the students in the projects from the planning of the units and projects to the handing in at the due dates. 

Where to from here? I AM THE SILVER BULLET. I will finish this blog post with a saying Dorothy Burt shared with our DFI group this week. We may have all these digital tools and advance technology available to us for the learning of our tamariki, but its effectiveness depends on how we as teachers utilise them for the learning opportunities for our tamariki. With that, PBL gives us the unit topics and support materials but our tasks designs will make the difference in how we implement PBL in my classroom and its effects on our tamariki and their learning. 

NOTE: the implementation of PBL in my classroom this year is a shared collaborative effort between my co-teacher this year, Mrs Raj and I. 

Reference: 

Kingston, S. (2018). Project Based Learning & Student Achievement: What does the Research Tell Us? PBL Evidence Matters. 1(1)-11. http://bie.org/x9JN