inquiry should lead students to construct something new – an idea, an interpretation, a new way of displaying what they have learned.
• results in a publicly presented product or performance. With main course Project- Based Learning, what a student knows is demonstrated by what he/she does, and it must be open to public scrutiny and critique.
• allows some degree of student voice and choice. Main course Project-Based Learning is not a paint-by-the-numbers experience. Students learn to work independently and take responsibility when they are asked to make choices. The opportunity to make choices and to express their learning in their own voice also helps to increase students’ educational engagement.
• requires critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and various forms of communication.
To answer the Driving Question or Challenge and present high-quality work in main course Project-Based Learning, students need to do much more than remember information—they need to use higher-order thinking skills. They also have to learn to work as a team and con- tribute to a group effort. They must listen to others and make their own ideas clear when speaking, be able to read a variety of material, write or otherwise express themselves in vari- ous modes, and make effective presentations. These skills, competencies, and habits of mind are often known as “21st Century Skills,” for they are considered a prerequisite for success in the 21st Century (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2008).
Project-Based Learning is a filling meal of rich content knowledge and the skills valued by employers in a globalized economy (Wagner, 2008). If we wish to prepare a generation of students who can solve real-world problems, we must give them real-world problems to solve. If we want to graduate students who can manage their time and collaborate with oth- ers, we must give them guidance and practice managing their time and collaborating with others. The older, dessert model of “doing a project” may taste sweet, but it is not going to enable 21st century students reach 21st century learning goals.
Helping the Chefs Meet 21st Century Goals for Students
A minority of individual teachers across the country are doing the hard work of planning and cooking up nutritious main course Project-Based Learning and preparing their students to reach 21st century goals. However, these efforts are not reinforced by similar practices in other classrooms where the majority of students never get this opportunity. While it is pos-
31 Virginia Educational Leadership Vol. 7 No. 1 Spring 2010
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73