Project+Based+Learning

These are the rubrics that teachers can use to judge the quality and completeness of their projects

DEFINING STANDARDS-FOCUSED PBL There is no one accepted definition of PBL. However, BIE defines standards-focused PBL as //a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning knowledge and skills through an extended inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and tasks.// This definition encompasses a spectrum ranging from brief projects of one to two weeks based on a single subject in one classroom to yearlong, interdisciplinary projects that involve community participation and adults outside the school. More important than the definition itself are the attributes of effective projects:
 * Recognize students' inherent //drive to learn//, their capability to do important work, and their need to be taken seriously by putting them at the center of the learning process.
 * Engage students in the central concepts and principles of a discipline. The project work is //central// rather than peripheral to the curriculum.
 * Highlight provocative issues or questions that lead students to //in-depth exploration of authentic and important topics.//
 * Require the use of essential //tools and skills//, including technology, for learning, self-management, and project management.
 * Specify //products// that solve problems, explain dilemmas, or present information generated through investigation, research, or reasoning.
 * Include //multiple products// that permit frequent feedback and consistent opportunities for students to learn from experience.
 * Use //performance-based assessments// that communicate high expectations, present rigorous challenges, and require a range of skills and knowledge.
 * Encourage //collaboration// in some form, either through small groups, student-led presentations, or whole-class evaluations of project results.

The BIE model for PBL also addresses a singular need: to create //standards-focused// projects that fit well with the era of accountability and performance. Often, projects have been used as fun or change-of-pace events completed after students have been pushed through homework assignments, lectures, and tests.** In standards-based PBL, students are pulled through the curriculum by a Driving Question or authentic problem that creates a need to know the material ****. **The Driving Question is tied to content standards in the curriculum, and assessment is explicitly designed to evaluate the students' knowledge of the content. Similarly, Project Based Learning is sometimes equated with inquiry-based or experiential learning. Though PBL shares some overlapping characteristics with these two terms, standards-focused PBL is designed to acknowledge the importance of standards and evaluation of student learning. In an era of accountability, with testing and performance uppermost in the minds of parents and educators, it is imperative that all instructional methods incorporate high standards, rigorous challenges, and valid assessment methods. From: http://www.bie.org/index.php/site/PBL/pbl_handbook_introduction/#coverage