The following are web and book resources to help support
PBL in the classroom. Some of the web sites and contact people listed
here include excellent research and evaluation studies about PBL, as well.
Books:
Tina Blythe & Associates (1998). The Teaching for Understanding
Guide. (San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers). This is an excellent summary
from The Teaching for Understanding Project of Harvard's "Project Zero."
Not limited to PBL, this book helps teachers focus on "understanding"
as a primary goal for student learning and presents a model and examples
of how to accomplish this in the classroom.
The Buck Institute for Education (1999). Project
Based Learning Handbook for Middle and High School Teachers (Novato,
CA: The Buck Institute for Education). This is one of the best and most
accessible resources for teachers who wish to understand and implement
PBL in the classroom. It provides an excellent model of the entire PBL
process, numerous teacher-submitted projects, and project/curriculum planning
and assessment guides (both in electronic and paper form).
Judy F. Carr and Doublas E. Harris (2001). Succeeding
with Standards: Linking Curriculum, Assessment, and Action Planning.
(Alexandria, VA: Association for Curriculum Development) "How do
you reshape the local curriculum to incorporate local, state, and national
standards? [This book] offers a practical, school-tested solution to the
challenge of incorporating standards at all levels with the best of the
local education system. In this book, [the authors] describe a comprehensive
process by which schools and districts can turn piecemeal initiatives
into a coherent plan." (from back cover)
Anne
Conzemius and Jan O'Neill (2001).
Building Shared Responsibility for Student Learning
(Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development). This book looks to answer the question,
"Who is responsibile for student learning?"
and offers suggestions, guidance, and inspiration for
making student learning a responsibility shared by
all.
Meredith
Davis, Peter Hawley, Bernard McMullan & Getrude Spilka
(1997). Design
as a Catalyst for Learning. (Alexandria, VA: ASCD)
This is an excellent resource on learning and creativity
through students learning through highly engaging in
design projects. Design is shown to be a rich methodology
and interdisciplinary "learning through doing" process,
integrating the arts, sciences and engineering.
Allan
Glatthorn et al (1998). Performance Assessment and Standards-Based
Curricula: The Achievement Cycle. (Larchmont, NY: Eye
On Education) This book is a practical guide to connecting
standards-based curricula, performance assessments,
assessment-driven instruction, and authentic learning.
Very interesting and useful.
The
George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF). Learn &
Live (book + VHS videotape); and "Learn & Live/Digital
Toolkit" CD-ROM. San Rafael, CA: GLEF, and web site
at http://www.glef.org
Robert J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering, and Jane E. Pollack
(2001). Classroom
Instruction that Works and A
Handbook for Classroom Instruction that Works (Alexandria,
VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development).
This truly remarkable, practical book and handbook address
various instructional strategies for improving student
acheivement, where to find them, and how to use them
in any content area with any student in any grade. It
will get you started immediately. Well worth checking
out...
Doreen
Nelson (1984). Transformations: Process and Theory (A
Creative Guide to Curriculum Development). Center for
City Building Education Programs, 2118 Wilshire Blvd.,
Santa Monica, CA 90403. This book outlines award-winning
educator, Doreen Nelson's methodology of city building
and related design processes in the classroom, with
a wealth of example projects and lessons. See also:
http://www.csupomona.edu/~dnelson/.
Joseph L. Polman (1999). Designing
Project-Based Science: Connecting Learners Through Guided
Inquiry (New York: Teachers College Press). This
book offers a detailed and fascinating case study of
the implementation of project-based learning and teaching
in a middle school classroom. It also examines the issues
and challenges associated with making changes in practice
and presents a "historical and theoretical background
for understanding current controversies in educational
practice."
Lynne
Schrum and Boris Berenfeld (1997). Teaching and Learning
in the Information Age: A Guide to Educational Telecommunications
(Boston: Allyn & Bacon). Written by two outstanding
educators and practitioners, this is one of the best
books outlining how telecommunications and the Internet
can help transform education.
New Standards (1998). New Standards Performance Standards
for Elementary, Middle and High School. (Washington,
D.C.:
National Center on Education and the Economy and
published by Harcourt Brace Educational Measurement
(800-228-0752). The New Standards Project is a consortium
led by the Learning Research and Development Center
(LRDC), the National Center on Education & the Economy,
AAAS, the Fort Worth Independent School District, and
the Office of the President of the University of California.
It was one of the leading pioneers in developing alternative
performance standards as a means of assessing student
learning. The Applied Learning standards are especially
relevant to PBL, as they directly reflect the SCANS
skills and provide examples and rubrics for their use.
Richard W. Strong, Harvey F. Silver, and Matthew J.
Perini (2001).
Teaching What Matters Most: Standards and Strategies
for Raising Student Improvement (Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development).
Another incredibly practical, inspirational book from
ASCD. "This book is packed with sound advice and
practical ideas for making sense of education standards...cuts
across grade levels, disciplines, and abilities...both
progressive and traditional in the same breath."
Bay
Area School-to-Careers Action Network (BaySCAN).
BaySCAN is a consortium of San Francisco Bay Area teachers,
schools, university, industry and community partners
who all support the promotion and development of alternative
models for students school-to-work and school-to-career
transitions (from high school and beyond). Many outstanding
models of PBL, career and multimedia academy programs
are being actively used by this growing regional consortium.
"Challenge
2000" Multimedia Project (PBL+MM): One of the
first of the federally funded Technology Challenge,
this consortium, sponsored by Joint Venture: Silicon
Valley Network and over 50 Silicon Valley K-12 schools,
research organizations and industry, pioneered the effective
integration of PBL with multimedia into the K-12 curriculum.
The web site includes curriculum ideas, exemplary projects
and rubrics for assessment of student performance, as
well as links to evaluation research on student achievement.
The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project was given an exemplary
award as a model program by the U.S. Department of Education.
Co-nect.
Co-nect is a company dedicated to whole school reform
and ongoing teacher professional development, through
the integration of technology and PBL into the curriculum.
Co-nect member schools are able to make use of the Co-nect
project exchange, contribute to the annual online student
project and teacher exchange.
DesignWorlds
for Learning, Inc. DesignWorlds promotes and
supports the design of new kinds of collaborative learning
communities of students, teachers, museums, and professionals
in content areas. Its focus is on helping these communities
collaboratively design online learning environments
and resources that support their own learning and growth,
as well as spreading these methodologies and resources
for use by others, as well.
Expeditionary
Learning Outward Bound (ELOB). Formed in 1992,
Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) is based
on the principles of Outward Bound, which educator Kurt
Hahn founded in 1941. Expeditionary Learning focuses
teaching and learning towards enabling all students
to meet rigorous academic standards and character goals.
Curriculum, instruction, assessment, school culture,
and school structures are organized around producing
high quality student work in learning expeditions and
in-depth investigations of themes or topics that engage
students in the classroom and in the wider world through
authentic projects, fieldwork, and service. In Expeditionary
Learning schools, teachers, students, and school leadership
build a culture of high expectations for all students.
The
George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF).
In addition to its excellent resource package, "Learn
& Live," GLEF is now actively pursuing a major new initiative,
"Teaching in the Digital Age." The GLEF web site is
a rich resource of information, stories, and examples
of such topics as teacher professional development,
alternative models of assessment, technology and curriculum
integration, and emotional intelligence.
"The
Golden Way". Co-directed by staff from the Science
Teaching Dept., Weizmann Institute of Science, and the
MIGAL Research Institute, this is the largest R&D and
professional development effort integrating PBL in science
and technology for middle school teachers in Israel.
In addition to providing excellent research on teachers'
practices of adopting PBL approaches for their classrooms,
The Golden Way project has also produced an online navigational
tool for teachers to help support them and their students
in research, invention, and inquiry-based learning practices
using PBL. For more information, contact Dr. Sherman
Rosenfeld ahava@inter.net.il.
International
Education and Resource Network (iEARN). iEARN
is one of the oldest and largest non-profit global educational
telecommunications networks in the world, with teachers
and students from over 4,000 schools participating from
over 90 countries. IEARN supports online telecollaborative
projects for students and teachers in K-12, with special
emphasis on intercultural and international collaborations.
The
Scottish Storyline Method Storyline is a structured,
project-based approach to learning and teaching that
was developed in Scotland. It builds on the key principle
that learning, to be meaningful, has to be memorable,
and that by using learner's enthusiasm for story-making,
the classroom, the teacher's role and learning can be
transformed. Storyline is a strategy for developing
the curriculum as an integrated whole. It provides an
opportunity for active learning and reflection as essential
parts of effective learning and teaching. At the same
time it develops in learners a powerful sense of ownership
of their learning.
Science
& Invention Fairs: Science fairs and "invention
fairs" are two of the most popular exhibitions and competitions
for student project work, especially in the middle school
grades. These two websites, as well as the Techscape
web site (and many "hands-on" science and technology
museums, such as the Exploratorium, the Tech Museum
of San Jose, and the Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley)
have excellent resources for students and teachers on
both of these popular project-based exhibitions: http://sciencevideos.com/products/fair/science_fairs/science_fairs-1.html http://www.inventamerica.com
TappedIn.
TappedIn is a rapidly growing online professional development
community for teachers. Created by staff at SRI International,
this community now includes over 4,000 participating
teachers who share their own experiences, best practices,
and current issues through both Web-based real-time
chats and conferences, as well as asynchronous communications
over the Internet.
pblnet.org.
This is WestEd's technology, science and invention project
and design challenge resource site (and how you are
linked to this PBL site!). An outstanding resource for
interdisciplinary creative learning in science, mathematics,
and engineeringÖand many other fields, as well.
ThinkQuest.
ThinkQuest is an international annual competition for
teams of students and teachers to collaboratively create
high quality interactive web resources for learning.
Millions of dollars in prizes and scholarships have
already been awarded for winners of these competitions.
Originally focused on high school students, ThinkQuest
has evolved to include middle school and teachers, as
well as a special ThinkQuest Junior for students in
grades 3-5. A recent ScienceQuest has also been established
in collaboration with Education Development Center,
and a ThinkQuest for Tomorrow's Teachers (T3) has also
now been created to support pre-service and inservice
professional development opportunities for teachers.
Workforce
LA. Workforce LA is a partner in a major federal
Technology Challenge grant involving K-12 schools in
Los Angeles and the Hollywood film and entertainment
industry. Working with award-winning animation teacher
and educator, Dave Master, WLA is developing new kinds
of Teacher Learning Communities who are using media
and video to document their own professional growth
as teachers.
Most
of these (with the exception of E-Slate) are both commercial
"authoring" or visual programming design tools. " Each
has resulted in a growing library and exchange of student-created
projects in math, science, social sciences, etc. These
have been successfully used by both elementary - high
school students.
With
Stagecast Creator, Agent Sheets and E-Slate, all "programs"
or components created in these environments can be compiled
or exported as Java programs, so they can be played
or shared over the Web.
E-Slate
is a new component software kit and R&D effort from
Greece. It allows visual linking of a library of components
(as Java Beans) that can be combined into very interesting
simulation and visualization.
Similar
visualizations and interactive problems in mathematics
can also be created with "The Geometer's Sketchpad"
(Note: There will soon be the release a Java-compatible
version of this very well-known geometry learning tool).
End
Note: We invite you to add to this list by sending
us descriptions and information about your favorite
PBL resources. Please feel free to send your additions,
comments, suggestions, etc. to bdelong@wested.org.
