When I was in high school I took drama throughout my four years. Now, as a science and math major in university, you can see how this would be outside of my norm. Originally I took this class because I needed to fill my arts requirements in grade 9 and I cannot draw to save my life. But I continued to take this class because of the teaching styles employed by the teacher. He would give us a few small projects at the beginning of the semester based around learning basic acting styles and set design. After about a month we would begin our class project of putting on a play. We were allowed to freely decided everything and anything about how the play was to be brought to life. He would just sit back and watch our progress. Our grades were based on participation and personal growth. As long as we were growing as actors or producers or in whatever role we chose to play, that was enough for this class. The projects in this class allowed students to foster skills and develop knowledge of not only drama but cross curricular subject areas as well. The idea of sitting in a classroom and listening while a teacher lecture is long outdated. This method only caters to one specific learning type and therefore is causing a disconnect from the classroom and students.
The reason I am talking about this class is for the purpose of PBL (project based learning). This type of learing "is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge." (BIE, 2015). It is an alternative to the traditional classroom model. PBL allows students to be engaged in their own learning. The idea comes from the constructivist finding that students gain a deeper understanding of
material when they actively construct their understanding by working with and
using ideas." (Blumenfeld et. al., 2011). Students are required to engage in something that interests them in order to solve a problem which is meaningful using critical thinking skills.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMCZvGesRz8)
When planning a lesson involving PBL there are many steps involved to keep the project balanced and meaningful. The picture below shows the ways in which PBL differs from the way a traditional unit is taught in the classroom. In a traditional classroom, the teacher will teach a lesson and then the students will do an activity based on the content and complete a quiz. After a few cycles of this there will then be a final test based on the memorization and regurgitation of information taught by the teacher. In project-based learning, the goals are set out in the beginning and with a combination of activities, quizzes and lessons the benchmarks for the project are reached ending with a final presentation of the project work. The last step is one of the most important, reflecting on the work done. The students get a chance to really take in what they have learned and the skills gained during the project. This method is more comprehensive and allows for students to have a hands on approach to their learning. This is great, especially for kids who don't learn well orally, or having learning abilities different from the average student. Many academics agree that PBL is the new way to go for constructivist classrooms. "From gleaning new, viable technology skills, to becoming proficient communicators and advanced problem solvers, students benefit from this approach to instruction." (Bell, 2010).
(https://www.google.ca/searchq=project+based+learning&rlz=1C1GGGE_enCA459CA508&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=667&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIjovMs8COyAIVyQmSCh1NnQmK#imgrc=RdtERb2II9SewM%3A)
The place where this concept can become tricky is if projects are not planned well. If the task isn't relevant enough to the student's lives or it does not ask for enough from the individuals it will not be a success. There needs to be enough chance for teachers to check in with students and to make sure they are scaffolding and fostering the development of the students. In my experience with PBL during my high school education I have always remember them being the best classes to take. It gave an independence which especially by 18 a lot of adolescents wanted and was a good way to prepare students for university. When students come from classrooms where they are used to having small homework assignments and unit tests it can be a hard adjustment when thrown into post-secondary classes which consist of one or two major projects and a 50% exam. In the end, the shift towards integrated learning and PBL is inevitable and a good thing as long as it is done correctly.
References
Bell, S. (2010). Project-based learning for the 21st century: Skills for the future. The
Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 83(2).
BIE. (2015). http://bie.org/about/what_pbl
Blumenfeld, P., Solloway, E., Marx, R., Krajcik, J., Gudzial, M., & Palincsar, A. (2011).
Motivating project-based learning: sustaining the doing, supporting the learning. Educational Psychologist, 26(3).
Drake, S., Reid, J., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom
assessment. Canada: Oxford University Press.
