What I've Learned from Project Based Learning

I saw first hand this week that when students are engaged in a project how their behavior changes.  I also saw how when they get engrossed in something they enjoy, they can take the project farther than the expected outcomes.

Students that display disruptive behaviors were sitting side by side, working on the organization and details of the project.  One group had three laptops going:  one creating on iMovie, one on Atomic Learning studying the iMovie tutorial, and one creating Powerpoint slides to include in the movie.  How productive! It was fun to sit back and listen to the conversations and how excited the group got when an idea hit home for everyone.  That was when the work really got started.

Some groups seemed to struggle a bit at first, with several ideas going in different ways.  I met very briefly with them, not wanting to take charge, but allowing this to be a learning moment for them in the concept of teamwork.  The deadline that loomed very near was a great motivator to get a plan and get started.  Soon, even the groups that seemed the least likely of finding common ground, had a plan that everyone could live with.

One student's behavior totally shocked me as he took the math to a whole new level.  I knew that there was a ton of math involved in this project (area of item, area of door, cost to block the door, algebraic representations - table of values, graph, equation...these were the expected outcomes).  Surprisingly, he spent most of the first class period figuring how much each student of the whole school would have to donate to block one door with bars of soap.  Then he figured the cost for each student to block all the doors at RVMS.  Finally, the total cost of all 176 students to block all 15 doors with bars of soap...a cost over $2000!

So, while I had moments of struggling with the project...was it really the best way to teach algebraic representations...I did realize there was a lot good points in the project as well.  Students saw rigor as they worked with the various math concepts.  Relevance was attained as the food drive is an important issue for the students right now.  Relationships were developed as the students and I bonded through the learning process.  A student that I had never really been able to reach was the last to leave one day, and before walking out the door stopped to say, "Good-bye Mrs. McCabe."  Wow!  A connection had been made!

In summary, I would have to say it was a success.  I will definitely be on the lookout for other ways to incorporate project based learning opportunities.