Topic outline

  • Unit 28: Project Based Learning Part 1


  • Meet your facilitator

  • Unit Introduction

    How can you engage your learners in authentic learning that develops their 21st Century skills and that makes space for ICTs to be leveraged to maximum effect? There are many answers to these questions but one important answer is to be found in Project Based Learning (PBL).

    This unit is part 1 of a 2 part series on PBL. In this unit, we will cover the basics of what PBL is, what its key components are and why it is such a powerful teaching methodology. In part 2, we will dig into some of the details of how to design a project for your class.

    By the end of this unit, you will be able to:


    At the end of this unit, you are going to start planning a PBL project for your class. You will complete this planning in the next unit.

    Click on the link below to start the lesson.

  • Assessment instructions


    Your assessment for this unit is in 2 parts.

    Part A: Create a PBL PowerPoint presentation

    You have been asked by your principal to investigate PBL and report back to the leadership team of your school. Create a PowerPoint presentation using the information contained in this unit in which you answer the following questions:

    1. What is PBL?
    2. What are the essential elements of PBL?
    3. What is the basic process of PBL?
    4. What does a good project look like?

    Your presentation should be at least 6 slides in length and should use pictures, diagrams as well as text. You should design your presentation so that it helps convince the leadership team to start implementing PBL throughout the school.


    Part B: Write a driving question

    In Unit 29, you will design and plan your own PBL project. For now, write a driving question for your project. You should use your tubric to help you remember all 4 components of a good driving question. Remember, the tubric was that helpful little tool for writing effective driving questions. You can download it here.

    Write your driving question down along with a summary of your project idea, what issues it will dealt with, what skills learners will develop and what content will be covered. Submit this all as a Word document.

    If, during Unit 29, you wish to change your driving question and project design you will be able to do so.

  • Attribution and References

    References:

    • Buck Institute for Education (2010). Project Based Learning: Explained. YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
    • Edutopia (2010). An Introduction to Project-Based Learning. YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
    • Buck Institute for Education (2017). Why Project Based Learning (PBL)? Available here.
    • David Lee EdTech (2015). Introduction to Project Based Learning (PBL) Process. YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
    • Edutopia (2014). Five Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning. YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
    • FriEdTechnology (2016). Project Based Learning: Am I Doing it Right? How Do I know? YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
    • Edutopia (2015). How to Write Effective Driving Questions for Project-Based Learning. Available here.
    • Learning in Hand (2017). Crafting questions that drive projects. Available here.
    • David Lee EdTech (2016). STEM Education: Greenhouse Challenge. YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
    • Buck Institute for Education (2017). Driving Question Tubric 2.0. Available here.

    • Licence


      Teachers' ICT Integration Course by Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License with the exception of the following resources:

      • Buck Institute for Education (2010). Project Based Learning: Explained. YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
      • Edutopia (2010). An Introduction to Project-Based Learning. YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
      • Buck Institute for Education (2017). Why Project Based Learning (PBL)? Available here.
      • David Lee EdTech (2015). Introduction to Project Based Learning (PBL) Process. YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
      • Edutopia (2014). Five Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning. YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
      • FriEdTechnology (2016). Project Based Learning: Am I Doing it Right? How Do I know? YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
      • Edutopia (2015). How to Write Effective Driving Questions for Project-Based Learning. Available here.
      • Learning in Hand (2017). Crafting questions that drive projects. Available here.
      • David Lee EdTech (2016). STEM Education: Greenhouse Challenge. YouTube. Standard YouTube License.
      • Buck Institute for Education (2017). Driving Question Tubric 2.0. Available here.

      All content not licensed under a Creative Commons license is all rights reserved, and you must request permission from the copyright owner to use this material.