Teachers who bring project-based learning into the classroom may have to adopt new instructional strategies to achieve success. Having the teacher take the role of guide or facilitator is not the way that most educators were taught, nor even the way they were taught to teach. Direct-instruction methods that rely on textbooks, lectures, and traditional assessments do not work well in the more open-ended, interdisciplinary world of project-based learning. Rather, teachers do more coaching and modeling and less "telling." They need to be comfortable with "wrong turns" that students may make en route to completing a project (Intel, 2003). Teachers may find themselves learning alongside their students as projects unfold.
Specific challenges facing teachers include:
• Recognizing situations that make for good projects
• Structuring problems as learning opportunities
• Collaborating with colleagues to develop interdisciplinary projects
• Managing the learning process
• Integrating technologies where appropriate
• Developing authentic assessments
Indeed, teachers may have to be willing to take risks to overcome initial challenges. A supportive administration can help by implementing more flexible schedules, such as block schedules or team planning time, and providing teachers with professional development opportunities.
Indulging young learners to learn through projects, it is essential to consider how children learn.
ReplyDeleteThere are recognised stages of cognitive development that every child passes through, and
the instructional design of the project should take account of this.
Further, all that a teacher does, should be in age appropriate language and with justfied use of technology.
Very Useful and Informative : Best Wishes
ReplyDeleteThough project based learning may initially pose challenges both for the teachers and the students, but it has its own advantages that make the challenges worthwhile:
ReplyDeleteexperiential learning, life-long learning and the concept of learning by doing, all happen through PBL.
I am going to check this blog more often for more inputs on this technique.