Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a method in which students go through an extended process of inquiry in response to a complex question, problem, or challenge through collaboration, communication and critical thinking.
In this article, you will see how to implement the projects in the classroom and the steps that students should follow to do a project.
Benefits of PBL for Students
- Acquiring knowledge through self-study.
- Developing communication skills when working in groups.
- Developing problem-solving skills.
- Increasing self-motivation, curiosity and thinking.
- Addressing interests and passions.
- Allowing making critical choices and decisions.
- Making learning fun.
- Allowing discussion, making, designing and planning something together.
- Cultivating social and cooperative skills.
- Enabling using the target language outside a controlled class.
- Cultivating a sense of responsibility when working in pairs of groups.
- Recycling vocabulary and accelerating the learning process.
How To Encourage Students To Do Projects
- There is usually a project for every unit in the syllabus so teachers should start talking about this project from lesson one of each unit.
- Teachers should familiarize the students with the project and all the material needed.
- Students tend to gravitate to the same group of friends when doing their projects so teachers should try to change the groups in each project.
- All projects should be tackled and dealt with in the class, teachers should try to dedicate part of some lessons to complete the project.
Difficulties Teachers May Face
- Some learners do nothing.
- Learners use their mother tongue language.
- Groups work at different speeds.
- Students waste a lot of time.
- Parents do the work.
- The low-achiever students don’t contribute.
Before The Project
Before each project teachers should avoid the following:
- Acting as the chairperson.
- Lecturing in the traditional sense.
- Imposing knowledge and standards on the groups, but helping students explore the problem on their own.
4 Steps Students Should Follow When Doing Projects
You should use the following four steps when encouraging students to do a project in the project-based class.
1. Decide
- Assign the topic and the material.
- Introduce the idea of the project in an interesting and fun way.
- Help students specify the needed materials and organize them.
2. Do
- Ask students to do the project in groups.
- Ask students to investigate, discuss, observe closely and record findings.
- Then, ask them to create their work in their groups. They may need to cut out, glue, draw and colour.
3. Improve
- Ask students to improve their work.
- Help students improve their work by adding details or reorganizing more information.
- Encourage students to consider suggestions from their peers for improvement.
4. Show & Tell
- Ask students to show others what they have created and talk about their work.
- Ask students to write a report about their work or findings and read it publicly to their peers.
After the project
After the project students are expected to:
- Take notes on each project and make comparisons.
- Think, discuss, wonder and discover.
- Solve problems in an organized manner.
- Have the ability to demonstrate their newly acquired knowledge and how well they communicate it.
- Approach a problem and the activities to pursue it.
- Have the freedom to experiment and learn from trial and error.
- Use a variety of learning styles and get honest, non-threatening feedback.
- Engage through hands-on, serious, authentic experiences.
Thanks For Reading
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