Project Based Learning Essentials
As a collaborative circle, we developed a project about trees. We found the inspiration for this project on the Early Childhood Research & Practice website and made modifications to follow the essentials. Here is how our project was critiqued based on the essentials checklist:
Maryland State Standards
Examples of State Standards in our Project
Below are some examples of how we will align our project to state standards from multiple subjects.
Science:
3.B.1.a Use magnifying instruments to observe parts of a variety of living things, such as leaves, seeds, insects, worms, etc. to describe (drawing or text) parts seen with the magnifier.
Reading:
7.A.1.a Speak clearly enough to be heard and understood in a variety of settings.
Social Studies:
3.B.1.a Identify and describe physical characteristics of a place (physical features, climate, vegetation, and animal life)
Science:
3.B.1.a Use magnifying instruments to observe parts of a variety of living things, such as leaves, seeds, insects, worms, etc. to describe (drawing or text) parts seen with the magnifier.
- For this standard, we will participate in a nature walk around the school building and collect different objects that we find along the way. These may include seeds, branches, leaves, and etc. After we come back to the classroom students will be able to use a microscope to look at these objects and draw pictures of how the objects look with and without a microscope.
Reading:
7.A.1.a Speak clearly enough to be heard and understood in a variety of settings.
- After completing their choice for their final project, students will be asked to present their projects during an open house where parents and friends will listen to their presentations. The students will be able to express what they learned through the project to their guest at the open house.
Social Studies:
3.B.1.a Identify and describe physical characteristics of a place (physical features, climate, vegetation, and animal life)
- The students will be able to choose a specific tree that they want to study. They will then conduct research to see where that tree is found and why that tree can only survive in those areas. This will relate to the characteristics of that particular location.
Where to find Global Project Based Learning Projects:
As we searched for a global project that aligned to multiple core standards, we looked through many different websites. Some helpful resources include:
In order to promote and show my commitment to teaching global competency, I will use these resources to find global projects to use in my classroom.
- http://www.bie.org/ -The Buck Institute for Education is a website that focuses on providing resources to promote 21st century education through using PBL. This website provides an overview of PBL and examples of projects that can be included in the classroom.
- https://education.skype.com/ - Skype in the Classroom is a website that allows teachers from all over the world connect through video conferencing. This website allows teachers to post ads, lessons, and more about what they want to teach. The website also allows teachers to teach global competence as students can connect to others around the world.
- http://www.epals.com/ - ePals is a website that provides educators with a safe platform to build educational communities that use collaboration to promote learning. Through this website teachers can find projects to join and classrooms to connect with to provide students with a global project.
In order to promote and show my commitment to teaching global competency, I will use these resources to find global projects to use in my classroom.