Understanding Project-Based Learning

by Mrs. Etti Siegel

Project-based learning. It is a topic on education websites, featured in educator’s magazines, and seems all the rage! So, what is it really? Why don’t more schools have more project-based learning happening? Is it feasible for a Jewish day school that is already crunched for time?

This article will be delving into and trying to answer the following questions about project-based learning:

• What is project-based learning?
• What are the advantages of project-based learning?
• What are the disadvantages of project-based learning?
• What are the components of a project-based lesson, and how is this implemented?
• What topics/units lend themselves to project-based lessons?
• Why aren’t more schools using the project-based learning model in their classrooms?
• The experts weigh in

What is Project-Based Learning?

The workplace looks very different in 2020 than it did in the 1950’s, but classrooms have not changed much at all. Years ago, the classroom readied students for factory work, so sitting and listening to teacher lectures, moving by the sound of bells, and showing proficiency through test scores made sense. Now, in a world of constant innovation and problem solving, proponents of PBL (project based learning) say the old way of learning is not preparing children for real life, and PBL is much more suited for this era by giving children skills in collaborating, critical thinking, and problem solving. It also gives children the chance to hone public speaking and presentation skills as they present their findings.

PBL gives students a chance to experience learning in real time about real-world issues, not just memorize information, or study teacher created material. PBL is a hands-on opportunity for children to tackle a problem or issue that they are interested in, which often results in more meaningful results and lasting retention.

What are the Advantages of Project-Based Learning?

• Higher and continuous engagement is a given, as children are working with their peers and have much less opportunity to slack off. Higher and continuous engagement is expected because the subject matter is high interest to them. (See note on this point by disadvantages.)
• Students can learn in a more diverse way; looking at books and pictures, reading articles, conducting interviews, bringing in guest speakers, and even using drawing and cartoons to make a point. Long term retention is higher, as students listen to their peers, and are following a path of learning that they, themselves are interested in.
• PBL often is able to teach lessons about consequences and situations in a tangible way, making learning more reflective and lasting in nature. This in turn helps students learn skills they can develop to work with other real-world situations, honing their application skills.
• Most importantly, teamwork and collaborative problem solving become more natural as children learn how to communicate effectively and interact more meaningfully.

What are the Disadvantages of Project-Based Learning?

• Children involved in PBL usually score lower on standardized tests, as they test breadth of knowledge with short answer and multiple-choice questions, rather than depth of thinking, which is PBL’s goal.Immaturity can be a deterrent to success in PBL, as is a lack of familiarity with broad based questions. (See suggestions below.) Also, even if children are assigned very specific roles within their group, a child’s nature can cause one student to slack-off and another to dominate.
• Off-task behaviors during or within the PBL can happen easily, as unanticipated obstacles can arise, children can take the wrong course of action as they research and assemble information, and children can veer off course from the lesson’s objectives.
• Teacher’s unfamiliarity with the PBL structure can be a deterrent as teachers are encouraged to facilitate learning, not actively teach, which is the antithesis to standard teacher practices.
• Grading and marking are not easily done with PBL, which requires constant monitoring and observation from the teacher. Generating marks for the report card is a challenge, which makes assessment very time consuming and less easily figured out.

Components of a Project-Based Lesson

1. Identify the topic to be covered and the overall goal of the lesson
2. Decide on the driving question and make sure the goal you chose is clear
3. Brainstorm to come up with a list of creative group project ideas student can choose from, allowing them to come up with their own if it fits into the overall objective
4. Write the project summary, a project mission statement that clearly outlines the goal for the class.
5. Reserve the number of sessions that will be needed for the PBL to happen, ensuring it does not drag on and become irrelevant.
6. Remember the teacher’s role; to fill in information, help a student with resources, facilitate and redirect the learning… but leave ownership to the students.

Implementation

• Be sure to have content for the children to use for their research; handouts, articles, books, and other relevant material to help students stay on task.
• Make the goals and expectations clear with rubrics and schedules for each step’s completion.
• Be ready to participate even as you facilitate; children are going to need direction and guidance as they wade through uncharted (for them) territory.
• Make sure there is time for the children to present their findings.
• There are projects that are common in many schools – building the keilim in the Mishkan, for example – and while the components are well thought out, most of the work is assigned to be done at home, and most of the work is done by parents. A true PBL model has children working on their project in school without parents saving them from the hard parts.

Examples of Units That Lend Themselves to Project-Based Learning

Example: 2nd or 3rd grade: When the children are learning about bal tashchis (pachim ketanim in Parshas Vayishlach, end of Parshas Shoftim about fruit trees), either in Chumash or in Parsha, children can have the opportunity to discuss not wasting, read medrashim of how far our gedolim went to be careful not to waste and delve into the concept of frugality further. This can lead to a food drive for Tomchei Shabbos, a campaign to take less and throw away less at lunch, a lost and found/g’mach school supply box in the classroom or in every classroom in the school, and other such discussions and projects leading to less waste. It can lead into being happy with what one has… Children might also choose to make posters, skits or a song… or another appropriate choice.

Example: 5th or 6th grade: When the children are learning about fearing and respecting parents (two different pesukim), either in Chumash or in Parsha, children can have the story of Damma ben Nesina to read, meforshim on other gedolim who respected their parents and how, the halachos of Kibbud Av Va’Em in the Shulchan Aruch, passages from the Gemara, Rambam and Tur to examine and learn, and medrashim that the teacher makes available. The goal can be to make children in lower grades aware of the practical halachos. Children might choose to make posters, a comic strip, or a slide show… or another appropriate choice.

Example: 2nd-12th grade: Take a limud (like Pirkei Avos, for example) and choose a focus (like sports, for example) and put together an organized presentation (posters, comics, booklet with stories) tying the two together. The higher the grade the more source material should be required.

Encouraging Participation

There are always students who take on much of the work in a group, and there are always slackers. Having the teacher assign a role to each person in the group will set the group up for success.

Another idea for encouraging participation is the Jigsaw strategy, a very helpful method of ensuring diligence and focused participation. This method organizes the class by forming groups that are dependent on each other for the whole picture. Group A studies topic 1, Group B studies topic 2, and Group C studies topic 3. They then become masters as they are re-divided into groups with one member from ABC who then share and teach their knowledge on topics 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

Why Aren’t More Schools Using the Project-Based Learning Model in their Classrooms?

• Obviously, a big deterrent is time. Teachers are already pressured to try to cover in half a day what the public schools can devote much more time to.
• Doing well on the standardized exams is important to the school board, the parent body, and the teachers; and as stated above, PBL does not always ensure good results in such testing methods.
• Another deterrent is the challenging nature of a PBL lesson; teachers have to change their focus and prepare a lesson in a totally different way than they are used to, and it is unnerving, and perhaps frightening to them.
• There is a total lack of control inherent in the PBL model; questions may come up that the teacher does not have answers to, or the project may veer into uncharted territory, putting the teacher in the position of having to make snap judgments on whether to forge ahead or curtail that project direction.

The Experts Weigh In

Interestingly enough, many experts are not totally sold on the PBL model. Education Week, an independent news organization that has covered K–12 education since 1981, published an article in 2007 that lists quite a few warning from experts in the field:

• High Tech High charter school in San Diego is a famous advocate of PBL and was featured in the film “Most Likely to Succeed”, but they tell their teachers to focus on what they know really well and start slowly on PBL.
• Israeli experts looking at PBL models warn that really good lecture-style instruction by master teachers can resonate with the students as well as a hands-on lesson.
• E. D. Hirsch Jr., an educator who has written about the importance of precise, well-crafted curriculum, is worried that teachers have so much faith in the idea of engaged students that lessons veer off-track and time is wasted. “Too many activities turn out to be tangential,” he states.
• Mr. Hirsch and others also say that PBL can present huge “opportunity costs” in the classroom, because other methods of teaching can produce the same or better results in less time.
• A cognitive psychologist at the University of Virginia, Daniel T. Willingham, states that people think that an activity has to be active to be effective, but the activity needs mental activity, not necessarily physical activity. “I don’t think any method is obviously superior to any other,” Mr. Willington said. “I’d take any method done well over any method done in a mediocre way.”

PBL in Jewish Day Schools

Some schools are mixing it up, taking the concept of PBL and adding it into lessons to make them come alive. Here are two examples:

A 6th grade teacher in Bais Yaakov of Queens just finished perek yud-beis in Sefer Bamidbar. She often does modified PBL in her classroom. This time, the students chose a group to join, and two teachers went group to group, assisting, facilitating, encouraging and guiding to help the students master their chosen topic.

• If they liked math, they chose to work in a group that was learning a Sifsei Chachamim that talks about how to define what “Sha’ah Achas” means, and there is a lot of detailed calculation to be made! In the end they discovered what “Sha’ah Achas” means and how Hashem calculated the reward for waiting.
• If they liked maps, they chose to work in the group that learned the sources of where each of the shesh bechiros of Miriam happened, and mapped them out.
• If they preferred halacha, they close-read writings on hilchos lashon harah of the 3-5 reasons why Miriam spoke about Moshe Rabbeinu and how it wasn’t so bad, and yet how she was punished for speaking negatively even though she meant well. This led the students to make the comparison of how careful we all have to be when speaking about others.
• Some girls chose a Higher Order Thinking piece to really stretch themselves; a Sifsei Chachamim on how Hashem spoke softly even though He was upset, and how we should learn how to speak and behave when we feel angry.

A 5th grade class in Williamsburg put together a Fractions Fair. The girls worked in groups to make skits and design examples that would make fractions easier to explain, and then invited the parallel classes and the 3rd and 4th grades to visit as they performed in booth-like areas around a large room. The presentations were completely designed and executed by the students, and all met the criteria on the rubric they were given by their teacher.

Now that you know what PBL is, the pros and cons and the workarounds, what will you decide to do in your school?

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References:
Guido, M 2016. 5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Problem-Based Learning [+ Activity Design Steps]. www.prodigygames.com

Keller, B. 2007. Experts Warn of PBL Pitfalls. Education Week

Neusner, D. 2012. Teaching via Project-Based Learning. Behrman House

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Mrs. Etti Siegel, Adjunct Professor, Coach and Mentor, Workshop Presenter, master teacher, holds an MS in Teaching and Learning/Educational Leadership. She is a coach and educational consultant for Catapult Learning, an educational coaching agency, is a sought-after mentor and workshop presenter around the country, and a popular presenter for Sayan (a teacher mentoring program), Yachad/OU, Hidden Sparks, and the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools. She can be reached for comment and feedback at siegelce@verizon.net.

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