Self-Guided PBL Design

pROJECT-baSED lEARNING

Self-Guided Project Design

by Carissa Duran

Let's Get Started!

Before you begin

First things first: project-based learning is not the same thing as adding a project into your unit. In fact, PBL is more the equivalent of planning a unit itself! That's because PBL is not just an activity. It's an instructional strategy and container for learning, in the same way that a unit is a container for learning.

"Studies show that project-based learning can increase retention of content and improve students' attitudes towards learning" -Strobel & van Barneveld, 2009

• Step 1 : Read about the difference between project-based learning and doing projects
• Step 2 : Copy this checklist to track your PBL design progress
• Step 3: Choose a unit to (re)design as project-based learing

+Learn More

Launch Activity

Let's begin with a brainstorm.

Need more reasons to use dynamic content in the classroom? Well: 90% of the information we assimilate comes to us through sight and, in addition, we retain 42% more information when the content is in motion.

+INFO

Launch

Interestingly, the initial design phase, or Launch, helps set us up to backwards design our PBL project. It gives us the Driving Question that the project is designed in service of. It also uncovers the Learning Outcomes that we expect to be able to teach and assess by the end of the project.

Learning Outcomes

Driving Question

• PBL is about sustained inquiry.
• What is ONE big question that students can answer?
• Students should be able to return to answer this question in deeper and more meaningful ways throughout the project.

• What do you exect students to know and be able to do by the end of this PBL unit?
• Should be standards-aligned (rather than compliance-based)
• Likely includes a combination of content knowledge and essential skills

Explore

Building milestones as a foundation for the explore phase

WHAT IS A MILESTONE?

MILESTONES xLEARNING OUTCOMES

MILESTONES xASSESSMENT SYSTEM

MILESTONES xSHARE

Milestones are key stops on the learning journeythat allows students and teachers to reflect and monitor progress.

Milestones should be tied to learning outcomesand provide an opportunity for feedback and/or reflection.

Milestones may be formative assessments and/or parts of the final products used for summative assessment

Milestones may be reflected on and shared during the final presentation of learning

LAUNCH

Interestingly, the initial design phase, or Launch, helps set us up to backwards design our PBL project. It gives us the Driving Question that the project is designed in service of. It also uncovers the Learning Outcomes that we expect to be able to teach and assess by the end of the project. Optionally, you might skip the entry event portion of planning for now and return to it later in the design process.

Learning Outcomes

What do you exect students to know and be able to do by the end of this PBL unit?

Consider both content knowledge and essential skills

Driving question (DQ)

PBL is about sustained inquiry. What is ONE big question that students can answer?

Students should be able to return to answer this question in deeper and more meaningful ways throughout the project.

Entry EVENT

How will you introduce the project and DQ to students?

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Think of an engaging experience that students can use to begin to answer the DQ

Explore

Learning Outcomes

• What are the major learning outcomes that students are expected to know and be able to do?

Social beings

• We need to interact with each other. We learn collaboratively.

Digital beings

• We avoid being part of the content saturation in the digital world.

Driving Question

• What is an overarching question you can pose to students that they could continue to answer throughout this unit/project?

References

Ask a question or problem that makes the class think; it is the essential ingredient to keep their attention. It is usually posed at the beginning of the topic to encourage critical thinkingand participation.

Animation adds value to our content by helping us capture attention, prioritize ideas, and ensure our audience remembers the content.

+iNFO

+iNFO

Here you can includea relevant piece ofinformation to highlight

Review author

Sections like this will help you stay organized

Did you know that Genially allows you to share your creation directly, without the need for downloads? Ready for students to view it on any device and learn anywhere.

Get 67% of your class convinced. This is because visual language facilitates the rapid acquisition of knowledge in an intuitive way. Could it be said that images are the key to success? Obviously.

+INFO

Launch Deep Dive

You can add additional content that excites your students' brains: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!

Trick:

Interactivity is the key element to capture your students' interest and attention. A genially is interactive because your group explores and interacts with it.

Learning Outcomes

Your existing unit probably lists "learning objectives" or "essential questions" you can derive outcomes from. Alternatively, you might look at your standards and write your own, student-friendly learning outcomes to design your project around. e.g. "I can cite reliable evidence to support my claims" or "I can use mathematical reasoning and knowledge of exponential functions to choose a quality investment".

With this function...

You can add additional content that excites your students' brains: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!

Did you know...

Did you know that 90% of the information we assimilate comes through our eyes? Visual resources are of great help in reinforcing your classes: images, illustrations, gifs, videos... Not only because they remain in memory, but also because they are more engaging and easier to understand.

Where to look

Your existing unit probably lists "learning objectives" or "essential questions" you can derive outcomes from. Or you can look at your standards and write your own, student-friendly learning outcomes to design your project around.

With this function...

You can add additional content that excites your students' brains: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!

With this function...

You can add additional content that excites the brains of your students: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!

With this function...

You can add additional content that excites your students' brains: videos, images, links, interactivity... Whatever you want!

Did you know...

In Genially you will find more than 1,000 templates ready to upload your content and 100% customizable, which will help you in your classes.

Driving Question

The DQ is important because it (1) engages students at the Launch, (2) everything they do during Explore helps them answer it, and (3) the final produts and ideas they Share will also be in service of it. There are different DQ types: Some questions are philosophical in nature, such as “What is a healthy community?”, problem-solution oriented, such as “How might we design a new exhibit that is engaging and educational for third graders?”, or they might even ask students to take on real-world roles, such as “How might we, as financial planners, identify a quality investment to direct our funds into?”