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Introduction to project-based learning (PBL)

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Introduction to project-based learning (PBL)

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If we look at the real world, almost every little task is a project. Think for a minute, is there any task in the real world that can only done a piece of paper? In the real world you cannot sit still in rows for hours and get the tasks done. You will have to take actions. But unfortunately, when it comes to education, it seems and feels almost the opposite. The students sit in rows for hours 5 days a week listening lectures and memorizing lessons. So how can we transform our classrooms to bring out students from passive learning and boring classroom environment. The answer is Project-Based Learning" (PBL).

It may look that PBL is a new approach to learning when it is infused with technology. When we have a look at Confucius and Aristotle's philosophy, it has foundation which was there centuries ago. Confucius and Aristotle were early proponents of learning by doing. Socrates modeled how to learn through questioning, inquiry, and critical thinking -- all strategies that remain very relevant in today's PBL classrooms.

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STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach. Rather than teach the four disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, STEM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications.

THE İMPORTANCE OF STEM EDUCATİON

All of this effort is to meet a need. According to a report by the website STEMconnector.org, by 2018, projections estimate the need for 8.65 million workers in STEM-related jobs. The manufacturing sector faces an alarmingly large shortage of employees with the necessary skills — nearly 600,000. The field of cloud computing alone will have created 1.7 million jobs between 2011 and 2015, according to the report. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2018, the bulk of STEM careers will be:

Computing – 71 percent

Traditional Engineering – 16 percent

Physical sciences – 7 percent

Life sciences – 4 percent

Mathematics – 2 percent

STEM jobs do not all require higher education or even a college degree. Less than half of entry-level STEM jobs require a bachelor's degree or higher. However, a four-year degree is incredibly helpful with salary — the average advertised starting salary for entry-level STEM jobs with a bachelor's requirement was 26 percent higher than jobs in the non-STEM fields, according to the STEMconnect report. For every job posting for a bachelor's degree recipient in a non-STEM field, there were 2.5 entry-level job postings for a bachelor's degree recipient in a STEM field.

This is not a problem unique to the United States. In the United Kingdom, the Royal Academy of Engineering reports that the Brits will have to graduate 100,000 STEM majors every year until 2020 just to meet demand. According to the report, Germany has a shortage of 210,000 workers in the mathematics, computer science, natural science and technology disciplines.

BLENDED LEARNİNG

What separates STEM from the traditional science and math education is the blended learning environment and showing students how the scientific method can be applied to everyday life. It teaches students computational thinking and focuses on the real world applications of problem solving.

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(Image credit: Portra via Getty Images)

STEM education is a teaching approach that combines science, technology, engineering and math. Its recent successor, STEAM, also incorporates the arts, which have the "ability to expand the limits of STEM education and application," according to Stem Education Guide. STEAM is designed to encourage discussions and problem-solving among students, developing both practical skills and appreciation for collaborations, according to the Institution for Art Integration and STEAM.

Rather than teach the five disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, STEAM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications.

According to the U.S. Department of Education "In an ever-changing, increasingly complex world, it's more important than ever that our nation's youth are prepared to bring knowledge and skills to solve problems, make sense of information, and know how to gather and evaluate evidence to make decisions."

In 2009, the Obama administration announced the " Educate to Innovate" campaign to motivate and inspire students to excel in STEAM subjects. This campaign also addresses the inadequate number of teachers skilled to educate in these subjects.

The Department of Education now offers a number of STEM-based programs, including research programs with a STEAM emphasis, STEAM grant selection programs and general programs that support STEAM education.

In 2020, the U.S. Department of Education awarded $141 million in new grants and $437 million to continue existing STEAM projects a breakdown of grants can be seen in their investment report.

The importance of STEM and STEAM education

(Image credit: selimaksan via Getty Images)

STEAM education is crucial to meet the needs of a changing world. According to an article from iD Tech, millions of STEAM jobs remain unfilled in the U.S., therefore efforts to fill this skill gap are of great importance. According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics there is a projected growth of STEAM-related occupations of 10.5% between 2020 and 2030 compared to 7.5% in non-STEAM-related occupations. The median wage in 2020 was also higher in STEAM occupations ($89,780) compared to non-STEAM occupations ($40,020).

Between 2014 and 2024, employment in computer occupations is projected to increase by 12.5 percent between 2014 and 2024, according to a STEAM occupation report. With projected increases in STEAM-related occupations, there needs to be an equal increase in STEAM education efforts to encourage students into these fields otherwise the skill gap will continue to grow.

STEAM jobs do not all require higher education or even a college degree. Less than half of entry-level STEAM jobs require a bachelor's degree or higher, according to skills gap website Burning Glass Technologies. However, a four-year degree is incredibly helpful with salary - the average advertised starting salary for entry-level STEAM jobs with a bachelor's requirement was 26 percent higher than jobs in the non-STEAM fields.. For every job posting for a bachelor's degree recipient in a non-STEAM field, there were 2.5 entry-level job postings for a bachelor's degree recipient in a STEAM field.

STEAM blended learning

What separates STEAM from traditional science and math education is the blended learning environment and showing students how the scientific method can be applied to everyday life. It teaches students computational thinking and focuses on the real-world applications of problem-solving. As mentioned before, STEAM education begins while students are very young:

Elementary school - STEAM education focuses on the introductory level STEAM courses, as well as awareness of the STEAM fields and occupations. This initial step provides standards-based structured inquiry-based and real-world problem-based learning, connecting all four of the STEAM subjects. The goal is to pique students' interest into them wanting to pursue the courses, not because they have to. There is also an emphasis placed on bridging in-school and out-of-school STEAM learning opportunities.

Middle school - At this stage, the courses become more rigorous and challenging. Student awareness of STEAM fields and occupations is still pursued, as well as the academic requirements of such fields. Student exploration of STEAM-related careers begins at this level, particularly for underrepresented populations.

High school - The program of study focuses on the application of the subjects in a challenging and rigorous manner. Courses and pathways are now available in STEAM fields and occupations, as well as preparation for post-secondary education and employment. More emphasis is placed on bridging in-school and out-of-school STEAM opportunities.

Much of the STEAM curriculum is aimed toward attracting underrepresented populations. There is a significant disparity in the female to male ratio when it comes to those employed in STEAM fields, according to Stem Women. Approximately 1 in 4 STEAM graduates is female.

(Image credit: SolStock via Getty Images)

Inequalities in STEAM education

Ethnically, people from Black backgrounds in STEAM education in the UK have poorer degree outcomes and lower rates of academic career progression compared to other ethnic groups, according to a report from The Royal Society. Although the proportion of Black students in STEAM higher education has increased over the last decade, they are leaving STEAM careers at a higher rate compared to other ethnic groups.

"These reports highlight the challenges faced by Black researchers, but we also need to tackle the wider inequalities which exist across our society and prevent talented people from pursuing careers in science." President of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith said.

Asian students typically have the highest level of interest in STEAM. According to the Royal Society report in 2018/19 18.7% of academic staff in STEAM were from ethnic minority groups, of these groups 13.2% were Asian compared to 1.7% who were Black.

Additional resources

If you want to learn more about why STEAM is so important check out this informative article from the University of San Diego. Explore some handy STEAM education teaching resources courtesy of the Resilient Educator. Looking for tips to help get children into STEAM? Forbes has got you covered.

Bibliography

Lee, Meggan J., et al. 'If you aren't White, Asian or Indian, you aren't an engineer': racial microaggressions in STEM education." International Journal of STEM Education 7.1 (2020): 1-16.

STEM Occupations: Past, Present, And Future. Stella Fayer, Alan Lacey, and Audrey Watson. A report. 2017.

Institution for Art Integration and STEAM What is STEAM education?

Barone, Ryan, 'The state of STEM education told through 18 stats', iD Tech.

U.S. Department of Education, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, including Computer Science.

'STEM sector must step up and end unacceptable disparities in Black staff', The Royal Society. A report, March 25, 2021.

'Percentages of Women in STEM Statistics' Stemwomen.com

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STEM education, now also known as STEAM, is a teaching approach that combines science, technology, engineering, the arts and math.

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When we integrate arts in STEM, it becomes STE(A)M. So STE(A)M is the integration of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. In my opinion STE(A)M is the most natural fit by which students can take more interest in learning. The best pedagogy to teach STEM or STE(A)M is project-based learning.

Here is why?

1.) Real-World, authentic problems, and contexts

STEM and PBL philosophies both focus on this specific facet of preparing students for life after school. In order for students to be ready to solve the complex challenges and problems that exist in our world, they have to have had the opportunity to practice doing so. This is true whether students pursue a career in a STEM field, the arts, or in the humanities. Requiring students to engage with rigorous problems that have not been contrived for the sake of arriving at one correct answer is key in building their capacity to think critically and problems solve out in the real world.

2.) Interdisciplinary approach

One of the hallmarks of STEM education is that students no longer study and practice science, math or engineering in isolation. Rather, teachers are now asked to engage students in thought-provoking work that requires them to utilize and make connections among their learning. In similar fashion, the goal of PBL in modeling real-world problems and challenges is to get students to begin to understand that issues in the real-world are rarely connected to one single subject. Students need to be proficient with academic content and skills across the curriculum, and both PBL and STEM focus allow students opportunities to develop this interdisciplinary view of their learning and of the word.

3.) Skills needed for success in the workplace

While the definition provided for PBL defines it more explicitly, one of the main goals of both a PBL and STEM approach to learning is that students leave schools prepared with the skills they need in the workplace; or, to quote Tsupros, Kohler and Hallinen, the skills needed to “compete in the new economy.” Being able to apply what you know to solve problems is important, and being able to collaborate, communicate, innovate and think critically are equally necessary to ensure long-term success. Both approaches hone in on helping students develop the 21st century and future-ready skills they need to live, work and interact successfully in today’s modern landscape.

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Based on the commonalities we can see here, it is in schools’ best interest not to treat these initiatives as separate entities, but to recognize that the changes in teaching and learning called for by each is the same. PBL provides a framework of instructional strategies and content practices which can be applied and used within STEM or any content area of choice. As teachers shift their classrooms and instructional practices toward a project-based approach, they will more naturally be able to utilize complex, interdisciplinary STEM projects as the focus of these experiences.

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Welcome to "Learning to Innovate" MOOC
Introduction to MOOC: The MOOC “Learning to Innovate” aims to implement project-based learning in classrooms and promoting STE(a)M education through project-based learning. This MOOC is free of cost and designed for primary, middle and high school teachers. However, it is not restricted if preschool, college and university teachers or parents want to participate. The MOOC also aims to achieve “Quality Education”, one of the 17 sustainable development goals by the United Nations.

The course includes four modules;

1. Introduction & importance of project-based learning (PBL) and STE(a)M

2. Introduction and importance of 21st-century skills

3. Designing a PBL project

4. Implementing a PBL project

5. Additional module for editing and making videos by Magdalena Dygala.

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My Name Is Neriman Temizel.I've been teaching preschool for 20 years.I live in Edirne, Turkey.I think I'll learn a lot with this project.

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Some people confused project-based learning with traditional project. Here are some differences to learn whether it is a traditional project or a PBL project.

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Some people confused project-based learning with traditional project. Here are some differences to learn whether it is a traditional project or a PBL project.

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Introduction and importance of 21st-century skills

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Introduction and importance of 21st-century skills

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In this module, we will discuss; which 21st-century skills are crucial to building in students and the importance of these skills in the global economy and in the real world.

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What are the 21st-century skills? Do you think these are just about computer and technology?

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What are the 21st-century skills? Do you think these are just about computer and technology?

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Collaboration and teamwork

Creativity and imagination

Critical thinking & problem solving

Communication

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Originally published by Stephen Guise on his personal website.

I've never let my school interfere with my education.
-Mark Twain

The modern American school system does not encompass or define learning, it is a dominant subset of it. Do you want to know why I dislike school? Homework, sure, but more important than that are these four ways that school trains us to fail in "the real world."

"Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life." - Sandara Carey

Instead of learning critical life skills on how to manage money, how to negotiate, or how to communicate, kids are mostly taught to memorize information. This is helpful to learn, but not at the cost of not learning critical life skills. Many people put these "life" skills on the onus of the parents to teach their kids, but not all parents are qualified to teach these lessons, and many assume that school is "enough learning." The school system would be a perfect place to learn these indispensable skills.
School (noun) - A place where students suck on an information teat instead of learning how to feed themselves.
I can't give school a hall pass on this one, because it is set up as a core way that kids are prepared to live in the world. Why is it positioned as such when it lacks personal growth training, financial management training, communication training, emotional intelligence training, and healthy living training? Psychology is the closest course to any of these, but it's mostly in college and typically optional.

1. Classes for important life skills - money management, interpersonal communication, miscellaneous psychology, habits, goals, etc.

2. Incorporation into existing classes - in math, talk about smart credit card usage to avoid freaking 18% interest rates, how to build credit, how to pick the right health insurance, why new cars are a horrible investment, etc.

3. Start teaching this sooner than college. Not everyone goes to college, but everyone needs to know this stuff.

You could come up with a few examples of where these skills are taught in school, or where some wisdom is imparted by a particularly great teacher. But this is a general problem of focus that schools have. Schools are not set up to teach us what matters most.

Here's what I would love to see changed. What do you think?
Warning: these stats are disturbing...

In 2011, 1.5 million, or 53.6% of college grads under age 25 were out of work or underemployed.

And for those that do have jobs? 48% of employed U.S. college grads are in jobs that require less than a four-year degree.

30% of college graduates don't feel college prepared them for the world of work.

Six times as many graduates are working in retail or hospitality as had originally planned.

For those that say school is not the place to impart wisdom to youngsters, but to prepare them for the workplace, I hear ya, but sorry. You just walked into a nasty trap with that point of view. If school is to prepare us for a career, then why is it that it's absolutely horrible at accomplishing that?

Let's look at some stats that make colleges cringe (from a Mckinsey consulting firm report):

It used to be that apprenticeships were the norm; you'd learn the hands-on skills and expertise from a mature worker in your field. The downside was that back then, it was more like, "hey kid, you're going to be a carpenter because that's what your family has always done." Today we have more choices, but with it has come an inferior form of learning. Most professions, even today's digitally-based jobs, need hands-on training and mentorship.

Programming boot camps are popping up, showing how horrible the current school model is. In 2-3 months, 90% or more of graduates have a job making more than $80,000 a year (within just a few months of graduation). Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that better than the typical college's "study for four years and wait tables to get by when you graduate jobless" plan? And yes, the data is coming to back up that statement. Read on.

Programming boot camps are old-school intense apprenticeships where students learn to code from knowledgeable programmers already working in the field. It's all hands-on "real world" work, and the graduates are highly valued for the skills they possess when they enter the job market. I hope this emerging format continues to grow and expand into other areas as an alternative to college. Even if you disagree with everything I've said, competition is a good thing and will promote the improvement of schools.

Everyone must learn at some point that nobody cares much about their "potential."

When a company selects from a sea of faces and they all have identical or similar degrees, the value of those degrees shrinks, and they will look for the people who can do what they need right now. That's exactly what we're seeing, and the 2008 recession amplified it. And don't count on them seeing your potential like I did.

Example: Candidate A has 95% overall potential but can only do 15% of the job now - she must be trained. Candidate B has 63% overall potential but can do 85% of the job right now - he's ready to go. Candidate B gets the job almost every time.

Potential is exceedingly difficult to gauge accurately (see: Ryan Leaf), and so it is often not considered by employers. The answer to "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" question doesn't quite nail down your potential. Specific job skills, however, are readily knowable by employers with observation and questioning, and are given much greater weight in the world.

My Frustrating Story

I graduated with a B.S.B.A. in Finance in 2010. I'm not saying I expected a job to be handed to me on a golden platter, but I thought I'd get a chance with reasonable effort over many months. I searched for a year, had some interviews, and finally landed a sales floor job at Lowe's for $10 an hour. I was supposed to be happy about it because I had gotten a job in a lousy job market. But how could I accept losing so much time, money, and effort at college to work the same job I had in high school? I quit after the first day.

There was a trend. I noticed that for the jobs I wanted, my lack of experience was an issue. I learn things quickly, so I never saw it as an issue, but they did. One interview with a bank ended prematurely when it was found that my sales experience was "of a different kind." After a promising 2nd interview at an online brokerage company, in which I know I impressed the interviewers with my knowledge of investing, I received a call days later. They said that I was a top candidate, but they were withdrawing the opening altogether because they wanted someone who already had the required certifications.

Now I realize that this is common sense. Why pay $5,000 and take time to get someone certified when you can hire someone who is already certified and ready to go? As awesome as I think I am, there is almost always a plurality of people who can do a job well.

Some may think that employers love to train employees their way, but I think the truth is more often a "plug and play" preference. Would you rather hire someone who has proven they can do the job well, or someone who has a piece of paper that says they "might be a good employee, after training of course?" It hurts to be rejected on the basis of limited experience, but it's an employer's market out there, and businesses tend to play it safe when they can.

BUT...Do you know what changes everything and makes companies do backflips for you? When you have coveted, elite skills. I wrote the copy for a client's tumblr template sales page, and he told me sales were converting at 27% for him. My skills brought him real results (money). Maybe someone with a copywriting degree could do the same, but maybe not.

For the last two years, I have ignored the piece of paper that says I'm probably good at stuff, and instead I practice writing every day. I'm giving myself a chance by building my skills as freelance marketer, writer, and blogger.

Whether or not you go to college, and whether or not you want to work for yourself or for a company, build skills and experience in your desired field. And if you want to be even smarter, network heavily. These things matter; they bring results. And take it from me - don't expect your diploma to get you anywhere unless you have the applicable work experience and skills to go with it; having the ability to learn a skill set doesn't mean much when your competitors already have that skill set.

You can get straight As in school, but nobody, no matter how successful, gets straight As in life. No, in life, you tend to get As by getting Fs first. Lots and lots of Fs.

Stephen King probably still has his huge stack of publisher rejection slips. Those were "real world Fs," folks. Stephen King, one of the most successful authors in history, got dozens and dozens of Fs before he got his first real life A. School trains us to have the mindset that a given amount of effort will always bring a measurable, predictable, and successful result. The real world doesn't work like that.

Colonel Sanders had 1,009 rejections he received for his chicken recipe before the first yes. And many of his rejections were humiliating, like an F- or something. If you give an "A" effort in school, you succeed every time. If you give an "A" effort in life, you're lucky to succeed on the 30th try.

Successful blogger, author, and entrepreneur James Altucher said that about 17 out of his 20 businesses have failed. But the ones that did well were worth millions of dollars.

When students enter the real world, and are turned down for a job in favor of the secretary's nephew, they will be mentally unprepared for it unless they learned outside of school. To put in a measured amount of work, compile an impressive resume, say all of the right things in the interview, and be turned down is a shock after predictable results for 20 years.

Perhaps the interviewer didn't like them because of an unfair, deep-rooted bias. Here's one example of clear "anti-Cyrus bias" I found on a forum:

"Today, at a job interview, I was asked what I thought of twerking (a Miley Cyrus dance move). It was a bizarre question, but trying to get on the interviewer's good side, I said I thought it was pretty cool. He snorted and said I'll be job-seeking for a while yet."

Ouch.

If not biased, maybe the interviewer liked the early interviewees so much that later candidates never stood a chance, as was shown to be the case in a study covering 9,000 interviews. Or maybe they were simply misunderstood or underestimated. Whatever the case, an "A effort" does not always get an A result on the first try.

There will always be talented authors whose books remain unknown, superior athletes who never get a chance, and brilliant people who remain jobless. Meanwhile, some others who are in the limelight may not be deserving of it. Unlike test grades and GPAs, life is rarely fair.

The best thing about school preparing us to fail in the real world, is that while you can "flunk out" of school, you only flunk out of life if you give up. And even better than that, it only takes one great "A" to succeed. 🙂

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How School Trains Us To Fail In The Real World

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Originally published by Stephen Guise on his personal website . I've never let my school interfere with my education.-Mark Twain The modern American school system does not encompass or define learning, it is a dominant subset of it. Do you want to know why I dislike school?

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Think of the time you left school. Did you feel prepared to face the world? Did you know how to write a CV? Open a bank account? Rent an apartment or apply for a credit card? There is a high chance you had to figure this information out on your own through trial and error or even by asking family and friends. Chances are school never taught you these “life skills”

. What are schools teaching then? Apparently they are teaching the same old subjects. It seems we’re pushing children through the same curriculum our grandparents went through. The question does not only lie on whether this curriculum is outdated but on the practically and utility it presents in the 21st century. Is the material being taught put to use in the “real world”? If no, they why do we learn it? Are schools lazy that they refuse to change to what seems to have been “working” so far? When I finished school, the math I had learned seemed to be completely unrelated to the math I was intended to use in my daily living. Did I know how to write a good CV? Not really. However, I did know how to write a critical essay on Lord of the flies.

We cannot really blame it on the teachers. There are good teachers and there are bad teachers but unfortunately, they seem to all be stuck in a bad system. Hence, why many teachers leave the profession because the teaching methodology , assessment criteria, and overall curriculum does not fulfill the expectations they had of changing the world when they commenced teaching. Some teachers aim to teach life skills or incorporate it into a fun lesson and they are promptly reminded that it isn’t part of the curriculum. I was one of those teachers. My students were hungry and eager to learn life skills. They asked me to teach them. They said the curriculum was boring. This made sense. They want to learn about the world that they see and experience every day. They don’t experience the world of “Pi=3.14” every day so of course they aren’t thrilled to learn about it. They wanted to learn how to save money, how to invest etc. Can we really blame them? This is a generation of students who witnessed their parents forfeit their mortgage, lose their jobs and die without life insurance. Many students ask how to get rich “fast”. While there isn’t a magical formula, it would have been nice to learn about compound interest in elementary school to put away your allowance so that by the time you retired you had your own personal fund. How about “learning to learn”. Learning true “learning skills” that you can apply to learn a new language, study for an exam or teach yourself something of true importance. While teaching high school, I realised many of the students didn’t’ have a clue how to study or learn. They had no learning skills. They came from the same system I came from. Memorize, repeat and vomit. Application and connections to the real world were scarce.