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.

Before going to the topic you are suggested to create a free account for your learning diary on padlet. Padlet is great tool to reflect on learning. You can use any other tool or online resource for this purpose.

After completing each module, learners will write in their learning diary. Share the link of your learning diary in this group once in a week after you finish the module. Please do not share links of diary under this module.

Go to https://padlet.com to create a free account.

Introduction to project-based learning (PBL)

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.

Please watch this video to have a clear understanding of project-based learning.

What is STEM Education?

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.

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:

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.

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.

Source: https://www.livescience.com/43296-what-is-stem-education.html

PBL and STEAM Education:

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

We cannot prepare the students for college and workplace without helping to build these skills in them. Students will not be able to successfully succeed in the global economy without these skills. The approach to learning “project-based learning” is the most adequate method of teaching by which; we not just prepare students to solve problems in the real-world and face challenges, but we can also successfully build these skills.

In module 3 “Designing a PBL project”, we will discuss how to integrate 21st-century and other necessary skills, such as; literacy and life skills in a high-quality PBL project.

Why aren’t life skills taught at school?

(Blog by SARAH at www.seekteachers.com)

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.

In module 3 of “Learning to innovate” we will discuss how to design a powerful PBL project. This module will last for 2 weeks. We will add different topics throughout the next two weeks in module 3.

What makes a PBL project powerful?

During a PBL project “My Magical Dust” we had a task named “Children are the curriculum”. What does that mean? A lesson or a project which is designed as per the interests or the nature of children will inspire them to learn. Somewhere inside us, we still have our childhood alive. Bring it back in your imagination and learn what was there that you wanted to learn? Or how you wanted it to be taught to you? Any lesson or any project that only meets the criteria of what adults want to teach can never be a good idea to teach.

Another key to making a project interesting and inspiring is the title. Title of the project can also help you to set goals for the project. It can be brainstorming the ideas for project activities. If you can align the project idea to the project title, you will get massive results.

Our world is full of problems and challenges. If you look around you will find many problems that need to be resolved. For a better idea look at the problems that are neglected. The project idea must be about a problem or challenge in the real world.

Almost every school has everything around in one kilometer of its radius that is enough to educate the students. Make a list of problems and challenges within your community and see what can be solved or at least spread awareness in the community to solve those problems with the solution that your students find out after working on the project for an extended period.

A PBL project must be integrated and multidisciplinary. Minimum 2-3 subjects are recommended to be included and if you can include more subjects in a project, it will become more interesting. But here is a pitfall to avoid as a beginner; start with a small project and don't go for a bigger project at once. Have you ever heard that to become a good car driver, drive the car at slow speed initially for a few months? In this way, you will learn more about the road by noticing more details in depth that you cannot notice at high speed. Designing and implementing small projects will help you more to understand the effectiveness of project-based learning.

For many years I designed small projects before designing worldwide project "Innovate Your Dreams". This project is a good example to feel the power of project-based learning.