INTRODUCING PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN MY CLASSROOM by Elena Falcó Verdú

INTRODUCING PROJECT-BASED LEARNING IN MY CLASSROOM by Elena Falcó Verdú https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6 My learning diary en-us 2017-10-21 20:25:05 UTC 2026-02-03 17:27:04 UTC hello@padlet.com About me efalver https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/199298747 Hi everyone!!! My name´s Elena Falcó and I´m an English teacher in a Primary school in a small town (Algueña) in the interior of the province of Alicante ( Spain) I´ve been teaching in this school for eleven years.
I have some experience in Erasmus+ programmes, as I had the opportunity to participate in a K1 project about methodology in the English classroom in Scarborough (England) in August ' 16. The experience was great not only for the content but also for the experiences we could share with other teachers from different countries. This summer I also had the chance to participate in a stay for English teachers in Manchester. The experience was fantastic too.

My school is now immersed in a K2 project with other european countries
( Turkey, France, Lithuania, Hungary and Greece) for two years. I am very enthusiastic about this project, as I think it is a very good opportunity to get to know other ways of teaching, different school systems, to share different materials, etc.

]]> 2017-10-21 20:31:45 UTC https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/199298747 My school efalver https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/200058812 I work in a small school of 101 pupils and 16 teachers. We have internet connection in every classroom. In my classroom I have a digital board and we almost use it every day either for using the e-books or for searching information, playing games, etc. I sometimes use Classdojo, Lyrics training, English Second Language Games, Oxford Owl, etc.]]> 2017-10-24 15:51:22 UTC https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/200058812 1. What is PBL and why use it efalver https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/200072157
TELL ME AND I FORGET,

TEACH ME AND I REMEMBER,

INVOLVE ME AND I LEARN

Benjamin Franklin

I think that this quotation is really true in the sense that we need to involve our pupils in the learning process so that they really learn something with a real purpose. They need to experience and play an active role in the learning process.
The main skills that are included in PBL are:
- Critical thinking.
- Creativity.
- Collaboration.
Carrying out a PBL needs on the part of the learners different kind of work:
- Information literacy.
- Media literacy, that is searching for the information on the web.
- ICT literacy, that is pupils use different kind of ICT tools to achieve the goal .
- Flexibilit and adaptation.
- Iniciative and self-direction.
- Social and cross- cultural skills.
- Productivity and accountability.
- Leadership and responsability.
On the other hand, the teacher is the one who guides his/her pupils and gives them suport when they need it. The teacher is not the center of the learning process but the pupils are the responsable of the final outcomes.

]]> 2017-10-24 16:15:16 UTC https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/200072157 1.3. Reflection on my teaching practice efalver https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/200891187 I normally use a communicative approach on my teaching practice so when I introduce a topic I usually ask my pupils about their previous knowledge on it, I show them some flash-cards related to the topic or watch a video about it, etc. Pupils listen and repeat the vocabulary or structures and then they talk about themselves.
I think that I could try to complement the PBL in my teaching practice although I must admit that with some limitations because of their knowledge of English and because I feel that I need more time, first for me, to be confident enough to implement it and then, for my pupils to get used to it.
During my lessons, if I find that pupils get bored or do not understand what they are supposed to do I try to change the way to convey meaning; using gestures, playing a game or giving more examples, etc.
If I had to choose a class and a subject to incorporate this methodology I would do it with the ones in the 4th grade who are learning about their timetable; times and school subjects. I think this group would be a good one to start as they are usually engaged in the lessons so I think it would be easier for me and for them too. But on the other hand, I have a group of eight year olds who are very disruptive in class and not so motivated to learn English, they are also more heterogeneous than the other group, that is to say, some of them present problems of attention in class and different kind of capabilities. So in this case, I think that using PBL with this group could be a challenge for me.]]> 2017-10-26 16:02:53 UTC https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/200891187 1.4. Components of good PBL efalver https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/201261971 The five components of good PBL are:
a) Real-world connection
b) Core to learning
c) Structured collaboration
d)Student driven
e) Multifaceted assesment
For me the most difficult or challenging components of PBL is to promote real collaboration in class and to carry out student driven activities as I teach at a Primary level, maybe for the older students could be easier to implement it.]]> 2017-10-27 16:08:33 UTC https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/201261971 3. Developing student-driven activities for PBL efalver https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/204543579 I remember the first years I started working as a teacher, specially one in which I worked with difficult children in a school, as they did not have habits to study, they were demotivated, etc. so they behaved very rude in class. I did not know how to motivate them so I felt very upset at this moment.
Anyway, I did not give up. I tried once and again. Time and patience gave me experience enough to continue learning from the pupils and to love my job nowadays.]]> 2017-11-07 19:18:25 UTC https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/204543579 3.2 Developing Student Resilience efalver https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/205058967 I think we should always be respectful with our pupils and provide them with positive feedback . We should encourage them and help them to develop their capabilities. We all know that our behaviour and expectations from others are very important to our pupils' achievements.]]> 2017-11-08 21:02:34 UTC https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/205058967 4. Assessing PBL efalver https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/206001659 As most of my colleagues have already said, in my country the education policies provide teachers with standards that pupils should achieve at the end of each level in each subject and these standards are based on competences. In my case, as an English teacher I assess the four skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. For the assessment I use tests but I also consider other kind of instruments such as participation in class, interaction with their mates, interest and attitude in class etc. For the next years, I would like to implement PBL in my lessons so I would like to use peer assessment too.]]> 2017-11-12 16:53:37 UTC https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/206001659 4.3 Peer Assessment for PBL efalver https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/206007256 I´ve participated in some online courses where peer assessment is used and I think it is a very useful way to assess one's work because it is respectful with others' work and at the same time provides important feedback. I think that the rubrics can help pupils to assess other's work, I haven't applied them in my lessons but I would like to, that is why I would try with the "feedback ladder" with my pupils. ]]> 2017-11-12 17:31:45 UTC https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/206007256 4.4 Creating & Using Rubrics for PBL Assessment efalver https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/206904097 We use different kind of rubrics either for formative or summative assessment.
We can even design our own rubric using The Rubistar website.
I have created my own rubric to assess teamwork and collaboration in class.]]> 2017-11-14 18:53:54 UTC https://padlet.com/efalver/i7gsfy436sy6/wish/206904097