Like the author of Seymour Paper on Project-Based Learning, I am a firm believer in Project-Based Learning. However, as he points out in his paper, it is very hard to use project-based learning and know that, in the end, the students will be assessed with straight fact multiple-choice tests. There is a disconnect between the two things that can be very confusing to the students who understand the material but maybe don’t know memorize well or remember it in exactly those words. And yet, I still use the PBL when possible because of it jumpstarts the motivation of all students (especially those who don’t memorize well). And self-motivation is the key to successful learning.
Designing School Web Sites to Deliver suggests reasons why a school should have a website. One of those is that parents now “shop” for schools online much like they shop for other items. As we compete, even within school districts, for increased student numbers, the ability to market ourselves is becoming more critical. An Internet Tour of Your School is one more way to allow parents and students to buy in to attending your school. And by allowing students to create the tour, perhaps as a lesson, you are merging two purposes, marketing and education.
Although How to Plan Your School's Web Site was geared towards private schools trying to sell themselves, webpage creators at the public schools could gain some valuable tips from this site as well. All web pages should be audience-centered, filled with relevant content (less fluff), and easy to navigate.
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3 comments:
This is a real tricky idea. While Project Based Learning is a wonderful idea and I am all for it, the facts are that teachers must assess students in formal and informal ways. Sadly, the biggest assessment of student progress in the week long AIMS test. This test measures only basic skills in reading, writing, math, and science. We could still keep the AIMS test but also add some more assessments like student portfolios, running records and charting of student progress. This would give us a much clearer picture of the overall abilities of our students.
Call me an optimist, but I have to believe that if we use PBL our students will simply have just a much deeper understanding of the material (and thus will be able to do well on AIMS).
I have to second the comment from Adam. If students have hands on learning they most likely are going to have more of an understanding of information then pencil and paper assignments. There are so many different options to the normal drill and kill.
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