Project-Based Learning

At a recent workshop on Design Thinking, someone asked the presenter to explain the difference between Design Thinking (DT) and Project-Based Learning.  This led me to reflect on Project-Based Learning (PBL), DT, and inquiry science, in general.  All three have much in common and how you go about doing each of them involves many of the same steps, same mindset, and same values.

At its heart, PBL is an approach to teaching that fully embraces the well-established principle of active learning (see How PeopleLearn and many, many other authoritative sources).  PBL puts authentic student projects at the core of the curriculum.  Students learn by working together, learning what they need as they go along and from the project.  Teachers plan rich, interesting projects that lead students to learn important content and master important skills, drawn from key standards. 

For example, a middle school science teacher might pick up on the interest of her students in the quality of water in local ponds and streams.  She would then map out a project to learn about local water quality and simultaneously meet NextGeneration Science Standards (NGSS) for chemistry in the Disciplinary Content I   (DCI), as well as the very important Science and Engineering Practices (Practices), such as Asking Questions and Defining Problems (#1), Planning and Carrying Out Investigations (#3), Analyzing and Interpreting Data (#4), and Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information (#8). 

The class might learn how to use water test kits and then take a field trip to a local lake.  Using the test kits, the students could collect data on water quality, and draw conclusions about the overall health of the lake in terms of acidity, phosphorus levels, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen, among others.  They could collect macroinvertebrates from the lake to identify and classify, using the types of species present as another indicator of overall water quality.  They might also observe other plant and animal life, taking photos and writing field notes.  Perhaps back in the lab, they conclude that the overall health of the lake is poor. 

But why is that?  This could lead teams of students to explore each factor.  Some students might want to understand how the chemical tests work, which could lead them in a different direction.  Perhaps the students want to DO something about the water quality.  This might draw in their social studies teacher to learn about community action, their English teacher to help them with persuasive writing, a technology or art teacher to help them make a student-written and –directed documentary to present at a town meeting.  In this way, a well-conceived PBL unit, not only teaches important school content, but also develops major life skills, often in the service of improving the world.  The Buck Institute and Edutopia  are  great resources for PBL.

Brain Games

Computer games have something to teach us ... and maybe even improve our brains.  The work of Adam Gazzaley at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) has garnered evidence that computer games can be designed to improve brain function in such areas as "multi-tasking" or the ability to shift attention priorities rapidly with low loss of critical information. 

Parents and educators have long held the hope that the great attraction of video games might be harnessed in the service of learning.  Who hasn’t seen teens repeatedly defer homework while playing games?  What if we could make learning as compelling as a video game?  There have been many forays along these lines.  The first use of computers in education were little more than digital flashcards and, once you got used to the (then in the 1970’s) novelty of using a computer for learning, it was just as boring as using physical flashcards.  Anne McCormick, a teacher in inner city Buffalo, NY schools, re-envisioned the concept of learning with computers by creating “learning games,” such as Rocky’s Boots.  Computer game developers are adept at designing games that are highly compelling.

All learning changes brain structure, whether that learning occurs in a traditional lecture format or via video game.  But that does not mean that all learning is equal in terms of its effectiveness and its efficiency.  Traditional lecture learning, in fact, can be among the least effective ways to learn if the students are simply passively letting the lecture wash over them.  Active learning is not only more effective in terms of the amount retained, but also efficient in creating brain structures that enable the student to use their knowledge to solve problems, whether it is quadratic equations or removing a brain tumor.  This is why hands-on, inquiry science instruction is so much effective, as well as more interesting than read-the-chapter-and-answer-the-questions approaches.  Gazzalay’s work opens up the exciting possibilities of also improving brain function and underlying capabilities, as well as building knowledge structures. 

Crystals from Eggshells

Calcium crystals

The other day I was reading an article about using an egg drop activity to teach engineering to kindergarten students, based on the a design process derived from the Engineering is Elementary (EIE) curriculum, developed by the Boston Science museum. Though EIE does not have a specific egg drop activity, this is a good series for introducing engineering in elementary school. The article mentioned putting one of the eggs in vinegar to show that there was a chemical reaction.  This chemical reaction activity in the article was really just bolted onto the egg drop and not really scaffolded for K students, but it did remind me of an activity I hadn’t done in a while – making calcium crystals from dissolved egg shells.

This activity is pretty simple.  All you need is a washed, empty eggshell; some plain, white vinegar; a glass tumbler to hold the dissolving shell, and a pie plate or other broad, flat dish for growing your crystals. I took an eggshell from my breakfast, washed it out with water, and put it in an old jelly glass. I broke mine into smaller pieces so it would react and dissolve faster. Then I poured on enough plain white vinegar to cover it.  Any vinegar should work, but plain vinegar will make it easier to watch the reaction.

As soon as you pour the vinegar over the eggshell, you’ll see carbon dioxide bubbles coming off the shell as the acid reacts to the shell’s calcium carbonate. After a couple of days, a white inner coating from the shell will slide off and you can discard it. Let the shell sit in the vinegar for about 5-7 days until it is mostly dissolved. Once you are down to just a few fragments, you then run it through a fine kitchen strainer or even a coffee filter to take out those remaining bits of shell.  Pour the vinegar-calcium solution into a pie pan or some other broad shallow dish so it will evaporate quickly.  You’ll get better crystals if you let it evaporate slowly.  I put mine in a closet and left it for another week or so until it is all evaporated.  These are the crystals I got in the photos.

Pie plate for evaporation

 This can definitely lead to a whole new set of investigations about crystal and  all the ways you can make crystals with household stuff.