Blog Post #9

There is a lot to be learned from teachers and students about project based learning.  The Seven Essentials for Project Based Learning is a perfect example of what project based learning is all about. A good project should be perceived meaningful by the students and it should provide an educational purpose. I think it is very important for the students to find the project meaningful. If the project is not something the students care about it will be a lot harder to get them engaged in the project. PBL challenges students to solve a driving question. While students set out to solve a driving question PBl also gives students the platform to be creative and voice their ideas. I believe students feel more accomplished when they solve issues on their own and are able to showcase their ideas. In the video Project Based Learning for Teachers by Tony Vincent he sites a Einstein quote which says "I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn". This is what PBL is based off of the teacher does not actually teach the student. The students learn how to teach themselves and solve challenging real world problems on their own. When doing this they develop 21st century skills such as critical thinking.

In the 21st century it is getting harder and harder to motivate students. In the video PBL: What Motivates Students Today it shows interviews with real students on what motivates them. The most popular answer is they feel motivated when they receive some type of reward from their teacher. Students work harder and feel like their work meant something when they get rewarded for their work. This shows that students are just like adults in a way because adults also work hard for recognition in some type of way. For example, a lawyer works at a big law firm and they work very hard and their reward is to make partner. The same is for students if they work hard on a project and they receive an A , then they are going to work even harder to keep that A. There are many benefits to Project Based Learning and I believe if educators use it in their lessons the students will be more engaged and retain the information longer.