Project-Based Learning

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Project-Based Learning

• An Overview

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What is it?

• Project-based education is an instructional
  approach that seeks to contextualize language
  learning by involving learners in projects,
  rather than in isolated activities targeting
  specific skills.

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• Project-based learning activities generally
• integrate language and cognitive skills
• connect to real-life problems
• generate high learner interest
• involve some cooperative or group learning skills

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• Unlike instruction where content is organized by
  themes that relate and contextualized material to
  be learned, project-based learning presents
  learners with a problem to solve or a product to
  produce.
• They must then plan and execute activities to
  achieve their objectives.

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Benefits

• As a natural part of the process learners plan,
  work on complex tasks, negotiate work details,
  volunteer or are assigned duties and assess their
  performance and progress.
• The sense of accomplishment felt by all who
  participate in a meaningful project has a real
  impact on self-esteem

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more benefits

• Meets the needs of learners with varying skill
  levels and learning styles.
• Engages and motivates bored or indifferent
  students.

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• Projects selected may be complex and require an
  investment of time and resources, or they may be
  more modest in scale.

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Examples? (Groups of 3)
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Here are some examples

• A Weekly menu of healthy serving sizes and dishes
• A healthy recipe book that incorporates healthy
  versions of American recipes as well as recipes
  from their homelands

• A center/school-wide health fair
• A video documentary (or powerpoint presentation)
  about health-related topics as they apply to
  their immediate families, friends, and community

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more examples

• An interactive website (or pamphlet) about
  neighborhood health resources that can be
  accessed (or distributed to) people in the
  community, other students, etc.

• An educational song or theatrical piece to be
  performed in front of an audience made of
  individuals who did not attend the health
  literacy course

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Project Ideas Should Come From The Students

• Students should be encouraged to be creative,
  think outside the box, use different media, and
  more than anything truly create a product that
  can be shared with and thought of as
  useful/informative by other community members who
  did not attend the health literacy course.

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Questions?