Project Based Learning

Our school has been receiving training on Project Based Learning this year and I love it! We are working on our first PBL project with our third graders right now. Our students have taken over the recycling program for the school. They wrote letters and distributed them to educate the teachers about the program, created advertisements, prepared an all-school assembly with poetry, songs, and skits to get the school excited, and we had a paper drive. The students also worked in teams to research different conservation topics and they shared that information with other classes. So not only are my students responsible for collecting and organizing the recycling, but they have also been researching and educating others about our conservation issues. This has been a great first project! Project Based Learning incorporates 21st century skills like collaboration, responsibility, leadership, and problem solving.

Check out these two sites for more information on Project Based Learning:

Buck Institute for Education

Edutopia

Habits of Mind

Our school is currently doing a book study on the book Habits of Mind. These habits are integral in 21st century learning. I found a really cool visual that displays these habits we want our students to have.

Here is a link to the image:

Habits of Mind Image

What is 21st Century Learning?

There are lots of websites that discuss 21st century learning.  Check out this website:  The Partnership for 21st Century Learning to get an idea of the basic components. 

Partnership for 21st Century Learning