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Experiential learning resources for the innovative educator

What is project-based learning for self-directed learners and why is it awesome?

1/19/2021

8 Comments

 
What is self-directed project-based learning? What are project-based learning benefits? What are some project-based learning examples? Find it all right here.
I facilitate a women's studies seminar every year, and as a seminar finale, students design and lead their own high school project-based learning experiences around a subtopic of their choice.
One year a student chose to do her project on domestic violence. She connected with the Sojourner Project, a domestic violence shelter in the Twin Cities. An educator from there came into the school to speak with her. This student also contacted a self-defense instructor to come into the school to teach her and her classmates self-defense strategies. 

​This student assembled all of the information that she gathered into a presentation and created a brochure that included signs of domestic abuse, community resources for survivors, tips for friends and family of abuse survivors and more. She placed brochures around the community from health clinics to bus stops to school counseling offices. 

This student didn't gather statistics and info from a few websites online, copy and paste them into a Powerpoint presentation and regurgitate the information from her slideshow to her classmates.

She collaborated with the community, reached out to experts in the field, made an impact, and shared her knowledge and insight with a relevant audience. That is an example of self-directed project-based learning. She had choice in every aspect of the experience, and thus the experience was deep and meaningful. It mattered to her and her community.
What is self-directed project-based learning? What are project-based learning benefits? What are some project-based learning examples? Find it all right here.
What is project-based learning? ​

My experience and philosophy of teaching are largely based around project-based learning (PBL). I have been a high school project-based educator for 13 years. There are a few misconceptions around project-based learning that I hope to clarify in this post, one being that PBL is the same as a project.  

In short, project-based learning involves sustained inquiry, is innovative, relevant, and authentic. Students gather information on a topic or problem through questioning, learning activities, and community collaboration. They share their new skills and knowledge beyond classroom walls in such a  way that impacts the local and/or global community.

What is PBL specifically?
  • PBL is designed to deepen an understanding of concepts that cross disciplines. The driving question can be used as the foundation of this process. 
  • The nature of PBL allows students to build essential skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, creativity, time-management, personal responsibility, and more.
  • Project-based learning experiences are authentic. Rather than gather information from a textbook or lecture, students engage with real people and experts from the community.
  • Students create the materials, not the instructor.
  • Rather than share breadth of content via a test, students demonstrate competency of skills and depth of knowledge by creating an innovative final product. 
  • Authentic presentations are a critical piece of project-based learning. Students share what they've learned with a relevant audience that can benefit or utilize the information or product in some way. Distributing a brochure with tips for victims of domestic violence in the community is an example of an authentic presentation. 
  • Students are evaluated on skills developed and the process of PBL as much as they are the content. Rubrics are generally used as an assessment tool, as are portfolios.
  • Project-based experiences encourage learning HOW to learn vs. WHAT to learn, which sets students up for sustained, lifelong learning. 
Self-Directed Project-Based Learning Benefits

What is Project Based Learning for Self-Directed Learners Anyway?

The level of self-direction varies among educators. ALL project-based learning experiences in my classroom are student-directed - designed and led by students. There are many opportunities in PBL to give students choice and autonomy.​ That's why I love it!
​
  • Students can choose their own project topics and write their own driving questions. I often give students a theme and they choose a subtopic under that theme. I have a variety of themed self-directed project-based learning activities and tools in my store.
  • Students develop their own project goals, including goals for 21st-century competencies.
  • Students choose how they will gather information, including community experts, to connect with. 
  • Choosing how they will demonstrate learning is an important element of choice. Students have unique learning styles, backgrounds, interests, and more. Choosing a final product to create is a great way to engage students in the experience and is an opportunity for them to shine in their own unique ways. Check out this formative assessment list of final products ideas.
  • Students evaluate their own progress and learning outcomes. They adjust to reflect their self-evaluations, which encourages quality of work and the desire to improve. My students often generate their own project-based learning rubrics to reflect their distinct experiences. 
  • Students choose their authentic audience and mode of getting their final product to that audience. My student in the example above CHOSE to create a brochure. This choice was based on what she experienced in the community as she was gathering information and working with community partners on the issue of domestic violence.
  • Students manage and build their own learning outcomes assessment portfolio. They add project-based learning rubrics, reflections, photo samples, and more to a comprehensive digital portfolio. ​
Free Project-Based Learning Assessment Portfolio
  • Your role changes from giver of content to participator and facilitator of learning. Check out last week's blog post on this topic - What does the teacher do in a self-directed classroom or homeschool?
Give students choice and voice in learning experiences with self-directed project-based learning activities. Learn about project-based learning benefits, project-based learning examples, project-based learning rubrics and other assessments and more in this series.
Self-Directed Project-Based Learning Activity Planning: 

But what does a self-directed PBL experience look like when in action, especially with 25 students in your class?

I use the PBL starter kit and plan facilitation using a planner that I specifically designed for coordinating self-directed PBL. Read my blog post on the facilitation steps of project-based learning activities, specifically those that are self-directed. Grab my free digital, Google Slides planner and head over to that post for a play-by-play.
Free Sample: Project-Based Learning Activity Planner
Getting Started with Self-Directed Project Based Learning: 

A great way to get started is with my 
self-directed project-based learning activities starter kit. It includes all of the guiding tools for designing, planning and executing project-based learning activities. It also includes a more comprehensive version of the free sample PBL learning planner. 

​If this post has your interest, continue following this blog series on how to execute self-directed project-based learning. I've covered the philosophy. Now it's time for details and tangible, actionable steps. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next week, planner in hand!
Follow Experiential Learning Depot on Pinterest, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram for more on self-directed education, and check out my TpT store for experiential learning activity resources. 

Did you know there is an experiential learning Facebook group? Check that out - Experiential Learning Community for K12 Teachers - and join in the discussion about experiential learning ideas such as citizen science.
steps in project-based learning and how to facilitate self-directed project-based learning high school and project-based homeschool.
Project-based learning assessments and rubrics using a pbl learning portfolio
Observe. Question. Explore. Share.
8 Comments
Cecelia link
6/20/2019 08:50:41 am

This was so informative! Now I want to try PBL! Thank you for sharing!

Reply
Experiential Learning Depot
6/25/2019 08:12:37 am

You bet! I'm glad you found it useful. It's completely worth a try.

Reply
Suzanne Casey link
6/20/2019 09:17:09 am

You have provided great detail for PBL - this is a great place to start. Thank you!

Reply
Experiential Learning Depot
6/25/2019 08:13:29 am

You're welcome. Thanks for reading!

Reply
John T. link
11/24/2019 01:44:07 pm

Do you recommend getting a PBL certification? The one at UPenn is $$ and I want to know if it is required to teach PBL, is recognized widely like state teaching certification is, and give me an advantage getting a job.

Reply
Sara Segar (Experiential Learning Depot)
11/24/2019 10:58:54 pm

That is a great question. I am not certified, and worked at a project-based school for almost 12 years. Whether a certification is required to get a job will depend on the job. In Minnesota, you do not need to be certified to teach PBL in public schools, as far as I am aware, anyway. Specific districts might require it and some organizations, such as PBLWorks might as well. I hesitate to give you a recommendation because I think it's a personal choice, especially considering how expensive the certification is. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to go through the UPenn training, but I'm not convinced it's necessary. I would recommend hopping on a job search site or connecting with PBL specific educational organizations and asking them what they are looking for in job candidates. I'll do a little research and get back to you if I find any specifics. I hope to start doing PBL workshops myself in the future, but I'm just not there yet. Good luck to you!

Reply
John T.
11/25/2019 09:23:20 am

Thanks Sara! There is a lot to just figure out about PBL and I am putting the pieces together slowly in a database.
Most of my teaching experience (12 years) has been as an adjunct at small universities and community colleges. I am sure traditional high schools would like me to have XYZ hours of experience teaching 7 hrs a day 5 days a week. I presume that PBL schools would want me to have training in PBL so they don't have to take the time and money to train me. I was hoping that letting them know I am actively seeking certification might make them more willing to hire me. But I have never heard either of those statements from any school administrator. I took a PBL management workshop for a week in July, and it was great, but only the 'tip' of the PBL glacier. How often do PBL schools offer to train their faculty in PBL?
If I can get a job teaching with PBL without a certificate that would be great - but I wonder how I compete with those who ARE certified? I do not need certification to teach in private high schools here in PA but they never object to it being submitted.Belt and suspenders...THANKS

Sara Segar (Experiential Learning Depo) link
11/30/2019 08:35:37 am

Hi again, John!

I think you might be onto something with traditional schools, although, you likely won't see a lot of project-based learning in traditional schools...yet. I hope to see that change, and that is one of my goals here. As with a project-based school, you'll likely find that they will have their own training. It might be good to have some experience with project-based learning, but not necessarily a certification. You might consider seeing if you could observe a project-based school in action - observe or volunteer, go to some conferences, connect with some folks on LinkedIn. There are many project-based schools in Minnesota, and if you are ever in town, I'd be happy to connect you with some people. Good luck to you John!

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