Reflection:
Module 6 Project Based Learning
This module promises to
be an exciting one given the fact that projects are becoming a permanent
feature on the curriculum and now form part of the Caribbean Primary Exit
Assessment, the examination which replaces the Common Entrance exams. This module
could not have come at a more opportune time, as the readings and activities provide
greater insight into project writing and opportunities to practice various
aspects of project writing.
The readings that I have
done to date indicate that there are benefits to be had from adopting a Project Base Learning (P.B.L)
approach to teaching. Some of these include among others increased motivation, self
direction and collaboration and so on and so forth.
Having said that, I am also
cognizant of the fact that P.B.L pose some challenge to teachers, especially to those
of us who are new to it. The present curriculum which is teacher centered and
the high demand it places on teachers and students must be addressed. Building
on the issue just raised, is the time factor. Projects take up a lot of time
and the demands of the present curriculum makes adopting P.B.L a bit of challenge but it can be done.
My advice would be for
us to start small until we have gotten a hang of it (P.B.L) with at least one
project per year throughout the school. In our planning, careful attention must
be paid to each phase of P.B.L. In the first or planning phase, attention is paid
to goal setting, developing curriculum framing questions, planning of
assessment and designing of activities. The second or investigative phase sees
children working through the activities and producing representations of their
findings. And in the third and final stage pupils will be in involved in
culminating activities such as presentations and debriefings. In all of this we must be mindful of the content
we wish to cover, the processes involved and the final product we want our
children to produce.
