Double Entry Journal #13

Traditional education where the student has to memorize information or perform operations with a given equation are becoming antiquated because they don't teach students the critical thinking skills which are necessary in today's society.

Project Based Learning(PBL) allows students to better learn by making the problems authentic and relatable to real life scenarios. (Thomas, 2000) In a study done by Boaler(1997, 1998) it was found students who are taught in project based classrooms have a better understanding of conceptual problems. Another benefit students gain when exposed to PBL is an increased ability to define problems (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992), most likely stemming from the fact that PBL resembles real life scenarios the students can relate to.

Problem Based Learning(PBL) offers students the ability to work in small groups to investigate meaningful problems, identify what they need to learn in order to solve a problem, and generate

strategies for solution (Barrows, 1996; HmeloSilver, 2004). Research has found that the use of cases in teacher education can help prospective teachers learn to apply theory and practical knowledge to specific school contexts and think through and resolve classroom dilemmas more productively(Darling-Hammond & Hammerness, 2002). Additional studies have demonstrated that students who participated in problem-based experiences are better able to generate accurate hypotheses and coherent explanations (Hmelo, 1998b; Schmidt et al., 1996).

Learning by Design focuses on having the students apply their learned knowledge towards constructing an artifact. In one such study, Hmelo, Holton, and Kolodner (2000) asked sixth-grade students to design a set of artificial lungs and build a partially working model of the respiratory system. They found that the design project led to better learning outcomes than the traditional approach to instruction. They also noted that the design students learned to view the respiratory system more systemically and understood more about the structures and functions of the system than the comparison group. Researchers have also observed that design activities are particularly good for helping students develop understanding of complex systems, noting that the systems can be presented as a united whole whose structure is adapted to specific purposes (Perkins, 1986). Fortus and colleagues (2004) noted learning by design had a positive effect on motivation and sense of ownership over designs among students.

Differences between these approaches are Project Based Learning focuses on making learning authentic for the student, Problem Based Learning focuses on getting the student to critically analyze a problem, and Learning by Design focuses on the application of the knowledge the students gain.

I think the benefit that can be gained by all of these approaches is that they make learning interesting to the student by involving them in the process and forcing them to actively participate while developing solutions to questions that arise during the activity.

Barron, B., & Darling-Hammond, L. (n.d.). Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf