Term:

Definition:

Usage:

Project

All the things students will do in order to learn the standards encompassed by the Driving Question.

My students are working on their projects for the next three weeks.

Project Based Learning (verb)

Acronym: PBL

A theory of learning that promotes students learning by doing in order to answer a complex question.

My principal wants to see more Project Based Learning going on in classrooms next year.

However, one cannot properly say, “This is my PBL” since Project Based Learning is a verb. One would say rather, “This is the project my students are currently working on.”

Workshop

Just in Time learning for small groups of students. The teacher can assign workshops or the students can request them.

Five of my students don’t understand multiplying fractions, so I’ll provide a workshop on that to reteach it.

DIY

(Do it Yourself)

Any activity students do alone whether to study a concept or to be evaluated on their understanding.

I need Maria, John, and Sally to complete a DIY on fractions today before they resume team meetings.

Driving Question

Acronym: DQ

Each Project Based Learning unit has a Driving Question that addresses significant content from the curriculum.

Our Driving Question specifies that our project has to help our community.

Significant Content

Significant Content is the learning material that students will be using while creating the project. If the content is insignificant, student learning and  engagement can suffer.

I wanted to create a project around the life of one prominent historical figure, but then I realized the content was not significant enough.  I needed to broaden my scope so that all the projects wouldn’t be the same.

Product

The results of the work of the project. Many project based learning experiences  result in a culminating product that is presented publicly for an audience that includes at least some persons not in the students’ regular learning group.

Our team worked well together and created a great product which we presented yesterday to the city council.

Voice and Choice

Students should have a say in some aspects of the project (voice) and be required to make choices in many areas. Providing room for “voice and choice” is part of building student engagement.

I decided not to tell my students what presentation tool to use so that my project would have more voice and choice.

Knows and Need to Knows

Successful projects start with “knows,” elements students are aware of after the Entry Event, and “Need to Knows” that will need to be learned or discovered during the process of creating the product.

I realized after the Entry Event that my list of Knows on this project is not very long.

Entry Event

The “big event” that gets students excited about an upcoming project.

My favorite Entry Event ever was when the math and language arts teachers worked together to rap for all of us.

Discovery Approach Learning

Acronym: DAL

Discovery Approach Learning is a type of Project Based Learning that shifts the focus away from the product, project, or presentation, and onto the learning itself.

Since we don’t have a presentation or product for this project, it would best be described as a DAL instead of PBL.

Critical Friends

Critical Friends is a protocol (a type of activity) developed by the Buck Institute (bie.org). Teachers and students can use this non-confrontational protocol to refine project plans or projects themselves. The process consists of a series of timed interactions where a person or team receives feedback and suggestions.

During Critical Friends yesterday, I learned that my Driving Question was too specific, so I’m working on expanding it with my team today.