User:Sanjaybareja

Introducing Your Facilitator
Hi Friends,

I am Sanjay Bareja - facilitator to your online course on Project Based Approaches.

I am working with Intel Education Program as a Program Manager to Central Government Projects for past 11 years.

I am glad to introduce this course that will primarily get teachers like you to understand in depth various project based approaches and help implement authentic and meaningful projects in your classroom.

I wish both of us an enriching learning experience.

Thanks :)

Learning Defining and Characteristics of the Project


Project may be defined as a well designed interrelated set of activities, on which a pair or a group of students work together to solve a real-life problem.

The following characteristics help define effective project-based units:


 * 1) Students are at the center of the learning process.
 * 2) The project focuses on important learning objectives aligned with syllabus guidelines.
 * 3) The project is driven by Curriculum-Framing Questions.
 * 4) The project involves ongoing and multiple types of assessment.
 * 5) The project involves connected tasks and activities that take place over a period of time.
 * 6) The project has real-world connections.
 * 7) Students demonstrate knowledge and skills through products and performances that are published, presented, or displayed.
 * 8) Technology supports and enhances student learning.
 * 9) Thinking skills are integral to project work.
 * 10) Varied instructional strategies support multiple learning styles.

[[Media:Project Characterisitcs Checklist.pdf|Project Characterisitcs Checklist.pdf]]

Test Your Knowledge on PBL
Discover What makes a Project Based Learning an Effective teaching Strategy. To begin with first find out what your already know about Project Based Learning and What you would like to learn.

YOUR TURN: Click on to the file embeded and fill in with what you already know about projects and what would you like to learn.

[[Media:KWLH Chart.pdf|KWLH Chart.pdf]]

Project Design
Teaching well—and engaging students in learning—requires planning and thoughtful unit design. In this lesson, you review the instructional design process. Understanding desiging of a project will help you develop a project that meets your learning goals and engages your students.

Review Research on teaching and learning.

[[Media:Reviewing the Research.pdf|Reviewing the Research.pdf]]

Review research supporting the instructional design of this course and the units you create.

To be successful, units need to be designed with the end in mind and organized around important concepts (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). You should ensure that planned activities help your students meet the intended learning objectives and understand the unit's essential concepts or big picture. By reviewing curricular goals, objectives, and syllabus guidelines, and seeing how they all fit together, teachers can make choices for establishing curricular priorities.

During this course, you develop a Project by completing the following steps:


 * Determine specific learning goals from syllabus guidelines and 21st century skills to ensure students delve deeply into a significant, core area of your curriculum.
 * Develop Curriculum-Framing Questions to help guide the unit and help students focus on important themes and concepts, targeting the big ideas.
 * Make an assessment plan that demonstrates student-centered, ongoing, and reflective assessments.
 * Design activities that meet the learning needs of the students, connect to the world outside of the classroom, and include meaningful tasks or projects that incorporate the use of technology.

'''This simple four-step process is deceiving. Unit planning is not linear; it always involves circling back to previous steps to ensure alignment among unit components.'''