Scaffolding and Achievement in Problem-Based and Inquiry Learning
A response to the Kirschner, Sweller, & Clark article, specifically focused on demonstrating that problem based learning and inquiry learning are highly scaffolded, not "minimally guided." Research is cited showing the effectiveness of PBL.
Half an Hour: Free Learning and Control Learning: On the So-Called Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching
Text from Downes' presentation critiquing the Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark article. Downes goes through a number of Kirschner et al's arguments, showing the internal inconsistency, lapses of logic, and lack of evidence. Citations included.
High Tech in Hawaii: The Real-World Relevance of Technology | Edutopia
Profile of a Hawaiian school using technology and project-based learning to engage students and give them 21st century skills.
"What the animation does is it assists the children in visualizing the action," explains Mitchell, who teaches <a class="external-link" href="http://www.nuuanu.k12.hi.us/G-1/public_html/index.html" target="_blank">language arts enrichment classes</a>. "The animation is a way of them developing the picture so they relate that to the writing, to what they hear, what they see, what they feel." Technology, she adds, "gives you one more way of teaching something."
"Looking for real-world relevance has to do with students being interested in what they do, knowing that it's useful outside of school," says Kaninau. "The experiences are not contrived or in isolation, but they're a part of a larger learning activity. Without those connections, it won't be meaningful, and it'll be forgotten tomorrow."
"They love it," says sixth-grade teacher Geraldine Kajitani. "If you start with ... hands-on activities and things that are fun, their attention is focused." And once that happens, she says, it's a snap to get them to study some of the drier material because they'll relate to it and remember it.
Reinventing Project-Based Learning Ning
Ning community set up by the authors of Reinventing Project-Based Learning, used for a course. The group is currently dormant, but the archived discussions still have some interest and will likely provide some inspiration for the project-based learning with multimedia course I'm revising.
State Project
Example project from the Developing 21st Century Literacy Skills course. The assignment is to develop a project where students will develop and demonstrate 21st century literacy skills. In this project, students create a multimedia presentation with information about their state as if they are working in the visitor's bureau and trying to convince tourists to visit.
Multimedia Serves Youths' Desire to Express Themselves | Edutopia
High school students in California find their voice through multimedia and learn to make a difference through what they create and share
"Media is the language of kids," Torres adds, saying that students who may not take to learning by reading a textbook or listening to a lecture often jump at the chance to understand complex concepts by presenting finished products in the form of a film or a Web documentary or a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.
Flickr: Reinventing Project-Based Learning
Pictures of project-based learning with digital tools
This group illustrates what project-based learning can look like, especially when digital tools help students break free from the confines of teacher-driven and classroom-bound instruction.<br>
Big Dog, Little Dog: Five Years later: A Review of Kirschner, Sweller and Clark's Why Minimal Guidance during Instruction Does Not Work
Review of Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark's paper bashing constructivism, discovery, and problem-based learning, plus some context and research on the other side.
Thus Kirschner, Sweller and Clark's paper is an important reminder for us to not carry Problem Based Learning (PBL) to its extreme. That is, while it has its strengths, learners often need a more direct approach in order to build a solid foundations before being presented with PBL.
With the title blaring, “<em>Why Minimal Guidance during Instruction Does Not Work”</em> rather than, <em>“Why Minimal Guidance during Instruction Does Not Work for Novice Learners,” </em>the authors almost seem to ignore that PBL is a necessity in order to promote deeper levels of understanding.
The paper relies heavily on Cognitive Load Theory, yet we have to realize that it is still a theory rather than a law.
Thus, both the authors and the constructivism movement are guilty of jumping on theories before they are fully understood.
