1. Read the Introduction. What "dominant paradigm" is showing signs of wear?
The fact that although the world has evolved in many ways, the educational system has not. The schools "remain caught in a web of educational thinking and systems that originated a century ago."
2. According to the research, how does Project-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.
---"...students who engage in this approach benefit from gains in factual learing that are equivalent or superior to those of students who engange in traditional forms of instruction (Thomas, 2000). This approach takes learning one step further. Students are able to transfer their learning to new kinds of problems.
---"...the students who engaged in project-based learnign demonstrated a significant increase in scores on a critical-thinking test (Shepherd, 1998)."
---"...those who had participated in the project-based curriculum did better on conceptual problems presented in theNational Exam (Boaler, 1997 1998)."
3. According to the research, how does Problem-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.
---"...medical students who are enrolled in problem-based curricula score higher on clinicla problem-solving measures and on actual rating of clinical performance (Vernon & Blake, 1993; Albanese & Mitchell, 1993)..."
---"...students who participated in problem-based experiences are better able to generate accurate hypothesis and coherent explanations (Hmelo, 1998b; Schmidt et al., 1996)
---"They also experience larger gains in conceptual understanding in science (Williams, Hemstreet, Liu, & Smith, 1998)
4. According to the research, how does Learning by Design support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.
---"...the design project led to better learning outcomes than the traditional approach to instruction (Hmelo, Holton, & Kolodner (2000). They also found that the design helped students view the respiratory system more "systemically."
---"...design activities are particularly good for helping students develop understanding of complex systems...(Perkins 1986).
---Higher and lower-achieving students showed stronger evidence of progress in learning the targets science concepts...(Fortus 2004).
5. What are the differences between the three approaches?
Project-Based:
- this learning involves completing "complex tasks". These lead to a more "realistic product".
Problem-Based:
-lessons involve a specific type of activity focused on using reasoning and resources to solve a problem. Students work in small groups to "investigate meaningful problems." They also create solutions and strategies.
Learning by Design:
-This approach involves the idea that children learn deeply when they are ased to create an "artifact." This artifact requires understanding and application of knowledge. This approach alsi supports revisions on activites students create.
6. In your opinion, what is the most important benefit to learning that is common across the three types of inquiry-based learning approaches?
The most important benefit to learning is that the current system needs to change. All three types involve something different from what goes on today in the classroom. The "paradigm" at the beginning is accurate and these types of learning, if implemented, can help shake that paradigm and give a new meaning to school and success.
