Our quest for changing the way we teach led us to the idea of Project and Problem Based Learning (PBL's). The difference is that projects have a known outcome while problems do not. With projects it is more about the journey for students than the outcome. There will be no real surprises here. A problem on the other hand is something that is a current issue. Both the path and the solution itself are unknowns. Both have their place in the educational classroom, and have value. You more frequently see the project type, as they are "safer" and easier to set up. This journey of transformation is being supported everywhere I look. Just last month, in an Edutopia article called "Innovation Education: Making Room For What Ifs" by Suzie Boss addressed this idea.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/innovative-ed-what-if-thinking-making-room-suzie-boss
In the article, Ms. Boss takes a look at another science teacher, Rich Lehrer, who has asked the same questions, and is moving in the same direction as us. This is an idea that is picking up steam across the country, as it allows students to answer the "why do we need to know this" question for themselves. The beauty of this process is that these can be as narrow or as large as you want (or have time for!), making them fit the needs of teachers of any discipline, in any location. We were able to observe some classes at Northglenn High School in Northglenn, Colorado where they have whole-heartedly embarked on a mission to include practical application of knowledge in all content areas. These pbl's are coordinated between the departments so students are not overwhelmed with too many at a time, and designed to address local issues that affect the kids and their families. Although Mr. Lehrer's idea evolved in an outside of the classroom club format, these projects can help supplement learning in the classroom.
This coming year, we have decided to pursue a problem based question that is applicable to our area. "What is the impact of heavy metals due to mining in our water"? Our first year chemistry students will be going on a field trip to an active mine, already armed with the concepts they need to know to ask questions and get information. They are then going to talk to a water education specialist from our local utility company to talk about both how they test for the presence of these metals, and how they remove them. Students will then compile research about how the ecological area is impacted by these metals, and begin to look at potential mitigation methods. With the mine being only an hour and a half away, and above our reservoirs, this is a problem with impact.
One of the issues we have with science is that we separate and segregate the sciences. Biology, Earth Science, Chemistry, and Physics. And while this separation works for basic content, in the real world, science does not have borders. This is one of the most effective parts of PBL's. It allows for the cross-curricular learning that we miss out in with traditional courses. For our upcoming problem, students will need to know the chemistry, of course, but they will also need to know some earth science concepts as they understand why mining occurs the way it does and how the water cycle perpetuates the problem, as well as biological science principles as they deal with the impact on the environment. THIS is what ignites passion. THIS is science.
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