Mara Pagan's Portfolio Page

Return to: ETAP 623 Spring 2017 | Mara's mini-course

About me

I am currently in my third year of teaching as a Language teacher at a high school. Teaching has been a rewarding yet stressful experience in my life but I enjoy it very much. I speak three languages English, Spanish, and Italian. I love to travel and do it any chance I get. I love spending time with my friends and family. My favorite TV show is Golden Girls, my favorite food is Italian, my favorite music is anything on the radio, and my favorite book is Like Water for Chocolate.

My Topic/Purpose

The purpose of this course is to show educators in the foreign language field how to incorporate Project Based Learning into their classrooms and what are some ideas for it.

The following topics will be covered:

What is PBL?
How to create a PBL.
How can PBL be incorporated in the classroom?
What technological tools can be used for PBLs?

Learning Outcomes

Learners will be able to:

Apply PBLs into their classroom environment.
Identify the PBL elements.
Apply technology into their PBLs.
Choose to use PBL as an alternate form of assessment.
Create a PBL.

Needs Assessment / Analysis of the Learner and Context

Problem

There are various forms of assessment that can be given to students in order to see whether or not they understood content. In today’s world, learning has taken a turn and lesson should be more student-centered and provide students with real world example. A great form of formal assessment is Project Based Learning. Project Based Learning can be implemented and design for any classroom no matter the grade or subject (Grant, 2017). I have found, in my own experience, that Foreign Language teachers tend to sometimes lack the use of PBL, this can be because they may not be familiar with the idea or feel comfortable enough to use it in the classroom. With this course, I hope that it will take away any concerns or questions they may have.

What is to be Learned

Learners will become familiar with Project Based Learning and how to incorporate it in the classroom. This course will provide learners with a number of ways and tools to use PBL in their classroom environment. Different tools and ideas will be introduced in this course to help and give the learners an idea of what is required of them when creating a PBL. Additionally, they will become aware of the importance of using such activity as an assessment.

The Learners

This course will be geared more towards Foreign Language teachers and how they maybe able to implement Project Based Learning in their Classrooms. Even though this course may be geared towards language, educators of different grade levels and subjects are welcome to take it because it is only the content that is in a foreign language all the other information and tools provided can be applied in other disciplines.

Instructional Context

Participants in this course will learn the content fully online. Any resources such as videos, articles, or tools will be readily available to them via online.

Exploring the Problem and Solution

Participants will go through various lessons introducing them to various parts and ideas on how to create a PBL and be able to find solutions that help them to create and implement PBL in their classroom.

Goals

The main goal is for the learners to gain knowledge and understanding of what Project Based Learning is and how it can be implemented in the classroom. Another goal is for learners to become familiar with PBL and become more comfortable using them in the classroom. Lastly, for learners to become familiar with various technology tools they can use within their PBLs.

Performance Objectives

· Learners will determine which tools to use for Project-Based Learning.

· Learners will apply Project-Based Learning as a form of assessment at least once in their classrooms.

· Learners will develop their own Project-Based Learning and assess themselves through the use of a rubric.

· Learners will discuss the purpose of Project-Based Learning and the importance of it.

· Learners will identify the different elements that make up a PBL and what Project-Based Learning is.

Task Analysis

Unit 1: Introduction to Project Based Learning

1. What is PBL

The learner will learn about what a PBL is and its importance

Why choose PBL for an assessment

2. Identify the PBL elements

The learners will learn and understand the 8 essential elements that make up a good PBL

3. How it can be used/applied

Learners will discuss and understand the use of PBL and how they can be applied.

In this unit, students will take a short quiz to assess their understanding of PBLs.

Unit 2: How can PBL be incorporated into the classrooms? 1. Learners will identify the various ways to incorporate PBL into their classroom such as through forms of assessment.

The assessments can vary from formal assessment to informal, as well as provide real-world knowledge.

Students will come up with a list of topics that can use PBL and create a basic rubric that they can use to assess their students. The rubric must include PBL elements.

Unit 3: What technological tools can be used and how to implement it?

1. Learners will identify and explore various tools that can be used to create a PBL and choose from several tools and software, depending on their preferred style and topic.

2. Learners will be able to meet the needs of all their students and learn how to implement a PBL in the classroom.

Learners will be provided with various examples of PBLs to give them an idea for their PBL in the next unit.

In this unit, students will choose a topic from their previous list of topics and provide a list of tools they can use to create a PBL.

Unit 4: Create and implement PBL into the classroom.

1. Learners will work independently in creating their own PBL. They will be provided with a list of possible tools to choose from.

2. They will then implement the PBL they have created into their real classrooms.

In this unit, learners will be assessed through a rubric and provide student work as samples.

Essential Prerequisites

· The learners will demonstrate an understanding on CCS or ACTFL.

· The learners will demonstrate the use of rubrics in PBL.

· The learners can identify various tools to use in PBL.

Supportive Prerequisites

· The learners will have an understanding of the importance of PBL.

· The learners will have an interest to implement PBL into their classrooms.

· The learners will have a desire to create their own PBL.

· The learners will be motivated and willing to learn about PBL.

Curriculum Map

Unit 1: Introduction to Project Based Learning

Objectives

At the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

Understand the importance of PBL.
Learn about what PBLs are.
Choose PBL as a form of assessment in their own classes.
Identify the essential elements that make up a good PBL.
Discuss how to apply PBLs.

Unit 2: How can PBLs be incorporated into classrooms?

Objectives

At the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

Identify ways to incorporate PBL into their classrooms.
Choose PBL as a form of assessment.
Create a list of topics in which PBL can be used.
Create a rubric to evaluate a PBL.

Unit 3: What technological tools can be used and how to implement them?

Objectives

At the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

Explore various tools that can be used in a PBL.
Learn how to implement PBL into their own classrooms.
Choose a topic for their PBL that they will create in the next unit.

Unit 4: Create and implement PBL into the classroom?

Objectives

At the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

Create their own PBL.
Implement the PBL they have created into their own classrooms.

References and Resources

Buck Institute For Education. https://www.bie.org/about/what_pbl
Buck Institute For Education. https://www.bie.org/about/why_pbl
Grant, S. s. (2017). Implementing project-based language teaching in an Asian context: a university EAP writing course case study from Macau. Asian-Pacific Journal Of Second & Foreign Language Education, 2(1), 1-13. doi:10.1186/s40862-017-0027-x