Welcome to another post that I know you will want to share and bookmark. The more I study PBL, STEM and the Next generation Science Standards… the more connections I see! Enjoy this reflection and please take a moment to subscribe by email or RSS and also give me a follow on Twitter at mjgormans. I promise you will find some great information coming your way this school year…so Sign Up Now and please pass this on with a retweet! – Mike Gorman (https://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/)
Booking Info – Are you looking for a practical and affordable professional development workshop for your school or conference? I have traveled the country delivering PD relating to technology integration, PBL, STEM, Digital Literacy, and the 4 C’s. I have done 100′s of workshops and presentations. Check out my Booking Page… Dates are going fast, with time up to and including December just about filled, but i am taking 2014 dates.
“Give the pupils something to do, not something to learn; and the doing is of such a nature as to demand thinking; learning naturally results.” – John Dewey
As a long-time advocate of STEM education and more recently Project Based Learning (PBL), I can’t help but see how these two concepts really do complement one another. Both STEM and PBL depend on a student need to know and inquiry which allows for higher level learning. Additionally, they both facilitate and promote important 21st century competencies. Since STEM includes the integration of the curricular areas of Science, Technology, Math, and Engineering, this intertwining allows for connections and an authenticity that is essential to both PBL and STEM.
Best practices behind the disciplines of STEM are changing. The Common Core State Standards places a strong emphasis on scientific literacy involving student writing about process. It is no longer acceptable to just find the answer to a math equation. Students must be able to apply their math skills to the real world. The Next Generation Science Standards promote the kind of application found in engineering and technology,demanding formulation of a problem that is solved by design thinking. These standards state, “Strengthening the engineering aspects of the Next Generation Science Standards will clarify for students the relevance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the four STEM fields) to everyday life.”
Thanks for joining me on this wonderful journey of 21st century PBL resources . Join me in future weeks as together we continue to explore several more posts devoted to the Flipped Classrooms, Project Based Learning, Assessing 21st century skills, technology integration, web resources, and digital literacy. I enjoy learning from all of you. Also remember to subscribe to this blog by RSS or email and follow me on twitter at mjgormans. I also appreciate your sharing of this post and any retweets. Keep up the amazing work, have a great week, and enjoy the resources! – Mike Gorman
Booking Info – Are you looking for a practical and affordable professional development workshop for your school or conference? I have traveled the country delivering PD relating to technology integration, PBL, STEM, Digital Literacy, and the 4 C’s. I have done 100′s of workshops and presentations. Check out my Booking Page… Dates are going fast, with time up to and including December just about filled, but i am taking 2014 dates.
Hi Michael. My name is Dominique Jones. I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I really enjoyed your post. One of our assignments recently was to post a presentation about PBL. We have not discussed STEM yet, but it seems interesting and I would like to look more into it. I also like the idea about students being able to build their own cities. They will be engaged and learning at the same time.
Here is my blog if you would like to check it out!
Dominique… Thanks for the reflection. PBL is a powerful process that puts students at the center of learning. Very important when we want to facilitate authenticity and engagement. Your Alabama DOE is currently doing some wonderful outreach professional development on PBL. Had a chance to work with them… awesome program through a system the call ALEX. http://alex.state.al.us/index.php Again thanks for your thoughts and enjoy your journey at the university! … Mike