2018

Secondary School No. 16 "Altos de Chilecito"

Material for use

institutional
 Secondary School No. 16 'Altos de Chilecito'

What is Project-Based Learning (PBL)?

ABP is a teaching-learning strategy based on two premises:

1. Provide a real project/problem for students to work on in teams

to find a solution.
An integration of curricular spaces that articulate with the aim of solving the
problem.

The subjects that are part of the curriculum cease to be a collection of units.
separated and sealed to become an articulated set that allows for inclusion
real life problems in which different areas of knowledge converge during the
training, hence the proposed organization in Project-Based Learning Centers.

What skills seeks to promote?

Within the framework of the National Strategic Plan 'Argentina Teaches and Learns' approved by
Resolution of CFE No. 285/16 from the Federal Council of Education, and to which La Rioja as
Jurisdiction adheres, the six fundamental capacities to be developed are established by
the students during their journey in the Compulsory Secondary School:

Thought
Critical

Resolution of Commitment and

problems responsibility

Digital Competence

I work with Learn to

others to learn

Communication

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Develop the ability of empathy when interacting with other people.

implement an integrative concept of the diverse areas of knowledge.

Promote research capability.

Provide tools and methodologies to learn new things

effectively.

ABP starts from the premise and some concepts that, once explained, should be applied.
Thus, project management starts with the vision of a product or final presentation.
that requires concrete learning. That is to say, a context is created and therefore, a
motivation for the student to want to learn the information and the concepts presented.

ABP makes research necessary to learn and build, to obtain

new ideas or well, to know how to apply what they have learned.

The ABP learning process has a cyclical scheme:

The problem is presented

The problem is solved or They identify the

problems are identified needs of
new ones and the cycle repeats. learning

The information is located.

necessary

Types of projects
Depending on the objective to be achieved, the teaching team can define multiple and
various projects.

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A learning task is the performance of a specific job through which the

students exercise the knowledge acquired.

In a project, more than one learning task can converge:

Problem Analysis and Planning:

Given a problem, the student must consider how to outline it to
solve it. The solution will be a Work Plan that includes a conceptual map, a
task distribution, an approximation of the result, etc.
Planning tasks often include an analysis phase (WHAT is the
problem, WHAT am I going to do) and design (HOW am I going to do it).
Research and consultation activities:
It is used when there is little prior knowledge on the part of the
students or when the content is too abstract to formulate a case
concrete.
In this type of tasks or scenario, the student must search, analyze and
seleccionar información en distintas fuentes.
The result will usually be a report to present, discuss, share, etc.
Evaluation tasks or activities:
In these tasks, two actions are combined. The first aimed at presenting the
information about a project developed and a second to evaluate whether the project,
group and students meet the set objectives.
Construction tasks or activities:
It is the type of 'typical' task in ABP. The student must develop a proposal.
complete according to the defined criteria and standards.
It starts from a specific case specified by the teaching team and usually encompasses
tasks of the three previous types, that is, it is necessary to plan what is wanted
to make, locate additional information and finally present the project and
evaluate it.
This type of tasks is only interesting to carry out when the student is present
familiar with the ABP methodology.

In order for any of these tasks to be well focused, the tutoring teacher must set in
the case presented the delivery criteria and the objectives sought with the project.

Phases of a PBL project

We can define five phases during the life of a project-based learning (PBL):

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Phase 01 It is the STAGE of SELECTION/DEDICATION of PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.

This phase has two parts. On one hand, there is the preparation of
project by the teaching team and on the other hand the presentation that
It is carried out for the students of the project. The teacher must explain what he wants.
START do and what is wanted to be obtained, emphasizing the resources that are
they will provide and in the objectives to be achieved.
By the end of this phase, the groups should already be formed and among them.
they will have had the first meeting to determine the frequency of the
meetings. Also, if the students have never worked in PBL, it is the
the right moment for the teacher to explain its operation.
Phase 02 It is the ANALYSIS stage.
FIRST The student is now the protagonist. In this phase, they must develop the plan.
ACTIVITIES action to solve the problem posed by the professor.
OF THE Once this stage has been completed, the student must know WHAT
EQUIPMENT to be done in the project. It must have a layout and a Plan of
Work that distributes tasks among the different team members.
Phase 03 It is the EXECUTION stage of the project.
DEVELOPMENT The student works collaboratively on the project in order to
OF THE PROJECT achieve each and every one of the goals set in the previous stage. The
The final result of this phase will be a product, a presentation or a
interpretation directed at a specific audience.
For this phase to work well, it is necessary for the teacher to evaluate the
progress of each group and, if necessary, interrupt and redirect to
bring the teams to the same pace.
Phase 04 It is the stage of PRESENTATION and DELIVERY of the project.
CONCLUSIONS A project is not considered finished until it is presented to the client.
FROM THE who has assigned it (in the case of the ABP it will be the teacher). The team must be
PERSPECTIVE critical and discover the strengths and weaknesses of the completed project and of the
FROM THE STUDENT BODY strategy used.
Phase 05 A project (of any nature) must ALWAYS have a closure, and in this
CONCLUSIONS It is the teacher's job to carry it out by evaluating each team and reflecting.
FROM THE with the students about the products made.
PERSPECTIVE Additionally, it is time to conduct a final evaluation in which the gathered and
DEL integrate all data and evaluations used during the resolution of the
TEACHER TRAININGproject.

Characteristics of the Problem-Based Project

The project that is to be carried out to solve the problem should meet the following
characteristics:

The design of the problem must engage the students' interest and motivate them to
to deeply examine the concepts and objectives that one wishes to learn.

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2. The problem must be related to the objectives of the course and to problems, and if it is
possible, with everyday situations for students to find greater
meaning in the work they do.
3. Problems should lead students to make decisions or judgments based on
facts, logical and well-founded information. They are required to justify their decisions
and reasoning in the learning objectives. Problems or situations must
require students to define what assumptions are necessary and why, what
Information is relevant and what steps or procedures are necessary for the purpose
to solve the problem.
4. The cooperation of all members of the working group is necessary for
that the problem can be addressed efficiently. The length and complexity of
the problem must be managed by the tutor in such a way that the students do not
Divide the work and each person takes care only of their part.
5. The initial questions must have some of the following characteristics, such that
so that all students become interested and engage in the discussion of the topic:
Open questions, that is, ones that are not limited to a specific answer;
linked with a learning framework of prior knowledge;
Including controversial topics that awake diverse opinions.
Develop and implement high levels of thinking; that include the
synthesis, integration, criticism, and evaluation of information.
They represent a challenge for being less common but real issues.
as much as possible.
6. The content of the course objectives must be incorporated into the design of the
problems, linking prior knowledge to new concepts and connecting them
new knowledge to concepts from other courses or disciplines.

Define the key idea or content of the project

The teaching team must decide on a word, an idea, a theme, or a concept.
as the guiding thread of each project. This idea must be refined until it finds
a matter that may be interesting for the student, that is, 'something'
motivating and that constitutes a challenge for the group.
Goal setting
The team of teachers must decide what type of goals they want to achieve.
The contents to be learned, the attitudes, the skills, and
skills.
Define the guiding questions
Guiding questions help the teacher channel the students' learning.
but, formulated previously, will allow the teaching team to raise the
sequencing of the knowledge, check if any necessary subject is missing
impart, etc.
The guiding questions along with the established goals can help the team of teachers.
to find out if any of the planned subjects do not contribute to learning or if,
On the contrary, certain knowledge not yet provided is needed.

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Establish timelines
It is important to establish the specific moments and the actions to be developed in
each one.
The plan to carry out a PBL project will depend on the subjects taught and on the
sequencing of the same. It would be interesting for the planning of the modules
taught and the integrated subjects were there from the very first moment
connected to the different practices.
Before starting the project, the group of teachers should provide answers.
(and set an action plan) to the following questions:
What will the timeline be for the project? (schedule)
When will there be meetings with the whole class?
What will happen if a group does not adhere to the planned schedule?
When will individual and group feedback be provided on progress and
what problems arise?
When will the closing and conclusion class about the project be held?
When will the project be evaluated?
Establish follow-up
The team of teachers must follow the course of the practice carried out since the
The teaching team presents the practical case to the group until the closure is conducted.
project.

Definition of resources
The teaching team must define and specify which resources they will use.
prepare the student to carry out the project:

What resources are available for the project?

How will access to resources be? (materials, printer, etc.)
Are those resources always available or only during a part of the project?
What type of resources will be used for each stage?
Research: internet, encyclopedias, libraries, textbooks, etc.
Construction: word processor, tools for making maps
conceptual and diagrams, etc.
Communication: email, online discussion groups, etc.
Planning: schedules, Gantt charts
Evaluation: tools for making presentations.

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Useful resources
[Link]
Juanjo Vergara–Projects

Juanjo Vergara is one of the most recognized experts in the use of the ABP methodology.
Their website presents an interesting compilation of projects.
[Link]