In an ever-changing teaching environment, one thing stands out for many educators today: getting students involved in projects that have a meaningful impact on the society that they live in, while at the same time meeting established core curriculum and educational goals. In their article “Environmental Eduction in Action: How Expeditionary Learning Schools Support Classroom Teachers in Tackling Issues of Sustainability,” Meg Riordan and Emily Klein note the view of environmental education  as a ‘”creative and dynamic process in which pupils and teachers are engaged together in a search for solutions to environmental problems”‘ (120) and that teachers as well as students must be supported in this process. In addition, they note that this support comes in the form of professional development in areas such as “interdisciplinary planning, active investigation of local issues, and robust participation-with students- in activities around environmental improvement” (120).

In support of this model of teaching and teacher support, Riordan and Klein note two case studies in which this type of teacher support was offered, and how it effected student’s learning. One case study, conducted in a 7th grade class, looks at a class asking the question ‘”what sustains us?”‘ while the second case study, conducted in a 9th grade class, examines a class considering ‘”the value of resources”‘ (124). In both case studies, multiple teachers across various educational disciplines play a role in guiding the students to their ultimate objective, as “expeditions involve other teachers as an ‘integral part of it'” (125). Because of challenges such as these, and the ever changing dynamics of a modern day classroom, Riordan and Klein draw several conclusions from the case studies. First is the “importance of real world experiences” (129) and exposing both teachers and students to this type of learning. Additionally, “the content knowledge and instruction strategies needed to be an effective science teacher are not static” (130), and because of this, teachers must continually undergo professional development to ensure both they and their course are relevant. Finally, “research suggests that teacher professional development should involve participants ‘in the active investigation and amelioration of the real world problems of relevance to the communities in which they teach”‘ (132). If all of this is taken into mind, Riordan and Klein argue, teachers can provide, and continue to provide, “rich inquiry based experiences” (135) to their students for years to come.

Ma’am this article I found is really interesting and fascinating. The reason for the high remarks is that I have been studying project-based teaching during this entire fieldwork class and the idea of project-based teaching is extremely interesting to me due to the fact that I didn’t have many projects when I was in middle school. I know what you are doing is important and I believe this article will help add to collection of knowledge you have on the topic.

To begin the title of the article is “A qualitative study using project-based learning (PBL) in a mainstream middle school.” It is a study conducted by Scott Wurdinger, Jean Haar, Robert Hugg and Jennifer Bezon all from Minnesota State University. This article begins with identifying a problem with mainstream middle schools and the dropout rate in high school. A lot of the high schoolers who drop out have the grades to pass they are just bored with what they are learning. As this problem is identified by the authors it then proceeds to a solution that some schools mainly charter schools have identified a possible solution to reengage middle school students and that is with project-based teaching. Once it introduces the project-based teaching theory, the authors then proceeded to define the components of PBL, this idea has four steps that the teacher must know and understand in order for the learning process to work correctly. One quote I found most interesting is “Teachers should be cognizant of this inquiry process and attempt to guide students through all four steps; however, learning may be hindered if teachers inform students of the four-step process” (Wurdinger, 151-152). This I believe is a great tip to know as a teacher and ever further down the article I am sure there are more hints and tips that will improve a teacher’s knowledge of PBL. As the article continues it goes into a main theme of methods of PBL highlighting on, problem solving, scope, culture, Project process, and obstacles. Lastly the article dives into the study’s findings and discussion of those findings. The conclusion is that “teachers accepted the project-based approach and that students were highly engaged in the process; however, this approach presents teachers with a unique set of problems” (Wurdinger, 159).

Ma’am I believe this is a perfect article to add to the tool box of knowledge and help sharpen that knowledge to dive into teaching the bright young minds of the future.

Citations:

Wurdinger, Scott, et al. “A Qualitative Study Using Project-Based Learning in a Mainstream Middle School.” Improving Schools, vol. 10, no. 2, 2007, pp. 150–161., doi:10.1177/1365480207078048.

-Jingle