Our assignment for this module required us to create a Project Based Learning / S.T.E.A.M. project to share with our students.
S.T.E.A.M. is a relative curriculum where the subjects are taught in support of one another on the bases of an educational structure of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and to broaden the spectrum by incorporating the arts. Each component is relevant to one another (Gupta, 2017).
Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method in which complex real-world problems are used as the vehicle to promote student learning of concepts and principles as opposed to direct presentation of facts and concepts (David Lee Ed Tech, 2015)
Characteristics of good Project-Based Learning problems:
The problem must motivate students to seek out a deeper understanding of the concepts involved in their project.
The problem should require students to make reasoned decisions and to defend those decisions.
The problem should incorporate the content objectives in such a way as to connect it to previous courses/knowledge.
If used for a group project, the problem needs a level of complexity to ensure that the students must work together to solve it.
If used for a multistage project, the initial steps of the problem should be open-ended and engaging to draw students into the problem.
In our first week, we collaborated as a group and created a website to explain our topic and the basics of our project:
"While students do have the opportunity to eat lunch at their school cafeteria, their afternoons and evenings are spent rushing from one academy to another (Sun-Young, 2019). There is usually no time to grab a healthy snack, and no opportunity to eat it. By the end of their day, many students are very hungry, which interferes with concentration, or they have only had a few quick, unhealthy snacks from a convenience store to keep them going.
With the rise of obesity and related illnesses in South Korea from a young age, it is more important than ever to provide these kinds of services and educate our youth about healthy eating habits (Kang, 2020)."
The Driving Question:
How can students have access to healthier food options after school?
As a English Second Language teacher to elementary school students, our content area will focus on the aspects pertinent to language learning. This includes appropriate vocabulary for the subject matter, effective communication within their groups and with others involved in the project, interpreting answers to questions in meaningful ways and drawing relevant conclusions, and presenting their findings and recommendations to an authentic audience.
How will students answer the driving question?
The first step is to break down the driving question into its various components:
1. Who are the "students" in question? How can we communicate with them and what do we need to ask them to get the information we need for this project? Are there any other relevant people we may need to get in touch with?
2. What are "healthier food options"? What makes a food "healthy" vs "unhealthy"?
3. How do we define "after school"? What time-frame does this cover, and what areas, both geographic and academic?
Once the students have given some thought to the above 3 questions, they can begin brainstorming methods to get more specific answers and measurable data.
For example, students may decide that a survey would be a helpful tool for gathering information, from other students, their parents and from the various after-school academies that the students attend. Students would have to use our content area, i.e. English Language Learning, appropriately in order to ask the right questions and interpret answers correctly.
Some questions would be quantitative or multiple choice, in which case students need to provide adequate options and correct wording to cover all their bases. (E.g. "What time do you eat lunch and dinner?" or "How much do you spend on convenience store snacks each week?") Other questions would be more open-ended, and need to be worded appropriately to produce meaningful answers. (E.g. "What is your favorite food?" vs "What is your favorite healthy snack?")
Students will have to familiarize themselves with the necessary vocabulary (E.g. "nutrition", "calories") in order to do effective research. They will need reading skills and critical comprehension skills in order to navigate search engine results. They will need speaking and listening skills in order to collaborate on this project and to manage interpersonal challenges. And finally, they will need all their language skills in order to present their findings and recommendations to the parents and principals of the academies.
Specific Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
collaborate as a group and perform their assigned roles (see below) on the project.
think critically about the driving question and propose their own creative solutions.
design an effective survey to get the information they require from the relevant group (students, parents, academies) and interpret the answers.
research nutrition and healthy food and use that information to answer the driving question.
work out a menu with several options to suit the preferences and needs of different students.
calculate the costs involved in this project and create a basic budget.
present their findings and recommendations to an authentic audience.
complete all the above objectives in English, with assistance and guidance from the teacher as needed.
S.T.E.A.M. Components:
Our project will likely incorporate the S.T.E.A.M. areas in the following ways, although students may come up with alternative tools or methodologies as their project progresses:
Science - the importance of healthy eating (biological effects on the human body), nutritional information of food (macro and micro nutrients)
Technology - students make their own surveys, interpret the data (using an app like Survey Monkey), Students can use apps during collaboration and in their final presentation (Emaze, Padlet, Flipgrid, Wix)
Engineering - Students may decide to create an app as part of the final project to order, track and deliver food (similar to Uber Eats or Coupang Eats).
Math - calculating a budget, expenses and incomes, working with what students can afford, counting calories and providing nutritional information
Art - designing pamphlets, posters or menus, creating a logo or graphics for an app, putting together a presentation with visuals
21st Century Skills:
In order to keep up with the lightning-pace of today’s modern markets, and to succeed in their careers during the Information Age, students will need to develop these 12 abilities (Stauffer, 2020):
This project incorporates and encourages the development of these critical skills. Students will need to use critical thinking and creativity to come up with solutions to the driving question. They will need flexibility and initiative to overcome any obstacles which may arise during the project. Students will need information and media literacy to to research. Communication, social skills, and collaboration will be necessary for this group project to be effective, both within the group and with the people the students will have to interact with in order to address the driving question. Students will have to demonstrate productivity as they are the main drivers of the project, and will require good leadership to stay focused and on target. They will need technological literacy in order to use apps for surveys, data collection and presentation tools.
Project-Based Learning Structure and Timeline:
For the purposes of this project, I will divide my class into groups of four students. Each group will have a student assigned one of the following roles (Sharpe, 2014):
Facilitator:
organizes the group and assigns tasks, e.g. having someone read the task orally.
makes sure each person understands the task.
checks comprehension and seeks group consensus.
makes sure the group understands and follows the rubrics.
“Who wants to read?” “What does the first question mean?” “Do we all agree?” “I’m not sure I get it yet – can someone explain?”
Resource Manager:
prepares and sources the necessary supplies and materials for the current activity.
makes sure that the group has cleaned up its area at the end of the lesson.
keeps track of the budget.
prepares resources needed for making presentations.
"What do we need to create this poster?" "Let's make a list of apps we can use for our presentation."
Recorder / Reporter:
Takes notes during discussions and records answers during interviews.
shares the team’s results with the class (as appropriate)
serves as a liaison with the teacher.
makes sure that each group member understands what information they need to record personally.
organize their group members’ contributions as they prepare presentations.
“Does everyone understand what to write?” “How should we show our answer on this poster?” “Can we show this in a different way?” “What does each person want to explain in the presentation?”
Task Manager / Time Keeper:
keeps the group focused on the task at hand.
provides motivation and encouragement.
reminds the group of deadlines and helps to set and meet short term goals.
keeps track of group member work.
makes note of any learning issues or difficulties in completing tasks.
“Ok, let’s get back to work!” “Let’s keep working.” “What does the next question say?” “Explain how you know that.” “Can you prove that?” “Tell me why!”
The table below is a guide to the phases of PBL (Arends, 2008):
If the duration of this project is 1 semester / 12 weeks, then I would assign it as follows:
Phase 1 = 1 week (Introduction and group / role assignment)
Phase 2 = 2 weeks (Initial research, define tasks and make preparations)
Phase 3 = 5 weeks (Conduct interviews, surveys, experiments, gather data)
Phase 4 = 3 weeks (Compile and interpret data, prepare report, make presentation)
Phase 5 = 1 weeks (Reflection and assessments)
Final Presentation
The groups will present their findings, recommendations and solution to the driving question to an "authentic audience" - in other words, an audience comprised of people who are affected by the driving question, and who have the means to implement and utilize the solutions suggested by the group. These are their fellow students, the parents of those students, and the managers and principals of the academies that the students attend.
Groups will have to work out the logistics around the presentation - whether it would be more appropriate to present once to a large group, or several times to various smaller groups at different academies, depending on everyone's schedule. The presentations will take place towards the end of Phase 4, in week 11 (as above).
Evaluation and Assessment
There will be an opportunity for brief reflection and assessment at the end of each phase, in order to give and receive feedback before moving forward. However, a more detailed assessment will take place at the end of the project, in Phase 5.
I've created an evaluation rubric here. Students will be evaluated as a group. Students will also have the opportunity to assess their peers and themselves, using this form, and reflect on the project here. The teacher will give feedback to the students, and where appropriate, the students can give feedback to each other.
REFERENCES:
Arends, R. I. (2008) Learning to Teach (7th Ed). McGraw-Hill Higher Education. https://www.academia.edu/34403357/_Richard_Arends_Learning_to_Teach_BookFi_org_
Edutopia. (2007, October 19). Why Is Project-Based Learning Important? https://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-importance
David Lee Ed Tech. (2015, May 12). Introduction to Project Based Learning (PBL) Process [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08D0dBGIzYQ
Gupta, P. (2017, July 5). Why PBL & STEAM Education Must Go Together. EdTechReview. https://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/trends/2845-pbl-steam-in-education
Kang, M. (2020, December 28). Dietary intake and nutritional status of Korean children and adolescents: a review of national survey data. CEP - Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics. https://www.e-cep.org/journal/view.php?number=20125555398
Mccullough, J. (2014, June 9). PBL Role Descriptions For Beginners. Retrieved from https://joanmccullough.com/2014/06/09/project-based-learning-group-roles/
PBL Works. (2020). Reflection - Strategy Guide. Buck Institute For Education. https://my.pblworks.org/system/files/documents/PBLWorks_Reflection_Strategy%20Guide_0.pdf
PBL Works. (2020). Post Project Reflection and Feedback from Students - Strategy Guide. Buck Institute For Education. https://my.pblworks.org/system/files/documents/PBLWorks_Post%20Project%20Reflection%20and%20Feedback%20from%20Students_Strategy%20Guide_0.pdf
Post, G. (2021, July 6). 7 Tremendous Advantages of Project-Based Learning. Pear Tree Elementary. https://peartree.school/2021/07/06/7-tremendous-advantages-of-project-based-learning/
Ross, D. (2017, April 24). Empowering Our Students with 21st-Century Skills for Today. Getting Smart. https://www.gettingsmart.com/2017/04/24/empowering-students-21st-century-skills/
Shaffer, T. (2021, September 14). 10 Benefits of Project-Based Learning. Destination Imagination. https://www.destinationimagination.org/blog/10-benefits-of-project-based-learning/
Stauffer, B. (2020, March 19). What Are 21st Century Skills? https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/what-are-21st-century-skills
Sun-Young, L. (2019, September 30). [Herald Interview] ‘Take the burden off our children.’ The Korea Herald. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190926000762
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