1. What "dominant paradigm" is showing signs of wear?
The instructional model of the teacher and the textbook as the primary sources of knowledge, conveyed through lecturing, discussion, and reading is showing signs of wear.
2. According to the research, how does Project-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.
Project-based learning involves completing complex tasks that typically result in a realistic product, even, or presentation to an audience. Generally, research on project-based learning has found that students who engage in this approach benefit from gains in factual learning that are equivalent or superior to those of students who engage in traditional forms of instruction. This approach aims to take learning one step further by enabling students to transfer their learning to new kinds of situations and problems and to use knowledge more proficiently in performance situations. In Shepherd's (1998) study, the students who engaged in project-based learning demonstrated a significant increase in scores on a critical-thinking test, as well as increased confidence in their learning. A study by Boaler (1997, 1998) found that those who had participated in a project-based curriculum did better on conceptual problems presented in the National Exam. Significantly more students in the project-based school passed the National Exam in year three of the study than those in the traditional school. PBL students had developed a more flexible, useful kind of mathematical knowledge that engaged them in "exploration and thought". The students in a third study in the multimedia program eared higher scores than the comparison group on content mastery, sensitivity to audience, and coherent design. They performed equally well on standardized test scores of basic skills. Other short-term, comparative studies of traditional vs. project-based approaches have demonstrated several benefits from projects, such as an increase in the ability to define problems, growth in their ability to support their reasoning with clear arguments, and enhanced ability to plan a project after working on an analogous problem-based challenge.
3. According to the research, how does Problem-Based Learning support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.
Problem-based learning typically involve a specific type of activity focused on using reasoning and resources to solve a problem. In all problem-based approaches, students take an active role in building the knowledge, while the teacher's role is to make thinking visible, guide the group process and participation, and to ask questions to solicit reflections. Meta-analyses (Dochy, Segers, Van den Bossche & Gijbels, 2003) of studies have found that medial students who are enrolled in problem-based curricula score higher on clinical problem-solving measures and on actual ratings of clinical performance than peer who are not enrolled in such programs. Research has found that the use of cases in teacher education can help prospective teachers learn to apply theory and practical knowledge to specific school contexts and think through and resolve classroom dilemmas more productively. Studies of the efficacy of problem-based learning suggest that it is comparable, though not always superior, to more traditional instruction in facilitating factual learning. This approach has been found to be better, though, in supporting flexible problem solving, application of knowledge, and hypothesis generation. Students are better able to generate accurate hypotheses and coherent explanations and to support their claims with well-reasoned arguments. They also experience larger gains in conceptual understanding in science.
4. According to the research, how does Learning by Design support student learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.
Design-based lessons have several features that make them ideal for developing technical and subject matter knowledge. Design activity supports revisions and iterative activity as students create, assess, and redesign their work product. The complexity of the work often dictates the need for collaboration and specific roles for different students. Design projects require students to set constraints, generate ideas, crate prototypes, and develop plans through storyboarding or other representational practices. Hmelo, Holton, and Kolodner (2000) did a study and found that the design project led to better learning outcomes than the traditional approach to instruction. They also observed that design activities are particularly good for helping students develop understanding of complex systems, noting that the systems can be presented as a united whole whose structure is adapted to specific purposes. Fortus and colleagues (2004) did a study and found that both higher-and lower-achieving students showed strong evidence of progress in learning the targeted science concepts, and that students were able to apply key concepts in their design work. They also noted a positive effect on motivation and sense of ownership over designs among both individuals and groups. A growing body of research has shown the following: students lean more deeply when they can apply classroom-gathered knowledge to real-world problems, and when they take part in projects that requrie sustained engagment and collaboration; active learning practices have a more significant impact on student performance than any other variable, inclduing student background and prior achievement; students are most successful when they are tuaght how to learn as well as what to learn.
5. What are the differences between the three approaches?
Project-based learning is the use of in-depth and rigorous classroom projects to facilitate learning and assess student competence. Project-based learning is student-centered in which students learn about a subject in the context of complex, multifaceted, and realistic problems. Learning by design is a project-based inquiry approach to science learning with roots in cased-based reasoning.
6. In your opinion, what is the most important benefit to learning that is common across the three types of inquiry-based learning approaches?
I think the most important benefit to learning is being able to create something real-life. I personally learn better when I physically do it myself. I feel that when teachers just lecture at the students, they aren't grasping much of the information. However, when they are able to discover information on their own, it will stick with them forever. Most children just learn the information for the test and then forget it afterward. By allowing them to figure things out themselves, it lets them take ownership for what they have learned. These inquiry-based learning approaches are more difficult for the teacher, but so rewarding for the students.
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