Education Commons^™

Pbl Rock And Roll: Tectonics In Illinois, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Teacher Resources

This sample Problem Based Learning (PBL) unit focuses on creating earthquake friendly buildings and homes in response to the history of seismic activity in Illinois. Students explore concepts of engineering and tectonics. This unit is designed for educators who are learning to implement PBL into their classroom instruction.

Pbl Take To The Air: Airline Development, Pbl Network

Teacher Resources

In this sample Problem Based Learning (PBL) unit, students are faced with the problem of a new airline being developed in the Chicago area. Students investigate the economic and community impact along with marketing and aircraft considerations. This sample unit is intended for educators learning to use PBL methods in their classroom.

Pbl Forensics: Crime Scene Investigations, Elizabeth Martinez, Dora Phillips, Brian Grublesky, Lindsey Herlehy

Teacher Resources

In this sample Problem Based Learning (PBL) unit, middle school students investigate a hypothetical crime scene. Students focus on gathering data, interpreting results and drawing conclusions. This unit is designed as a sample problem for educators learning the PBL process.

Pbl Every Drop Counts: Improving The Health Of The Lake Michigan, Lindsey Herlehy, Nicole Ross

Teacher Resources

"Every Drop Counts" is a sample Problem Based Learning (PBL) lesson focused on improving the health of Lake Michigan waters and shoreline. This sample problem focuses on habitats, pollution, and properties of water.

Pbl Waste Not Want Not: Using Agricultural Plant Waste, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Teacher Resources

This sample Problem Based Learning (PBL) lesson focuses on the best use for agricultural waste, using an apple orchard as the hypothetical problem. The unit is designed as a sample curriculum for educators learning the PBL process.

Preparing Students For Careers That Do Not Yet Exist, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee

Publications & Research

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), as a self-described "teaching and learning laboratory for imagination and inquiry," has a history of pursuing innovations closely aligned with the vision and framework of the National Science Education Standards. Innovations include both methods and materials for inquiry-based student instruction as well as for delivering professional development for pre-service and practicing teachers. Instructional innovations described include yearlong student inquiry and research projects (SIR), self-paced physics instruction, student-driven energy and engineering projects, instruction in innovation and entrepreneurialism, and a host of student-led outreach activities to "ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific minds of students …

Problem-Based Learning Matters, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Teacher Resources

Problem-based learning (PBL) is focused experiential learning organized around the investigation and resolution of messy, real-world problems.

• PBL engages students as stakeholders immersed in a messy, illstructured, problematic situation.
• PBL organizes curriculum around this holistic problem, enabling student learning in relevant and connected ways.
• PBL creates a learning environment in which teachers coach student thinking and guide student inquiry, facilitating learning toward deeper levels of understanding while entering the inquiry as a co-investigator.

What Does Problem-Based Learning Look Like In Classrooms?, Linda Torp, Sara Sage

Publications & Research

WHETHER THINKING ABOUT THE UNIVERSE, THE AMBIGUities of life, or the wonders of learning—educators realize that the whole is so much more than any collection of parts. As they work with learners of all ages, they constantly strive to create experiences that are holistic and connected. Ones that enable students to tackle the complexities facing us as citizens in a global community, as well as in everyday situations. Ones that reveal a need to be open-minded and adaptable. Ones that consider the interrelatedness of systems, both natural and contrived.

Creating Conditions For Developing And Nurturing Talent: The Work Of School Leaders, Stephanie Pace Marshall, Martin Ramirez, Kathy Plinske, Catherine C. Veal

Publications & Research

In 1993, two decades after the 1972 U.S. Office of Education Report on the status of gifted and talented programs (the Marland Report), U. S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley issued a report stating that gifted education is essential to our nation’s future and documenting the “quiet risk” faced by gifted children and gifted education programs in the United States.

Center For Problem-Based Learning, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Documents

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational approach that organizes curriculum and instruction around carefully crafted "ill-structured" problems. Students gather and apply knowledge From multiple disciplines in their quest for solutions. Guided by teachers acting as cognitive coaches, they develop critical thinking, problem solving, and collaborative skills as they identify problems, formulate hypotheses, conduct data searches, perform experiments, formulate solutions and determine the best "fit" of solutions to the conditions of the problem. Problem-based learning enables students to embrace complexity, find relevance and joy in learning, and enhance their capacity for creative and responsible real-world problem-solving.

Ipbln: Illinois Problem-Based Learning Network, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Documents

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is an educational approach that organizes curriculum and instruction around "ill structured" problems. Students gather and apply knowledge from multiple disciplines in their quest for solutions. Guided by teachers trained as cognitive coaches, students:

• develop critical thinking skills
• use problem solving skills
• practice collaborative skills
• formulate hypotheses
• conduct data searches
• perform experiments
• generate solutions
• determine the best solution