One example of project-based learning (PBL) is a project called Design It Clean: The Water Filter Challenge. In this project, students work in teams to design water filters that are affordable and reliable for specific communities in the real world. Students will learn about a region where people lack access to clean, safe water and design and build a working solution that meets the needs of the community, culture, environment, and local government (PBLU, n.d.).
Students will be assessed in a variety of ways both during and after project completion. After learning about water quality issues and basic filtration methods, students will make a technical drawing of a viable prototype and then build a mock-up of their prototype. Using the Mock-Up Critique Sheet, students will critique their peers’ design plans, materials, and other project elements by participating in a gallery walk. After building and testing their initial prototype and recording and analyzing the data they have collected, students will present their prototypes and related documentation at a public showcase where adults will play the roles of local citizens, government officials, venture capitalists, and aid workers. The adults will move from group to group, listen to pitches, provide feedback, ask the questions on their role cards, etc. After evaluating all of the projects, the adults will choose the project(s) they feel best meet the needs of the stakeholder group they represent. Finally, using the Water Filter Challenge Rubric, the teacher(s) will assess each team’s project and students will complete peer and self assessments (PBLU, n.d.).
This project includes all five of the core elements of successful PBL as outlined by Edutopia (2014). First, there are real-world connections. Students are designing water filters for real communities around the world that lack access to clean, safe water. Second, the project is core to learning. Students are learning content and how to apply skills that correlate to the Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core Standards for Science and Technical Subjects and Reading Informational Texts. Third, there is structured collaboration. Students are working in teams to present ideas, critique and refine prototypes, exhibit work, and share feedback. Fourth, the project is student driven. Presented with open-ended problems, students must develop roles within their teams, test their ideas, offer critical feedback to their teammates and peers, and develop and carry out a plan to present their project to a public audience of adults. Finally, the project includes multifaceted assessment (see above).
5 Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning. (2014, June 26). Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/video/5-keys-rigorous-project-based-learning
Design It Clean. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://pblu.org/projects/design-it-clean
One example of game-based learning is the iCivics lesson Do I Have a Right? In this lesson, students will learn about what it means to have a right, the different kinds of rights, enforcing rights, and the rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights and other key amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, students will be able to (1) describe the arguments for and against listing people’s rights in the Constitution (Bill of Rights); (2) identify key rights granted by the Bill of Rights and the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments; recall the specific amendment that guarantees a particular right; and recognize complaints not involving constitutional rights (iCivics, 2017).
Students will be assessed in a variety of ways both during and after the lesson. First, students will play the game Do I Have a Right? in which they will run their own law firm that specializes in constitutional law. They will decide whether or not potential clients have a case and, if so, match them up with the best lawyer to handle their case. As students serve more clients and win more cases, their law firm will grow (iCivics, 2016). After playing the game, students will participate in several whole-class follow-up activities in which they will be asked to (1) identify various amendments, (2) match actual language from the Constitution with simple explanations of the rights enumerated in various amendments, and (3) identify various rights in an online transcript of the U.S. Constitution. Finally, students will participate in a whole-class mini-quiz and/or complete a paper-based assessment individually (iCivics, 2017).
According to educational software company Knewton, there are three elements of gaming that can be applied to education: progression, investment, and cascading information theory (n.d.). The Do I Have a Right? game includes all three. Regarding progression, the more students learn, the more impact points they earn (points) [iCivics, n.d.]. Regarding investment, these impact points can be “donated” to community service projects sponsored by Ashoka Youth Ventures. Every three months, iCivics donates $1,000 to the project that receives the most support (epic meaning) [iCivics, n.d.]. Additionally, all of iCivics’ games feature badges and leaderboards (achievements) [iCivics, n.d.]. Regarding cascading information theory, students navigate through the learning environment and uncover pockets of knowledge (discovery), work on challenges that require multiple skills to solve (synthesis), receive unexpected rewards (bonuses), and play to avoid losing what they have gained (loss aversion) [Knewton, n.d.].
The Do I Have a Right? game serves several purposes. According to the paper “Moving Learning Games Forward: Obstacles, Opportunities, and Openness,” published by The Education Arcade at MIT, this game serves as a content system (students gain knowledge), a manipulating system (students test theories), a trigger/reflective system (students reflect on and discuss the content), a POV system (students take on different identities), and an assessment system (students use the knowledge they gained in the mini-lesson) [Klopfer, Osterweil, and Salen, 2009].
Do I Have a Right? (2016, November 21). Retrieved from https://www.icivics.org/games/do-i-have-right
Games. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.icivics.org/games
Impact Competition. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.icivics.org/impact
Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., & Salen, K. (2009). Moving learning games forward. Cambridge, MA: The Education Arcade.
*NEW* Do I Have a Right? Extension Pack. (2017, January 05). Retrieved from https://www.icivics.org/teachers/lesson-plans/new-do-i-have-right-extension-pack
The Gamification of Education Infographic #gamification #edtech. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.knewton.com/infographics/gamification-education/