Why pods?

In our combined years of teaching and observational experience, we have heard students

consistently ask, “When am I ever going to use this?” The lackluster enthusiasm that many

students espouse when reacting to their content material is evident in the disengagement

of our 21st century learners. In contrast, those students who show higher levels of proficiency tend to be more engaged, motivated and successful. The goal of Education 21 is to introduce concrete meaning and relevance to their learning experiences, expecting at least proficiency in core content classes and preparing all students for success later in life.

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The lackluster enthusiasm that characterizes many of our students is not only evident in our classrooms but reveals itself throughout the early years of career and college. Beddoes, Jesiek, and Borrego (2010) found that there is a lack of satisfaction from the professional world due to the lack of capabilities young adults possess. As a result of several high school and college graduates not being prepared for the real-world skills required of them, there has been an increased focus on skills for the 21st century and global competitiveness. With the recent adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) teachers are beginning to shift the way they teach in order to enable students to become critical thinkers and problem solvers. In our experience we have witnessed the correlation between traditional, didactic instructional approaches leaving many students unmotivated, disengaged and unprepared for success outside of school. As part of an effort to increase motivation and engagement and thereby better prepare our students for the 21st century global economy, we have adopted a student-centered, constructivist instructional approach know as Project-Based Learning. Project-Based Learning is defined as a systematic and engaging pedagogical approach to have students encounter complex, authentic questions through carefully designed products and tasks (Vega & Graham, 2013).

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According to Grant (2011) and Vega and Graham (2013), students have more autonomy and choice throughout PBL, which leads to increased levels of student motivation and engagement. Rather than acting as the primary source of knowledge for students, students can be empowered to become independent, self-regulated learners prepared for the 21st century sills they need to succeed (Bell, 2010; Zimmerman, 2008). PBL is student-centered and has been shown to increase motivation, therefore it is plausible to conclude that through responsible and thoughtful implementation of PBL students will become more engaged and find meaning to the content they are learning (Bell, 2010; Grant, 2011; Larmer & Mergendoller, 2010; Markham, 2011). 

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References

 

Beddoes, K., Jesiek, B., Borrego, M. (2010). Identifying opportunities for collaborations in international engineering education research on problem- and project- based learning. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 4(2), 7-34.

 

Bells, S. (2010). Project-based learning for the 21st century: Skills for the future. The Clearing House, 83(2), 39-43.

 

Grant, M. (2011). Learning, beliefs, and products: students’ perspectives with project-based learning. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 5(2), 37-69.

 

Larmer, J., & Mergendoller, J.R. (2010). 7 Essentials for project-based learning. Educational Leadership, 68(1), 34-37.

 

Markham, T. (2011). Project-based learning: A bridge just far enough. Teacher Librarian, 39(2), 38-42.

 

Vega, A., & Graham, C. (2013). The implementation of project-based learning. National Forum of Educational Administration & Supervision Journal, 30(2), 4-29.

 

Zimmerman, B.J. (2008). Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological developments, and future prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45(1), 166-183.

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