Using Technology to Create a Problem-Based Curriculum

March, 2003

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New educational technologies can be used two ways: they can be used to serve existing instructional models, and they can be used to help implement new strategies that were difficult to implement prior to the widespread use of technology. Project-based learning in which the curricular objectives are met through student exploration of challenging problems is one educational area where technology can be of tremendous help.

It is not enough, however.

Educational transformation requires systemic change. When technology is used to replicate old strategies or to tinker around the edges of change, the results are haphazard and frustrating for all involved. I mention this as a prelude to our topic because the challenge for project-based learning is not how to use technology, but how to create a climate where students and educators become co-learners through the creation of student-generated projects.

For example, in 1996, ARS Consult (a premier educational consulting group in Brazil) launched a five-year project involving up to 15,000 students to explore Brazilian history, one century per year. This project, directed by Norma Godoy (now Norma Thornburg) and her colleagues, was filled with surprises at every turn. Students designed and implemented projects that provided greater depth of historical understanding than could be derived from any textbook-driven curriculum. Students became so involved in their projects that they were upset when the program came to an end. For this, or any project-based learning environment to work, the teachers needed to be fully committed to the process. It is this level of commitment that presents the greatest challenge, especially in a climate that looks for rapid results on standardized methods of assessment.

But once the commitment is achieved, the varied roles of technology become clear.

For example, if students are placed in teams to craft and develop projects, they need project management and documentation tools. Group brainstorming sessions using idea- or concept-mapping technology like Inspiration can be a critical part of this process. On a simple level, students can each create their own lists of ideas and then e-mail their files to the rest of their group (critical when students share a project across school or classroom boundaries). As the projects develop, creative tools of all kinds come into play. This provides the opportunity for each individual in a group to focus on the expressive forms most natural to him or her.

A project on the history of the literary superhero, for example, might start with an internet search on the topic, migrate to a reading of Gilgamesh, involve sidebar explorations into the concept of heroism, digress into a series of short video interviews with peers on "heroes in our lives", and quickly expand to reveal a topic so vast it could easily fill a lifetime of research. While the informational resources of the Web, physical libraries and personal contacts is incredibly large, this very vastness can be overwhelming. Contrast this scenario with the traditional textbook/lecture approach in which the information is pre-distilled to fit the time allotted. In the world of project-based learning (especially when technology is involved), the issue is not the gathering of information, but rather pruning the informational branches to reveal a tractable project that is compelling and achievable in the allotted time.

An old colleague of mine, Tom O'Brien, once told me that, today, students don't need to learn how to remember; they need to learn how to forget. They need to "forget" those pathways (however exciting they might be) that lead them away from a clearly defined goal. It is in this realm of project tractability where the teacher plays a critical role. Students can find far more raw information on any topic than can be comprehended or used in a single project. Again, this is where tools like Inspiration come in handy. If students map out the "tree" delineating their research, they will be able to see which branches can be pruned to leave a meaningful (if more narrowly defined) topic.

In the History of Brazil project, one student designed the Spring Collection for 1634. In order to design these dresses, he needed to know something about the general history of the time, especially how women were expected to dress in public. He found that the Dutch women of the Northeast had much greater freedom than the Portuguese women. He needed to explore what dyes and fabrics would have been used at the time, which meant studying the history of dye chemistry and researching whether quality fabric was made in Brazil at the time, or was imported from Europe. This seemingly limited project required a tremendous amount of historical research. The student learned a lot of history that did not bear on his project, and had to "prune" that knowledge from his final report.

While the Internet is one powerful tool for conducting research, field trips (when possible) are of incredible value. Here the student becomes a researcher, and technological tools to document the research are of great value. Digital cameras, laptop computers, sound recording equipment and various measuring tools (ranging from digital microscopes to probeware for measuring temperature, pH or other physical and chemical properties) can be of tremendous value. The critical factors here are durability and ease of use. Generally, this means using very simple equipment. Ease of use, while always important, is critical in the field. The tool should turn on in a heartbeat, do its job transparently, and save its work automatically.

Once students are ready to create a report on their project, technology takes on a new role. Instead of being used to research a topic, technology now helps document it. In contrast to the paper-based reporting methods of the past, a variety of expressive media can be used to convey the results of this work. Teachers have a special challenge here. First, the expressive modalities need to fit the essence of the project, and, second, they need to be flexible enough to communicate the results of the work to a large audience of peers.

A project on mathematics might be filled with equations. But, without some companion graphics to illustrate these equations, the ideas behind the project might be lost. A project on the treatment of African Americans through a study of the Blues would certainly include some musical examples, but would also benefit from historical diaries, photographs, and drawings. Unless educators have learned how to assess multimedia projects (for example, by using the rubrics developed by Bernajean Porter), they may score some work too low and other work too highly.

From the student perspective, various techniques may come under the leadership of certain students. The graphic designer might be involved with image design, Web page layout and the navigational flow of multimedia. Access to the relevant software (Flash for animations, illustration software, page layout tools, etc.) is essential. This aspect of the project benefits from strong technical support, as well as an understanding of the nature of graphic design. The sound engineer would take responsibility for audio recording and editing, and work with the film person in support of any video clips used in the final project. The wordsmith would craft and edit the text, and might insure that all the elements of the final story are put together in a cohesive manner.

While this level of work appears formidable, students are generally eager to share their ideas with others, and look forward to this creative part of the project. When a single project is shared among students from different buildings or classrooms, peer-to-peer tools like Groove and JournalZone can be most helpful.

The role of technology in project-based learning is vast, but the starting point for effective use of technology in this area requires a deep commitment to the idea that students can gain a deep understanding of a topic through the exploration of their own ideas. But this cannot come from technology. It comes from deep within the hearts of the teachers themselves.

Copyright, © 2003, Thornburg Center. All Rights Reserved.