Project-based learning (PBL) provides a way of learning that seems to be particularly attractive to students who are struggling with conventional school assignments. This document proposes an approach to PBL in which the goal is to focus on thinking, making thinking processes visible to teacher and students.

This document describes a language immersion environment, a summer camp for learning languages, and the technology-rich projects that these learners were involved in. Technology projects and what is thought to have been accomplished through them is examined. It is discussed that many of the same things in a more typical school environment could be…

Collaborative work is the cornerstone of project-based learning, central to inquiry, research, organization, time and task management, design, reflection, feedback and revision, and public presentation. Some collaborations take place within a single classroom, some across classrooms in a district, some across the country or the globe. Within a…

Recently I read the book Ghosts in the Machine: Women?s Voices in Research with Technology, and I was drawn into thinking about the well-known gender gap in the use of technology. I hadn?t looked at gender in technology use very closely in several years because in my own research, I had observed that girls like to use the new multimedia tools just…

The Davidson County School District in Lexington, North Carolina, has jumped into project-based learning with both feet: they have committed to using PBL in all their schools and classrooms by 2006, and they have received a U.S. federal government Enhancing Education Through Technology grant to help provide the staff development and equipment…

Typically, high school is the hardest place to integrate a project-based learning approach. The issues for high school are many, including: (1) Students are available for only an hour a day (except in blockscheduled schools); (2) Teachers specialize in certain subject areas; (3) Teachers feel pressured to prepare students for tests and college.…

I have spent considerable energy lately hunting for the latest research on the effectiveness of technology-enhanced project-based learning (PBL). I found very little research, but I did fi nd recent reports prepared by the U.S. government, commissions, professional organizations, and other groups on the state of technology use in schools. I would…

There are lots of ways you can learn more about technology-infused PBL without taking a traditional university course. Each of the resources suggested in this article provides more in-depth learning opportunities for teachers than this short column could hope to provide. The opportunities are divided into types of material: books and Web sites,…

Examines features of an inquiry-based learning community. Discusses the five critical elements of a program developed to promote a community of inquiry, called Fostering a Community of Learners (FCL) (Brown, 1994, 1997). Discusses applying technology and describes two findings related to the development of communities of learning. (AEF)

Presents an overview of features central to conducting assessment in project-based learning (PBL). Focuses on critical assessment issues and discusses multiple assessments; assessment as a learning activity; student involvement in setting standards for assessment; and outside assessment of the final artifact. Describes technological tools that can…