Meaningful Learning

For decades, there has been a distinct,  dominant paradigm in schools. This pattern is focused on technology. Even before the days of the internet, it has been a focus to teach students to use the latest technology because technology is our future. However, because this focus has been on using technology and the ever so boring "drill and kill" is getting old, this dominant paradigm is showing signs of wear. Think about it, once things have been done the same way for years and years, if time and things change, but instruction methods don't, there is a big problem!

Project-Based learning supports student learning better than traditional learning because students are active in their learning. This type of learning includes students working on a project, a common goal, and in the end, they present it or demonstrate it. It " aims to take learning one step further by enabling students to transfer their learning 

to new kinds of situations and problems and to use knowledge more proficiently in performance situations"(p. 4) In my opinion, one of the most promising ways to find out if someone knows their stuff is to see if they can teach it. 

Problem-Based learning is a lot like Project-Based learning, but they are given a problem to which a solution must be found. These problems are meaningful which draws students into wanting to find a solution, and working in groups in this type of setting gets students to work collaboratively.A great example of this type of learning is with medical students- the instructor gives them a patient case file with symptoms and they must work together to find out what is wrong with that patient. There isn't necessarily a right or wrong answer; the medical students will likely come up with a variety of possible illnesses or diseases that the patient could have. But the point about this learning is that it is real life, meaningful, and they will use it later. (p. 4)

Reading about Learning By Design reminds me of one of Bloom's Taxonomy levels: Synthesis. In this level of learning, students create something new! So, when learning by design, they design something new! When my sister was in middle school, her class put on an invention fair to which they all made up an invention and displayed it in the gymnasium for people to see. My sister's invention was a recycling gadget that separates your different recyclables for you. What's sad, yet funny, her teacher said that her invention was too extreme unreasonable... my sister is an adult now and a few weeks ago she found a picture on Pinterest of the same concept as her invention from Middle school! 

These three approaches are very similar yet very different. Project- Based learning is doing a project, Problem-Based is solving a problem, and Learning by Design is creating something new. The most important benefit to all three types of learning approaches is they can all be individualized. Though the same question, or problem, students are able to work through to find a solution in their own way with no single right answer. This is what makes learning engaging for students.