Topic outline

  • General

    • KICTCFT Competency

      Teachers can plan and are aware of the practicality of designing Project Based Learning opportunities.

      Specific Objectives: On completion of this unit you should be to;

      1. Identify and describe ICT tools that support Project Based Learning
      2. Describe how to structure real-world problems into a project design

  • Introduction to PBL

    • Recommended time: 20 minutes

    • Sub-unit Competency:
      By the end of this sub-unit, we should be able to understand the principles of Project Based Learning (PBL) and use it effectively in the classroom.

    • Activity 1: Principles of PBL

      1. Access the reading below entitled, 'Essential Concepts' that introduces some of the background concepts: Constructivist Learning and Project Based Learning.

  • What is PBL?

  • PBL Design Considerations I

    • Recommended time: 75 minutes

    • Sub-unit Competency:
      In this sub-unit, we will develop a Project Based Learning (PBL) lesson. The lesson design process requires prior preparation and incorporation of student views. 

    • Activity 3: PBL Design Issues

      1. Access the introductory reading below entitled 'PBL Design Considerations'. Ensure you are familiar with the issues when designing Project Based Learning Lesson.
      1. In the forum below entitled 'PBL Design Forum' post your opinion on these two considerations:
        • What area of your syllabus lends itself to student project work?
        • Within that syllabus topic what open ended question do you think would be ideal for students to consider and attempt to solve?
      2. Make sure you reply to your colleagues' posts.
      1. Now that we have some general ideas we need to start planning a real project. Open the planning template below, entitled 'PBL Planning Template' and fill in …
        • A title for your own project;
        • A description of your project;
        • Develop a question that will guide the students to use higher order thinking skills in order to answer them but will also provide the stimulus for their investigations. This question should be around a real-world problem.
      1. Save this template with a unique name so that you can access it again as we will use it in the next sub-unit.

  • PBL Design Considerations II

    • Recommended time: 50 minutes

    • Sub-unit Competency:
      We have the project scope and focus question but what would you suggest are the activities the students need to engage in to answer it? Let us investigate further.

    • Activity 4: More PBL Design Issues - Activities and Assessment

      Normally there are three stages in a PBL project which students must engage: Investigation - Analysis - Presentation. Can you think of student activities that would encourage productive endeavour? 

      1. Open your saved version of the PBL template and update the section on 'Stages of the Information Process'.
      2. Now consider collaboration. How might you encourage peers to work together as well as linkages with other classes or with experts online? Update your PBL lesson plan.
      3. How will students be encouraged to report back? Can they choose their 'products' or are you going to stipulate? Update that section of the plan.
      4. What ICTs would you encourage students to use? Update the plan.
      5. What is the assessment strategy? Remember the assessment criteria need to be shared with the group before they embark on the project. These marking criteria, a rubric for example, should be finalised before hand so that you can share it with the class. Update your plan.
      6. Time permitting, read through some of the "Learn NC materials" below that look at some of these design issues. (NB. This is an extension activity).

  • Facilitating PBL Lessons

    • Recommended time: 50 minutes

    • Sub-unit Competency:

      We now have the plan nicely mapped out. All the same, in which measure is PBL facilitation different from what we would traditionally do in the class? In this sub-unit, we will discuss how to provide support rather than teach during a PBL lesson.

    • Activity 5: Facilitation of PBL

      1. Read the summary article below on Potential Challenges in PBL. Pay special attention to those issues you believe would be relevant in your school setting.
      1. In the forum below share some ideas about how to overcome the challenges identified above. Spend some time discussing those you identified and then look at some of the other potential challenges identified by others in the group. Make sure you reply to your colleagues' posts.
      1. In light of the previous discussion read the summary article Tips for Teachers Starting PBL, below.

  • Portfolio Task

    • Recommended time: 50 minutes

    • Sub-unit Competency:
      This sub-unit will provide you with an opportunity for reflection. Will your PBL lesson succeed? Now is the time to finalise the plan as we want you to submit the final revised version as your portfolio item.

    • Portfolio Assignment: The PBL Lesson Plan

      1. Read the portfolio briefing below that will provide you with a checklist of considerations for your PBL design and reflect on what revisions should be made.
      1. In light of your reflection spend some time revising your PBL lesson plan. Also add in as much detail as possible so that a colleague would have a clear understanding of what you want to achieve and how you plan to do it.
      2. Submit your completed plan using the assignment upload tool below, entitled 'Portfolio Item #6: PBL Plan.

  • Conclusion & Summary

    Facilitator's Summary

    Once you have completed the reading and activities above access the facilitator's summary below, which identifies the salient points of this unit.

  • Attribution

    • Open Education Resources

      The following Open Education Resources (OER) have been used, and where permitted, adapted to create this unit on project based learning:

      1. NC Learn. (2008). Project Based Learning. - Available online here
      2. Commonwealth of Learning. (nd). Commonwealth Certificate for Teacher ICT Integration (CCTI): Module 6 - Project Approaches to Learning with ICT. COL/SchoolNet SA. - Available online here
      3. Patton, A. (2012). Teacher's Guide to Project Based Learning (Paul Hamlyn Foundation).  - Available here

      Images have been adapted from:

      1. Ipapun. (2014). Divine Icons. Free for non commercial use - Available online here

  • Credits & License

    • This unit was adapted from OER and developed further by Ms Anne Njagi & Mr Makoba Kizito.

      All material in this Kenya ICT CFT Course unit is licensed by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Kenya under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

      OER from Learn NC and Patton referenced in this unit have more restrictive licenses that do not allow adaptation nor commercial use.

      All content not licensed under a Creative Commons license is all rights reserved, and you must request permission from the copyright owner to use this material. 

  • Pilot Feedback

    • The KICTCFT is in its pilot Phase. Please provide some feedback on your experience of this unit in the survey below.