Why You Should Try Project-Based Learning in Middle School Science

Michelle Rudolph — Fri, 17 May 2024 16:00:59 +0000

Project-Based Learning, or PBL, just seems to be one of those buzzwords in education right now. You hear about it online, your school’s district or admin might be pushing it and you’re unsure because it feels like just another trend in education that will fade. Let me be the first to tell you that I thought the same way when I first heard about PBL. Then, I actually tried it and it changed my entire mindset on the topic, for better. Let me tell you why project-based learning in middle school science is something you should try at least once during the school year.

It's Not Your Average Project

Project-based learning in middle school science is not the same as the projects you’re used to assigning in class. It’s not limited to things like edible cell models, posters of the solar system or powerpoint presentations on Newton’s laws of motion. It’s bigger and much more meaningful than that. It’s an experience students will remember.

PBLWorks (bie.org) defines project-based learning as “a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects.” Not the vibe you get from a simple poster project or shoebox diorama, right? The focus on PBL is to relate your classroom content to the real-world. This makes it more relatable to students so that you spark their interest, make them curious and get what we all want from our middle schoolers: buy-in.

Real-World Relevance

PBL takes classroom content and relates it to the real world. By having students answer a driving question that requires critical thinking and problem solving skills, you are creating a learning experience that is more meaningful to students. Once you tap into a student’s interests and align standards with it, you are likely to maintain engagement. How many times have you been asked “how does this relate to my life?” in your science class? Give them the opportunity to find the answer themselves in an authentic way.

Inspire Creativity and Innovation

Your students have talents and abilities beyond what they demonstrate on a summative assessment. PBl offers students a chance to have some autonomy in their learning, encourages creativity and allows them to be innovative. During the OBL process, students have the chance to explore different solutions to a problem, try out new ideas and think outside the box.

As the teacher, you are the “guide on the side” during the PBL process vs being the “sage on the stage.” The autonomy your students will have will allow them to explore learning in a way that is different from any other way they have learned before. You are tapping into students’ natural curiosity and their desire to explore.

PBL Encourages Collaboration

Having students work together to answer the PBL driving question fosters collaboration because students are required to communicate, share ideas and coordinate their efforts to achieve a common goal. These are skills that are not only important in the classroom, but will follow them into their lives through adulthood.

The feedback process can also be very impactful for students. By providing, and receiving feedback from their peers, students learn how to use constructive dialogue and refine their thoughts with the help of their peers.

Of course, collaboration will sometimes involve conflict. Students may not always see eye to eye. It’s important for students to navigate these challenges and work to solve them appropriately. Once again, this is another skill that will follow them into adulthood. PBL promotes open communication, encourages productive working relationships and develops interpersonal skills.

Your Students Will Surprise You

They will surprise you in the best way. Letting go of some of the control in the classroom and giving your students autonomy in their learning can have real benefits. You will see things in your students that you normally don’t get the opportunity to see. You will be able to see their creative skills, how they work with others to solve problems, watch them actively work to come up with a solution, revise their work and present their findings. You will learn so much about your students beyond their academic skills which can be such a rewarding experience for not only the student, but for you as the teacher as well.

Have I Convinced You Yet?

I’m hoping that you are reading this and realizing that implementing project-based learning in middle school science can truly be a transformative process in your classroom, in the best way. If you’re looking to try one out for yourself but you aren’t quite ready to do all the thinking and planning yourself, check out these ready-made project-based learning activities:

1. Create a Musical Instrument: Sound Waves Project Based Learning

This is a five-part project-based learning activity for students about sound waves. This project allows students to take their knowledge of sound waves and apply it to creating their own musical instrument, advertisement for that instrument and a music video. This can be done after a unit on sound waves and energy or throughout.

2. Hurricanes Project Based Learning: Tracking and Preparing for a Storm

This is a Project-Based Learning activity that can be implemented in almost any science classroom for a hurricanes or severe weather unit. It is all about hurricanes. Students will learn how storm systems are tracked throughout the season, how to prepare for an approaching storm and create a PSA or newscast to help the community prepare.

3. Plastic Pollution and its Impact on the Biodiversity of Coral Reefs

This is a Project-Based Learning activity that can be implemented in almost any science classroom and comes with a digital google slides version. It is all about how plastic pollution has an effect on the biodiversity of the coral reefs. Students compile research, create a public service announcement and then an action plan to create a solution to this real-world problem.

The post Why You Should Try Project-Based Learning in Middle School Science appeared first on Secondary Sparks.

3 Hurricane Project Ideas & Activities for Your Marine Science Unit

Michelle Rudolph — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 01:05:53 +0000

In marine science and Earth/space science class, I love using a hurricane unit to kick off the school year. If you live in an area like Florida, Louisiana, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, or within the Atlantic Basin, you probably keep tabs on storms already. Why not bring it to your classroom? Even if you live outside that area, however, learning hurricane science is a great way to start the year off with an authentic, real-world connection.

Here are some simple hurricane project ideas and activities to get you started:

#1 Track The Hurricanes Every Day As A Warm Up

This is one of my favorite hurricane project ideas because it’s super simple to implement, and it doesn’t have to consume your class time. Each day as students come into the class, project or have students pull up NOAA’s National Hurricane Center Hurricane Tracking Map.

Then, have students fill in their tracking map. I like to use this free template from the National Hurricane Center. Hover over the storm on NOAA’s map to find the coordinates, and then have students record it on their sheet.

To keep things in order, each storm gets tracked in a different color. If there is no activity in the Atlantic that day, we continue learning hurricane science by going over a hurricane-related question using these warm ups.

I like to keep a large map on the board so if students miss a day they can update their individual map. I’ve found this activity gets students really invested and curious about the science of hurricanes.

If your students need some more practice with coordinate tracking, you can try this activity here. This includes a short lesson on latitude and longitude and practice activities.

#2 Teach Hurricane Science

There can be a lot of mystery surrounding hurricane science, so I love to dig into it with students. We talk about what a hurricane is and how they form. We learn to identify parts of a hurricane, the classification of a storm, and more.

I teach the science of hurricanes using guided notes. Then, throughout hurricane season, we review what we’ve learned about hurricanes so far using task cards, stations, and independent work.

#3 Hurricane Project Idea: Tracking and Preparing for a Tropical Storm or Hurricane

My favorite hurricane project idea is a PBL where students track and prepare for a hurricane. Even if your students don’t live in an area where there are hurricanes, this is still great information to know (and it can open their eyes to new experiences).

My students are pretty familiar with the preparation during hurricane season, and yet I’m still surprised by how little students know. They think it’s all about missing school and having hurricane parties (hey, it happens in Florida).

With this hurricane PBL, students will learn how to prepare for an impending hurricane and create a school-wide PSA to help others prepare for a storm. This all ties into our hurricane research, lessons, personal preparedness plans, and tracking the storms.

I hope that even if you don’t live in an area that gets hurricanes, you can see the benefit of diving into the science behind hurricanes. Try some of these hurricane project ideas and activities to make your students more aware.

The post 3 Hurricane Project Ideas & Activities for Your Marine Science Unit appeared first on Secondary Sparks.

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