e-Learning Ecologies MOOC’s Updates

Project based learning

When students participate in a project-based learning environment, they often get the opportunity to work on collaborative projects, working closely together to initially solve problems. Which was a big challenge for me as a teacher, because I was hesitant to use the project and group system with my students, because of the way each group project is evaluated, especially when one student does all the work and the rest of his classmates will be rewarded without any effort or participation. But then I realized that collaboration isn't just a skill, it's a discipline, and a job that takes years of training. So, I started to include standards that would help ensure that every student participates in collaborative projects. It didn't work every time, but I watched the students learn how to engage in productive collaboration.

When students genuinely collaborate in a project-based learning environment, they learn how to speak and listen. They learn how to ask provocative questions, how to contribute to the team, and how to give and receive critical feedback. Which leads to the next point.
When students are engaged in a project-based learning environment, they are able to discuss different points of view, which teachers can take advantage of by asking students to look and discuss new points of view during the initial inquiry phase, as this can help push them to ask multiple questions on their own, Then share it with their group mates and the rest of the other groups.
Research can also help students find sources from different points of view and deliberately delve into the subtlety of ideas, while using a structured brainstorming method that encourages them to examine ideas from multiple angles.