Edutopia - October/November 2008 - (Page 47)

Powerful Big Ideas To download an expanded version of this article adapted from the book Powerful Learning, go to edutopia.org/inquiry-projectlearning-research and click on the PDF icon. Cooperative learning and inquiry-based teaching yield big dividends in the classroom. And now we have the research to prove it. By Brigid Barron and Linda Darling-Hammond, Stanford University Learning and it can yield signi⇒cant bene⇒ts. For example, in the 1995 School Restructuring Study, conducted at the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools by Fred Newmann and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin, 2,128 students in twenty-three schools were found to have signi⇒cantly higher achievement on challenging tasks when they were taught with inquiry-based teaching, showing that involvement leads to understanding. These practices were found to have a more signi⇒cant impact on student performance than any other variable, including student background and prior achievement. Similarly, studies also show the widespread bene⇒ts of cooperative learning, in which small teams of students use a variety of activities to more deeply understand a subject. Each member is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping his or her teammates learn, so the group become a supportive learning environment. What follows is a summary of the key research ⇒ndings for both inquiry-based and cooperative learning. First, let’s look at three inquiry-based approaches: project learning (also called project-based learning), problembased learning, and design-based instruction. T oday’s students will enter a job market that values skills and abilities far different from the traditional workplace talents that so ably served their parents and grandparents. They must be able to crisply collect, synthesize, and analyze information, then conduct targeted research and work with others to employ that newfound knowledge. In essence, students must learn how to learn, while responding to endlessly changing technologies and social, economic, and global conditions. Traditional academic approaches—those that employ narrow tasks to emphasize rote memorization or the application of simple procedures—won’t develop learners who are critical thinkers or effective writers and speakers. Rather, students need to take part in complex, meaningful projects that require sustained engagement and collaboration. But what types of teaching and learning will develop these skills? And, just as important, do studies exist that support their use? A growing body of research demonstrates that students learn more deeply if they have engaged in activities that require applying classroom-gathered knowledge to real-world problems. Like the old adage states, “Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand.” Research shows that such inquiry-based teaching is not so much about seeking the right answer but about developing inquiring minds, I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y T H O M A S R E I S for the Autodesk Foundation, identi⇒ed ⇒ve key components of effective project learning: • Centrality to the curriculum • Driving questions that lead students to encounter central concepts • Investigations that involve inquiry and knowledge building • Processes that are student driven, rather than teacher driven • Authentic problems that people care about in the real world Project-Based Pathways Project learning involves completing complex tasks that result in a realistic product or presentation to an audience. A Review of Project-Based Learning, prepared by researcher John Thomas Research on project learning found that student gains in factual learning are equivalent or superior to those of students in more traditional forms of classroom instruction. The goals of project learning, however, aim to take learning one step further by enabling students to transfer their learning to new kinds of situations, illustrated in three studies: 1. In a 1998 study by H.G. Shepherd, fourth and ⇒fth graders completed a nine-week project to de⇒ne and ⇒nd solutions related to housing shortages in several countries. In comparison to the control group, the projectlearning students scored signi⇒cantly higher on a critical-thinking test and demonstrated increased con⇒dence in their learning. 2. A more ambitious, longitudinal comparative study by Jo Boaler and colleagues in England in 1997 and 1998 followed students over three years in two schools similar in student achievement and income levels. The traditional school featured teacher-directed EDUTOPIA.ORG EDUTOPIA 47 http://www.edutopia.org/inquiry-project-learning-research http://www.edutopia.org/inquiry-project-learning-research http://www.EDUTOPIA.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Edutopia - October/November 2008

Edutopia - October/November 2008 Contents UpFront Feedback Dispatches Sage Advice Ask Ellen Head of Class Cool Schools Design: Lessons from the Mall The Bucks Start Here Go Global: Virgil Rocks Big Ideas: Powerful Learning Mapping Their Futures Heart & Soul Pop Quiz: Suze Orman

Edutopia - October/November 2008

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