Rethinking Elementary Education collects the finest writing about elementary school life and learning from 25 years of Rethinking Schools magazine. The articles in this collection offer practical insights about how to integrate the teaching of content with a social justice lens, seek wisdom from students and their families, and navigate stifling tests and mandates. Teachers and parents will find both inspiration and hope in these pages.

This new edition incorporates many insights and strategies the authors have learned while working extensively with teachers to implement the project approach. Since the popular first edition was published in 1989, the authors have continued to help teachers around the world understand the benefits of this approach. Katz and Chard discuss in great detail the philosophical, theoretical, and research bases of project work. The typical phases are presented and detailed suggestions for implementing each one are described. Using specific examples, this book clarifies and articulates the process and benefits of the project approach. These specific examples outline how children's intellectual development is enhanced. Years of working with teachers and young children from preschool to primary age provide the authors with first hand experience for employing the project approach. Helpful guidelines will aid teachers in working with this approach comfortably in order to gain the interset of children and in order for those to grow and florish mentally.

This second edition of Project-Based Learning (PBL) presents an original approach to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) centric PBL. We define PBL as an “ill-defined task with a well-defined outcome,” which is consistent with our engineering design philosophy and the accountability highlighted in a standards-based environment. This model emphasizes a backward design that is initiated by well-defined outcomes, tied to local, state, or national standard that provide teachers with a framework guiding students’ design, solving, or completion of ill-defined tasks. This book was designed for middle and secondary teachers who want to improve engagement and provide contextualized learning for their students. However, the nature and scope of the content covered in the 14 chapters are appropriate for preservice teachers as well as for advanced graduate method courses. New to this edition is revised and expanded coverage of STEM PBL, including implementing STEM PBL with English Language Learners and the use of technology in PBL. The book also includes many new teacher-friendly forms, such as advanced organizers, team contracts for STEM PBL, and rubrics for assessing PBL in a larger format.

Like most good educational interventions, problem-based learning (PBL) did not grow out of theory, but out of a practical problem. Medical students were bored, dropping out, and unable to apply what they had learned in lectures to their practical experiences a couple of years later. Neurologist Howard S. Barrows reversed the sequence, presenting students with patient problems to solve in small groups and requiring them to seek relevant knowledge in an effort to solve those problems. Out of his work, PBL was born. The application of PBL approaches has now spread far beyond medical education. Today, PBL is used at levels from elementary school to adult education, in disciplines ranging across the humanities and sciences, and in both academic and corporate settings. This book aims to take stock of developments in the field and to bridge the gap between practice and the theoretical tradition, originated by Barrows, that underlies PBL techniques.

"The Project Approach for All Learners: A Hands-On Guide for Inclusive Early Childhood Classrooms provides early educators with an in-depth understanding of how to implement the Project Approach with all students. A practical resource, it is designed with an Implementation Checklist, illustrative videos, training materials, Powerpoints, and downloadable forms to support application in inclusive settings"--

Looks at schools that have abandoned tracking--ability grouping of students--and discusses parental involvement, teacher training, and curriculum reform

Project-based learning is a teaching approach that motivates and inspires students to learn and helps them to become self-directed learners over time. Students learn not only the content surrounding their projects, but also important life skills such as problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, communication, time management, and responsibility. Author Scott Wurdinger has implemented this approach over the past ten years in his own classrooms, has conducted numerous research studies on this topic, and has seen the effectiveness of project-based learning firsthand. This book provides information on the history, research, and application of the project-based learning approach and should be read by educators who want to change their classrooms into dynamic exciting learning environments. Educators will learn everything they need to know about how to implement this approach in their classrooms, as well as how to help students create meaningful, relevant projects that can help impact and solve school, community, and even global problems. Read this book and bring project-based learning to your classroom!