Project-Based Learning strategies are the most powerful way to differentiate instruction and boost engagement in the classroom. Implementing these effective strategies is meant to meet the needs of students in a variety of ways, and must be student-centered and student-driven.
Mixed groups are important, however sometimes it may be beneficial for students to be grouped by ability level to enable them to work together at the same level of difficulty. In the math projects that I designed, you could encourage students teamed together to take on more challenging choices throughout the project to make it more difficult.
Students must reflect on their learning and continue to set goals. I structure my math projects to have tasks and levels that they must complete in order to progress to the next level. Completing a level reminds students to reflect on how they went during that level, whilst also giving them a sense of accomplishment.
Students are able to truly take ownership of their learning when they feel invested. This is why, when I designed my math projects, they all begin with “MY” . . . because that is exactly what they will be doing, creating their own café, pet hotel, Winter Wonderland, Spooky Store or Easter Factory!
Giving lots of opportunity for students to make their own choices is important with Project-Based Learning—this empowers students and increases motivation. Students will find in my math projects that choices they make earlier in the project will impact what happens later on in the project.
PBL doesn’t always have to be in groups; it is just as important to balance it out solo. This is important because some students perform better in groups, while some perform better working individually. As with all of my own designed math projects, they can be used either in groups or completed individually.
Assessment for PBL should be a mix of observation notes and written reflection statements. But where do you start?
I’ve created a simple PBL Planning Checklist that walks you through setting up your project, team structure, and assessment mix in minutes.
Now that you have the PBL Planning Checklist (Strategy #6 in action!), you have everything you need to start. But why stop there? We have more resources to make your planning even easier:
If you want to see exactly how a high-quality math project is structured, grab my free mini-project, “My Pet Store.“ This short activity is perfect for reviewing area and perimeter and gives you a risk-free example of high-engagement PBL.
If you are looking for ready-made, high-quality projects that implement all 7 of these strategies, the collection of my math projects is the perfect solution. You can save hours of planning time by skipping the setup and moving straight to teaching.
