Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning

1. A Need to Know

Imagine that on the first day of the infectious disease unit, Ms. McIntyre showed a video depicting a beautiful beach, which ended with a shot of a sign reading, "Beach Closed: Contaminated Water." Suppose watching this video led to a lively (and sometimes disgusting) discussion in which students shared their experiences with suspicious water quality, discussed times when beaches had been closed and why, and talked about how much pollution bothered them. The teacher could then introduce the project by telling students that they would be learning more about ocean pollution and proposing actions to combat it.

試想有一天負責傳染性疾病單位的 McIntyre女士，播放一個描繪美麗的海灘視頻，片尾以一個立牌告示上面寫著射擊—「海濱休息日：受污染的水」。請設享於觀看這部影片後引起了生動（有時噁心）的討論，讓學生分享他們關於可疑水質經驗，並討論海灘關閉的問題及原因，以及污染產生的影響。老師可以再引進專題討論，使學生更加了解海洋污染和反對恐怖主義。

Teachers can powerfully activate students' need to know content by launching a project with an "entry event" that engages interest and initiates questioning. An entry event can be almost anything: a video, a lively discussion, a guest speaker, a field trip, or a piece of mock correspondence that sets up a scenario. In contrast, announcing a project by distributing a packet of papers is likely to turn students off; it looks like a prelude to busywork.

教師可藉由「引入事件」，結合學生興趣並引發問題討論，積極促發學生學習應有的知識。一個引入的事件，可以是任何東西：一個視頻、討論會、演講，實地考察，或一塊模擬通信中設置一個場景。相反的，僅透過一堆文件進行事件討論，很有可能會關閉學生的學習興趣。

Many students find schoolwork meaningless because they don't perceive a need to know what they're being taught. They are unmotivated by a teacher's suggestion that they should learn something because they'll need it later in life, for the next course, or simply because "it's going to be on the test." With a compelling student project, the reason for learning relevant material becomes clear: I need to know this to meet the challenge I've accepted.

很多學生覺得學業毫無意義，因為他們不認為他們有學習的必要。學生無法從心接受老師的學習建議，建議他們應該學習的東西，因為他們會在未來的生活需要，或為了考試。從一個令人信服的研究顯示，學生於明暸將所面對的挑戰時，將進行相關學習。

2. A Driving Question

After the discussion about beach pollution, Ms. McIntyre led students in brainstorming possible solutions, such as enacting laws, designing better waste-treatment systems, and raising public awareness about the need to reduce contaminants. Students created a driving question to focus their efforts, focusing on a specific local area: How can we reduce the number of days Foster's Beach is closed because of poor water quality?

帶動引領問題情境

經討論後的泳灘污染，麥金太爾女士帶領學生腦力激盪可能的解決方案，如制定法律，設計出更好的廢物處理系統，並提高公眾意識的必要性，以減少污染物。學生創造了一個問題集中他們的努力，專注於一個特定的區域：怎樣才能減少福斯特海灘，因為水質不好而封閉的天數的

A good driving question captures the heart of the project in clear, compelling language, which gives students a sense of purpose and challenge. The question should be provocative, open-ended, complex, and linked to the core of what you want students to learn. It could be abstract (When is war justified?); concrete (Is our water safe to drink?); or focused on solving a problem (How can we improve this website so that more young people will use it?).

良好的問題引領抓住了案子的中心點，而明確的令人信服的語言引領，這給學生挑戰案件的目的和意義。這個問題應該是挑釁性的，開放式的，複雜的，並鏈接到你想讓學生學習的核心東西。它可以是抽象的（如果是戰爭正當的嗎？），具體的（是我們的水可以直接飲用？），或著眼於解決問題（如何才能改善這個網站，讓更多的年輕人將使用它？）。

A project without a driving question is like an essay without a thesis. Without a thesis statement, a reader might be able to pick out the main point a writer is trying to make; but with a thesis statement, the main point is unmistakable. Without a driving question, students may not understand why they are undertaking a project. They know that the series of assigned activities has some connection with a time period, a place, or a concept. But if you asked, "What is the point of all these activities?" they might only be able to offer, "Because we're making a poster."

一個沒有導入問題的專案，就像一篇沒有標題的文章。沒有標題的文章，讀者也許能挑出作家試圖指出的論點，但是如果有論點標題，文章的中心思想是不會被讀者誤判的。如果沒有問題的引入，學生們可能不明白為什麼他們正在進行的項目。他們或許知道該系列活動有一定的分配與一時間，一個地方或一個概念。但如果你問：“這些活動的中心目的為何？” 他們可能只說“因為我們是在做一個海報。”