Double Journal Entry #7

1. What "dominant paradigm" is showing signs of wear?


The "dominant paradigm" they are referring to as showing signs of wear is the traditional way we have been educating our students. This method was based on the teachers and the textbooks being the mane source of knowledge. In this method the knowledge was taught through lecturing and reading.

2. According to the research, how does Project-Based Learning support learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.


In the traditional approaches the focus was on content knowledge. With Project-Based Learning not only are the students learning the content they are also learning how to transfer the knowledge they have to handle new problems they encounter. They learn how to use their prior knowledge more proficiently in performance situations that they will face in the real world and in future jobs. The first benefit form Project-Based Learning is an increase on test scores dealing with critical thinking as we can see in the study done by Shepherd (1998). The second benefit is seen in Boaler (1997, 1998) study. In this study students in Project-Based Learning school were taught mathematical knowledge that engaged them in exploration and thought. These students did better on conceptual problems then those taught in traditional schools and within three years more of these students passed the National Exam. A third benefit is a increase in students ability to define problems from Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal (1992) study.


3. According to the research, how does Problem-Based Learning support learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.


Problem-Based Learning is better than traditional approaches because unlike traditional approaches that use a single approach to solving problems Problem-Based has several approaches that can lead to solving the problem. They have the students break into small groups to identify a problem then come up with a approach to solve it. Most of the research on this method has been done with students in medical education. According to the study done by (Vernon & Blake, 1993; Abanese and Mitchell,1993) medical students who were taught by Problem-Based Learning scored higher on clinical problem solving measures then those who were not. In teacher education this method better prepares teacher candidates to think through and resolve classroom dilemmas more productively (Darling-Hammond & Hammerness, 2002). Also students who are taught under this method are able to come up with accurate hypotheses and coherent explanations (Hmelo, 1998b; Schmidt et al., 1996).


4. According to the research, how does Learning by Design support learning better than traditional approaches? Describe three benefits and cite the studies.


Learning by design supports learning better by giving students a better understanding and application of knowledge. A benefit of this method can be seen in developing technical and subject matter knowledge (Newstetter, 2000). Another benefit with this method is better learning outcomes as fount in Hmelo, Holton and Kolodner (2000) study. In a study done by Fortus and colleagues (2004) showed that this method help students learn the targeted science concept better.


5. What are the differences between the three approaches.


 The major difference I see between the three approaches is determining which approach better benefits the content you are trying to teach. A example of this would be I would use the problem-based approach over the learn by design to teach math.


6. In your opinion, what is the most important benefit to learning that is common across the three types of inquiry-based learning approaches?


The fact that they are teaching students skills that will help them in the real world.

Sources:


Barron Brigid. (n.d.). Teaching for meaningful learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/pdfs/edutopia-teaching-for-meaningful-learning.pdf