Igor Baryakhtar's Presentation at NEMATYC 2022 Conference, 4/09/2022.The presentation is a comparison of three types of learning materials• paper and pencil• word processor document, Microsoft Word etc.• web page.  Outline • Introduction: types of learning materials• How to present formulas? Tools available• Student project implementations.

The aim of this unit is that upon completion, teachers will be able to manage the learners' project-based (PBL) activities in a technology-enhanced environment to support collaboration.

Project-based learning in a technology rich environment can be effective in K-12 classrooms

allowing students to negotiate understanding and construct knowledge in social situations.

Benefits include connecting students in communities in and outside of their cultures, and meeting

learning goals in non-institutional fashion, while educators share practices and resources using

technology tools. When projects endure over time, characteristics of communities of practice

begin to emerge in which shared content grows and is amended by participants, generating

historical artifacts. Once instantiated, the project philosophy provides an ongoing basis for

immersive learning, using wikis, blogs, and other social networking applications. A projectbased

classroom philosophy sets an engaging, attractive environment for students by meeting

their needs to be socially involved, as opposed to being passive receivers. An example long term

Internet learning event called the Monster Project is examined in this paper. Widespread use of

project-based learning has been curtailed by a strong focus on traditional instruction to meet

testing goals. Research shows that active participation in project-based education results in

students being more intrinsically motivated, more likely to show conceptual understanding, and

more well adjusted than students in traditional education modes. These characteristics are those

of a community of practice, where members are informally connected by their accomplishments

and by what they learn together. The range of academic content that can be integrated into

project-based learning as the main approach in a classroom is bounded only by a teacher’s

energy and creativity.

A GNG collaborative project is a project-based learning activity that challenges students to work together to develop solutions to real-world problems. Within and across classrooms, students collaborate to identify a challenge in their local or global communities and develop a project that addresses the issue by promoting positive change and community engagement.

Students analyze James Madison’s notes to understand why delegates at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 compromised on equality in order to form a United States government, what steps they later took to create a Bill of Rights, and whose rights were protected and whose were not. Students learn about key efforts to uphold the rights of people in the United States, from the Constitutional Convention in 1787 to examples of participatory journalism today in order to respond to the question: How can we use examples of activism from the past and present to recognize America’s potential for living up to its democratic ideals? Students then analyze artifacts from the Colored Conventions, which was one of the first Black political intellectual movements in the United States to advocate for the rights of people who have been marginalized. Students create an original political pamphlet to raise awareness and inspire action on issues of injustice and inequality today.

Real World Math is a collection of free math activities for Google Earth designed for students and educators. Mathematics is much more than a set of problems in a textbook. In the virtual world of Google Earth, concepts and challenges can be presented in a meaningful way that portray the usefulness of the ideas.

Students learn about the efforts of Ida B. Wells and other Black female journalists who used investigative reporting to challenge ideas and people that perpetuated social and political injustices. Students look to Black female journalists today by learning about Natasha S. Alford’s feature stories on race in Puerto Rico, and draw on past and present examples of journalism to help them respond to the unit driving question: How can journalism challenge inequality and injustice? Students use the tenets of investigative reporting to explore the achievements and challenges of the era, then work to shine a light on the possibilities of racial equity by writing and publishing a feature story about an issue of injustice today.

Students learn how young people in Washington exercised their rights and responsibilities through “fish-in” protests to fight for tribal fishing rights in the 1960s. Students use this example of civic engagement to reflect on their rights and responsibilities today, then begin to consider the unit-driving question: How can we use social media to engage community members on issues of injustice? Working in teams, students examine a case study on one of three critical issues: natural resources, the environment, or hazard preparedness. The case studies help students understand how social media can be used to raise awareness and promote action. Finally, teams create a social media campaign that engages their local elected officials and community on an issue of social and environmental justice.

This unit begins with a challenge in which students must make a decision for the common good. The task highlights the importance of considering various stakeholder perspectives in order to serve the common good. Students transfer what they have learned to their study of a major dam project in Washington State. Teams focus on one of four projects (Upper Skagit Hydroelectric Project, Lower Snake River Project, Columbia River Gorge Project, Columbia River Basin Project). Each team works together to understand the perspectives of diverse stakeholders as they develop a response to the unit-driving question: How can dams in Washington serve the common good? Teams apply what they have learned to come up with a recommendation for the future of the dam project that considers how it will impact people and places.

A middle school teacher uses class projects to introduce students to the principles of insulation.

This unit explores the NGSS Middle School bundle for Engineering Design (MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4) by engaging students in a Project-Based engineering task where students develop and apply their understanding of solar energy to create a solar device which can generate electricity for people who have lost power due to a natural disaster.

Students take an in-depth look at what goes into planning a research project, which prepares them to take the lead on their own projects. Examining a case study, students first practice planning a research project that compares traditional cook stoves to improved cook stoves for use in the developing world. Then they compare their plans to one used in the real-world by professional researchers, gaining perspective and details on the thought and planning that goes into good research work. Then students are provided with example materials, a blank template and support to take them from brainstorming to completing a detailed research plan for their own air quality research projects. Conducting students’ AQ-IQ research studies requires additional time and equipment beyond this planning activity. Then after the data is collected and analyzed, teams interpret the data and present summary research posters by conducting the next associated activity Numerous student handouts and a PowerPoint® presentation are provided.

Student teams investigate the migration of small-particle plastic pollution by exposing invertebrates found in water samples from a local lake or river to fluorescent bead fragments in a controlled environment of their own designs. Students begin by reviewing the composition of food webs and considering the ethics of studies on live organisms. In their model microcosms, they set up a food web so as to trace the microbead migration from one invertebrate species to another. Students use blacklights and microscopes to observe and quantify their experimental results. They develop diagrams that explain their investigations—modeling the ecological impacts of microplastics.

Using models of quality work is a powerful strategy for Gold Standard Project Based Learning. When students analyze models that exemplify high-quality work in the genre or format they are working to produce, it helps them gain a clear sense of the expectations for their final product. Students then apply the insights from their analysis of these models to develop, self-assess, and refine their work, aiming for the standard of excellence they saw modeled in the exemplars.

This unit begins by asking students to consider life in Africa before colonization and the forced enslavement of Africans. Students read Omar ibn Said’s autobiography to understand the Islamic scholar’s experiences before he was captured in West Africa and after he was enslaved in America. Excerpts from Olaudah Equiano’s autobiography provide a detailed glimpse of his childhood in Africa before he was kidnapped and sold into slavery. Students examine these two stories and others for evidence of resistance, liberation, connection to culture, and shared humanity as they develop a response to the question: How can we better understand America’s past and present by listening to often omitted and unheard voices from the slave trade? Working in teams, students create a podcast about an unheard story in order to start a conversation about the lasting effects of the Transatlantic slave trade and the importance of Black history in America.