Glossary of PBL

1.The 21st century skills - are a set of abilities that students need to develop in order to succeed in the information age.They are:

• cross-cultural understanding

• knowing how and when to use technology and choosing the most appropriate tool for the task

• personal and social responsibility

• planning, critical thinking, reasoning, and creativity

• strong communication skills, both for interpersonal and presentation needs

• visualizing and decision making

2.The Essential question – is central to the inquiry process and comes before deciding on project activity.

3.The Essential questions - questions that probe for deeper meaning and set the stage for further questioning foster the development of critical thinking skills and higher order capabilities such as problem solving and understanding complex systems.

4.Project Based Learning – is a method of teaching that presents students with a problem or challenge to solve, requires them to gather information from various resources, and asks them to come up with an original solution that ends in a product or performance.

5.Project Based Learning - is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge.

6.Project-based learning – is a model for classroom activity that shifts away from the usual classroom practices of short, isolated, teacher-centered lessons.