Academic rigor — a criterion for project-based learning in which projects require higher-order thinking skills and research methods from academic and technical fields.
Academic standards (sometimes referred to as learning standards or educational standards) – standards that define the knowledge and skills students should possess at critical points in their educational career in various subject, content areas.
Active exploration — a criterion for project-based learning in which projects extend beyond the classroom to involve work-based learning, community- based activities and technical labs.
Adult relationships — a criterion for project-based learning in which projects involve adult mentors from the school and the community.
Analysis - the detailed examination of the elements or structure of something, typically as a basis for discussion or interpretation, For example, the elements and patterns related to enrollment and retention.
Applied learning — a criterion for project-based learning in which projects require students to use academic and technical knowledge in acquiring the problem-solving, communication and teamwork skills they will need in the workplace.
Assessment — a criterion for project-based learning in which projects include exhibitions and assessments of students’ work according to personal standards and performance standards set by the school and the community.
Authenticity - a criterion for project-based learning in which the project features real-world context, tasks and tools, quality standards, or impact – or speaks to students’ personal concerns, interests, and issues in their lives.
Coherence - the quality of congruity between the teacher’s knowledge objectives, the learning activities and knowledge processes designed to achieve those objectives, and the outcomes and assessments designed to demonstrate student accomplishment of these objectives.
Creative Thinking - a cognitive process of generating something new or unique that has value in a situation or context.
Critical Thinking - a mental process of analyzing or evaluating information; a process of reflecting upon the meaning of statements, examining the offered evidence and reasoning, and forming judgments about the facts. Intellectual values associated with critical thinking include clarity, accuracy, precision, evidence, thoroughness and fairness.
Curriculum - the agreed upon set of decisions about what students will learn (content), how they will demonstrate their learning (assessments), and key strategies, activities, and resources teachers will use to coach students to demonstrate the specified learning.
Essential (driving) question - an open-ended question that sets the stage for higher-order thinking by encouraging students to investigate real-world solutions to a complex issue or problem.
Inquiry - a process in which students follow a trail that begins with their own questions, leads to a search for resources and the discovery of answers, and which ultimately leads to generating new questions, testing ideas, and drawing their own conclusions.
Performance - a tangible, observable set of actions by a student that can be used to determine extent and quality of student learning related to a specified outcome.
Project – the development of confidence in using English in the real world, the world outside the classroom.
Project-based learning (PBL) – 1) a model for classroom activity that shifts away from the usual classroom practices of short, isolated, teacher-centered lessons; 2) 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; 3) a systematic teaching method that engages students in learning important knowledge and 21st century skills through an extended student-influenced inquiry process structured around complex, authentic questions and carefully designed products and learning tasks; 4) a teaching strategy that uses real-world learning activities to engage student interest and motivation; 5) a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges, simultaneously developing 21st Century skills while working in small collaborative groups.
Project-based learning approach - an in-depth investigation of a real-world topic worthy of children’s attention and effort.
Product - a tangible, observable artifact produced by a student that can be used to determine extent and quality of student learning related to a specified outcome; the end result of a project (a video, written report, advertising campaign, community action event, etc.) that students use to represent their work in the project’s culminating activity.
Reflective Thinking - cognitive process that involves personal consideration of one’s own learning based on criteria; sometimes referred to as metacognition
Relevance - the application of knowledge in real-world situations, from predicable to unpredictable.
Rubric - a criterion-based scoring guide that enables judges to make reliable judgments about student work and enables students to self-assess their performance.
Student Voice - the authentic statements and sentiments of students expressing their thoughts, ideas, or emotions in their own words.
Understanding - level of insight into ideas, people, situations, and processes that manifests itself by the learner being able to make sense of what he/she knows, knowing why it is so, and being able to use it in various situations and contexts.
21st century skills - 1) skills, abilities, and learning dispositions that have been identified as being required for success in 21st century society and workplaces by educators, business leaders, academics, and governmental agencies; 2) skills required for students to master in preparation for success in a rapidly changing, digital society; 3) skills associated with deeper learning, which is based on mastering skills such as analytic reasoning, creativity, critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration and communication.
