Visualize, Visualize, Visualize: Designing Projects for Higher-Order Thinking
By Pearl Chen and Dianne McGrath

One of the suggestions presented by the authors which I feel I could use in the future is the idea of providing a challenge for your students but making it fun and interesting for them (Chen & McGrath, 2001, p. 55). They gain a sense of accomplishment which can become a motivating factor for them in the future. I also like the idea of group work and having discussions (Chen & McGrath, 2001, p. 57). When people work collaboratively and share their thoughts, everyone in the group learns from each other. If one student doesn’t quite understand something in the group, chances are that another member of the group will be able to help them. With discussions, students will be able to gain confidence to speak their minds as well as see other people’s point of views. The idea of technology being an important tool in Project-based learning is something I agree with and I think is beneficial (Chen & Mcgrath, 2001, p. 55). Technology is a great resource with tons of information and sites with educational programs or videos. If I were to apply these suggestions in creating a lesson plan, I would come up with a challenging project for the students and put them into groups. The groups would use computers to research and help them prepare for presentations. After the presentations, the whole class would discuss the different topics presented and possibly debate.
Project-based learning is a different method of learning that many students are responding positively to (Chen & McGrath, 2001, p. 54). It appears that many students are able to repeat what the teacher has told them or what they have just read but they have difficulty later when asked to apply the knowledge. PBL moves away from lessons where teachers just feed the information to their students. Instead, teachers design appropriately challenging projects for their students and allow them to collaborate and try to figure it out for themselves while the teacher assists in their learning. These projects systematically relate to each other resulting in a growth in knowledge (Chen & McGrath, 2001, p. 54).
To perform higher-order thinking is to map the thinking processes and pull information from different areas in your brain that you have learned over time and use it to come up with a solution (Chen & McGrath, 2001, p. 55 ). An example of using higher-order thinking would be when you have students write a script for a play using famous historical figures. They are using their artistic side as well as drawing on concepts that they have learned in literature and history to complete this assignment.
The two articles I found on the internet both support project-based learning. The first one is provided by the Buck Institute for Education (2002) and delves into the past and talks about how times have changed since then. Students need to be prepared with “knowledge and skills” to survive in our competitive world. The article explains how effective PBL can be and gives several reasons why. For example the project becomes the center of the lesson rather than just a side assignment to what they are learning. This article also lists the benefits of PBL which includes learning skills in problem solving and it is able to help students with different learning styles (Buck Institute for Education, 2002). The second article I found on PBL is titled “Why do Project Based Learning?”. The article defines PBL, mentions the many opportunities, and then lists the parts of PBL. One of the opportunities I like is that students are able to pursue their own interests and discover answers to their own questions (Mehl, 2001).

References
Buck Institute for Education. (2002). Introduction to Project Based Learning. Retrieved
September 7, 2006, from http://www.bie.org/pbl/pblhandbook/intro.php.
Chen, P., & McGrath, D. (2004). Visualize, Visualize, Visualize: Designing Projects for
Higher-Order Thinking. International Society for Technology in Education, 32(4), 54-57.
Mehl, Joel. (2001). Why do Project-Based Learning?. Retrieved September 6, 2006, from
http://pblmm.k12.ca.us/PBLGuide/WhyPBL.html.