Running head: SUMMARY OF PROJECT AND PROJECT IMPACT

Summary of Project and Project Impact

Amy Smeester

Arizona State University

I believe that my project-based learning assignment will be a valuable and vital addition
SUMMARY OF PROJECT AND PROJECT IMPACT
2
to my curriculum because it will increase student motivation and engagement in the classroom.

Instead of being told what they must know, students will be able to take ownership of their

education. My students will be answering the questions, “How can we, as wildlife biologists,

create the best animal conservation techniques?” In order to help students answer this question,

they will meet with a wildlife biologist, participate in online interactive simulations about

population, observe animal interactions in a real ecosystem, conduct individual research, and

showcase their work in a science fair. Throughout this project, student engagement will increase

because they must actively seek out information and become responsible for their own learning.

There are many avenues that students can take to answer the driving question, and they have the

freedom to choose which route matters the most to them. Learning will also be enhanced because

of the active part they are taking in this assignment. They will interact more deeply with the

information than they would if I were to simply hand it to them.

This year, I have 150 students who will be impacted by this project-based learning

assignment in my classroom. If this assignment goes well and is implemented in all biology

classrooms throughout the school, then in just three years that is close to 2,000 students who

have learned a new and exciting way to approach learning and to make it their own. Teachers can

take project-based learning as a way to innovate their own classroom and shift their role from a

lecturer to a facilitator of learning. By having the students participate in a public science fair at

the end of the project, the school will build community connections by allowing the public to see

the great work that our students are capable of and the resources that the school is supplying our

students with to enable them to do this work. Overall, project-based learning will have a positive

impact on our students, our teachers, and our community.