Project-Based Learning (PBL)

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a systematic teaching and learning approach that engages students in complex, real world tasks that result in a product or presentation to an audience, enabling students to acquire knowledge and life-enhancing skills (Chen & Yang, 2019). The two essential components of PBL are: (a) a question, to organize and drive learning activities, and (b) the products/artifacts, which present students’ solutions to the problem (Chen & Yang, 2019).

Accordingly, PBL has the following fundamental features: “inquiry, guided by the driving question, meaning that students ask their own questions, perform investigations, and develop answers; student voice and choice, meaning that students are allowed to make some decisions about the products to be constructed and how they work; revision and reflection, in which students have opportunities to use feedback to make their products better, and think about what and how they learn; and a public audience, to which students present their work” (Chen & Yang, 2019).

Middle school students with specific learning disabilities may do especially well with PBL when they engage with typically developing peers, as students with different ability levels can learn from each other’s experiences. Inquiry- and activity-based methods also improve learning science for middle school students with specific learning disabilities, particularly when technology is incorporated (Terrazas-Arellanes et al., 2018).

Our COL units incorporate components of PBL:​​​

• A driving question anchored in a real-world problem

• Opportunities to make active investigations

• Student collaboration in a shared learning community

• The use of cognitive tools

Cognitive-Affective Theory of Learning with Media (CATLM)

The Cognitive-Affective Theory of Learning with Media (CATLM) (Moreno & Mayer, 2007) examines how to structure multimedia features to enhance learning. 

CATLM includes five instructional principles for interactive multimodal learning environments:​

Dialoguing: Learners ask questions and receive feedback

Controlling: Learners determine the pace and/or order of presentations

Searching: Learners engage in seeking information, selecting options, and finding new materials

Manipulating: Learners set parameters for simulation; zooming in/out and moving objects around the screen

Navigating: Learners move to different content areas by selecting from various available information sources
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We believe these principles are tied with constructivist approaches and can be exploited during Project-Based Learning to help students learn.

In line with this theory, our COL units are designed to present auditory and visual information in ways that minimize working memory load and promote learning.

Students with learning disabilities, who often struggle when presented with too much information at once, may especially benefit from our theory-based COL units, which limit working memory load, engage learners, and motivate students to gain new knowledge. These students can create their own learning environment by:

• Receiving feedback when needed
• Controlling how fast they go through the material
• Viewing objects on the screen in ways that make it easy for them to see and understand

Supported eText

Supported eText (Anderson-Inman & Horney, 1997, 1998) makes the electronic text more accessible. Our COL units have embedded eText supports, including text-to-speech, vocabulary words linked to online definitions, and digital note-taking—all of which have been shown to help students learn.

Students with learning disabilities may find eText supports particularly useful. Researchers have documented the positive effects of these supports on students with learning disabilities.

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• Text-to-speech increases literacy outcomes for students with learning disabilities (Izzo, Yurick, & McArrell, 2009; Douglas, Ayres, Langone, Bell, & Meade, 2009; Horney et al., 2009).

• Phonological awareness improves in students using an ebook with supports for reading, including a dictionary, compared to students using a book without supports (Shamir, Korat, & Shlafer, 2011).

• Taking notes increases student comprehension of science text (Horney et al., 2009).

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By incorporating these supports within each COL unit, Project ESCOLAR ensures that all students have the tools they need to learn science.