The Secret to Engaging Students: Projects First
45sTeachers and educators will relate to the struggle of keeping students engaged and will be intrigued by the project-first approach.
▶ Play ClipAI Summary
The speaker discusses their approach to teaching, emphasizing a project-oriented methodology where students are first shown the end goal before learning the necessary content. This method is presented as a way to motivate students and structure courses around practical outcomes.
[00:00]
Project-Oriented Teaching
The speaker centers all courses around a group of projects, rather than relying on dynamic lectures to engage students.
[00:12]
Content Presentation
While content must be presented, the speaker always lets students know the goal first, such as building X, Y, or Z.
[00:26]
Backward Design
The teaching approach works backward from the goal: identify what needs to be done, then determine what knowledge is required to accomplish those tasks.
The speaker's preferred teaching method is project-based, where students are motivated by a clear end goal and learn content as a means to achieve it.
Study Flashcards (2)
What is the speaker's preferred teaching method?
easy
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What is the speaker's preferred teaching method?
easy
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Project-oriented teaching, where courses are centered around projects and students know the goal first.
How does the speaker structure content delivery?
medium
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How does the speaker structure content delivery?
medium
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Content is presented, but students are first told the goal (e.g., building X, Y, or Z), then the steps and required knowledge are derived.
00:12
💡 Key Takeaways
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Project-Centered Courses
Highlights a practical teaching strategy that prioritizes student engagement through projects.
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Backward Design Principle
Illustrates a logical method for curriculum design that starts with the end goal.
00:26Full Transcript
[00:00] What are some ways that you've introduced project-oriented teaching into your teaching over the years? I'm not dynamic enough to, I think, really get the students to want to learn just from
[00:12] hearing me. So I pretty much center all of my courses around a group of projects. And of course, there is content that I have to present, but I almost always let the students
[00:26] know the goal first, right? We're building X, Y, or Z. Okay, so how do we go about doing that? Well, we have to do this and we have to do that. So what do we have to know in order to do those things? That I think for sure is, that's definitely my preferred way of teaching.
