Different project based learning strategies can be used to initiate students to work on any project with different instructions. These student centric strategies also provide space to the teachers to understand the needs of his students. One can easily assess and manage the students through different instructions in project based learning method. Some of the strategies that can be used to understand this concept in a different manner are provided hereunder.
Distinguish them on the basis of their team: Normally it is observed that heterogeneous grouping is found effective in discriminating in a project but sometimes homogeneous grouping is also found effective. During a project based learning of reading a novel or literature you can differentiate the students by grouping them on the basis of their reading level. In this way you can group them for some intensive work by giving them appropriate instructions.
Goal setting and reflection: The importance of reflection in project based learning strategies can be observed through the fact that students usually reflect on their work throughout their project while setting goals for their future learning. These personalized learning goals provide great opportunity to the students to learn and for you to focus on instructions according to their goals.
Short lessons: You can greatly differentiate the instruction with the help of short lessons as you can easily manage learning of your students without wasting their time through this great management strategy. You can easily connect the goals of your students to your short lessons I project based earning process. You can use this learning strategy to the students who really need it as all of them may not need short lessons to initiate them for learning.
Use formative assessment to differentiate them: While differentiating your students through formative assessment you will find that all of them look alike even if most of them had learnt the things in different ways. They might have learnt things either through written responses, collage, graphic organizer or oral conference. This discrimination will help you in differentiating them in different ways through formative assessment method.
Creating balance between individual work and team work: Project based learning is based on collaborative or team work which is as important as the content of the work. But sometimes individual student also needs instructions to learn the same thing individually. So you will have to balance your instructions as your student can learn the things individually as well as in a collaborative environment. It is necessary for some students to provide them different learning environment as they may learn better on their own as compared to others who learn in team.
Differentiate through voice and choice in products: Voice and choice n products is another important factor of project based learning as it makes easy to understand what student can produce and when. As different strategies can be used to create some product similarly students can learn things in different ways. You have to collectively assess the students to differentiate their ways of learning.
Thus with different instructions you can initiate your students to work on some project on the basis of above given project based learning strategies.