Presentation, Closing and Evaluation

Public defense before a real audience

The project cycle culminates with the socialization of the work. For the PBL to have a significant impact on the student's self-esteem and engagement, the presentation should not be made only to the teacher.

A real audience should be sought: parents, other students, subject matter experts, or members of the local community.

This public exposure raises the bar, as students know that their work will be seen and assessed by people outside the classroom.

The public defense forces students to develop communication skills: oratory, synthesis, argumentation and use of visual aids.

They must be prepared not only to "show" what they have done, but to explain "why" and "how", justifying their decisions and answering questions from the audience.

This moment of visibility transforms the school work into a social contribution, giving a sense of transcendence to the effort made during the weeks.

Final reflection and 360-degree eva luation

Once the presentation is finished, the process does not end until the pedagogical closing.

This is the moment to return to the initial guiding question and answer it collectively, consolidating what has been learned.

A space for metacognition opens up where we reflect on the process: What did we learn? What difficulties did we overcome? What would we do differently next time? Assessment in PBL should be comprehensive (360 degrees).

Not only the teacher eva luates (heteroeva luation), but also self-eva luation (the student judges his own performance) and co-eva luation (peers eva luate the contribution of their team members).

The use of clear rubrics, known from the beginning, is essential for this eva luation to be objective and formative.

The final product is eva luated as well as the work process and the development of socioemotional competencies, thus closing the learning cycle.

Summary

The cycle culminates with a public defense before a real audience, which increases the demand and commitment. Students develop public speaking and argumentation skills when explaining their work.

After the presentation, there is a final reflection to consolidate learning and analyze the process. It is a moment of metacognition where difficulties and future improvements are identified.

The eva luation is comprehensive or 360-degree, including hetero-eva luation, self-eva luation and peer co-eva luation. Both the final product and the development of key socioemotional competencies are assessed.