Project Based Learning

Topics:

• Multi-Day Learning Experiences

Overview:

Project-based learning provides authentic opportunities for students to engage in deep, contextual experiences that are based in an inquiry approach to learning, focused on student ownership, decision making, and problem solving. Through this type of learning, students are able to collaborate with peers on meaningful, real-world activities, while interacting with and mastering new academic content. This type of learning increases student autonomy and also incorporates a more global perspective by connecting students to the world and providing opportunities to address the problems around them. This type of learning requires that students are actively engaging in problem-based questioning, research, decision making, problem solving, collaboration, prototyping, reflecting, revising, and creating design solutions to solve complex, authentic problems. When teachers take a project-based approach to teaching and learning, students develop deeper understanding and expand their critical thinking skills. Throughout the inquiry-based process, students employ design processing skills (development, reflection, and refinement) to push towards growth and prepare for success in both college and career paths. 

What We Believe:

We believe students deserve to be engaged in learning experiences that are relevant to them in today’s world, have multiple entry points reflective of the diversity in today’s schools, and that are driven by inquiry and problem solving. 

We believe that project-based learning should be are hands-on, centered around developing 21st century skills, and provide multiple paths for students to master and show mastery of the content and design thinking skills. 

We believe that project-based learning activities should be structured in a way so that students have ownership of their learning, can collaborate with peers, and can easily transfer skills to new problems. 

We believe that project-based learning tasks must be focused on and evaluate the design-thinking process including: questioning, researching, collaborating, prototyping, failing, revising, reflecting, and finalizing the end product

BetterLesson Blog Posts: 

• Bankston, Krystal. How to Give your Students Content-Based Real-World Experiences Using Project-Based Learning. September 25, 2018.
• Cruz, Laura and Chessin, Liora. What Teachers and Students can Accomplish with Project-Based Learning. October 11, 2018.