You remember what it was like in school. It was boring!
memorized as much as you could
and tried to pass the test at the end.
These days school can be more interesting and effective.
By focusing students on work that matters.
This is Project Based Learning Explained.
Most adults live in a world of projects.
Whether it's a job assignment,
home improvement or planning a wedding, we need to actively solve problems.
schoolwork looks more like this than this.
Let's take a look at this Project Based World.
She was recently presented with a challenge.
Her company, Super Suds, makes soap
and it was up to her to find the most earth-friendly way to produce it in the future.
Her boss gave her a budget and a few requirements-
and it was up to her to come up with a solution.
She organized and managed a team
and created materials summarizing the issues.
Claire's team asked for feedback and presented their findings to the boss.
Claire came out of the project looking like a rock star--and she learned a lot about green products.
Claire's success involved critical thinking,
collaboration, and communication.
Things than aren't often taught in traditional classrooms.
The answer is Project Based Learning or PBL.
By focusing students on a project,
teachers put them on a path that deepens their knowledge
and builds skills they'll need in the future.
Mr. Simmons has always been a good science teacher and his students do well on Friday's tests.
what they learned is gone by Saturday morning.
That wasn't good enough for him.
Soon he learned about Project Based Learning and decided to give it a shot.
Mr. Simmons got the idea for his first project, on microorganisms, when nearly half
of his students were suddenly absent with the flu.
He asked his students why they thought so many of their classmates got sick at the same time.
That lively discussion produced a lot of good questions
and a list of things that kids wanted to know.
their project was to help elementary school kids understand,
After dividing the class into teams,
he got them started on the project.
It was up to the students to ask questions, research, collaborate, give each other feedback
and figure out the best ways to make their points clear to children.
One team chose to make an educational video on the connection between hand washing and
Another chose to create posters to show how viruses spread.
The project teams showed off their final work to an enthusiastic audience of parents and their
children at a nearby elementary school.
Sitting in the front row was our good friend and local rock star Claire, who saw a bit
It was clear that the project was a success for the students,
His students practiced critical thinking,
collaboration and communication.
The project wasn't about memorization, but learning in-depth about viruses
and how to prevent spreading disease.
A lesson they will never forget.
At the end of the presentation,
Claire introduced herself to the students and told them that they were rock stars
and that the world needs more people who can think like them.