Noise, noise, and more noise. Still, what I hear is productive noise, energized engagement, the sound of children really excited about learning and sharing what they know.
At the Discovery Lab School, project-based learning is common place and desirable. When our school began, one goal was to use practices frequently used in Advanced or “Gifted and Talented” programs, but to benefit students in more traditional range-of-abilities classrooms. At that time, it was called “hands-on” learning.
Although project-based learning is desirable, it is sometimes a challenge to adapt to the multiple tasks required of adopted curriculums, which have their own pacing and testing deadlines. The road to reading and math literacy is sometimes paved for us, but this highly productive byway isn’t as efficient as a speedy throughway.
But what if travelers are sleeping because we haven’t captured their interest along the road? What if they get off before reaching their destination?
Project-based learning isn’t just a one-time strategy or gimmick. Having students produce meaningful products while engaged in learning is empowering and teaches creativity skills that can’t be acquired merely through paper and pencil, or listening and discussing work. Research shows it to be a valuable tool for learning.
Recently, my students created projects related to the Middle Ages. We divvied up topics based on their interests and each small group prepared a visual product, a handout of key ideas and gave a presentation.
Oh the noise! People were researching at computers, using library books at their tables, cutting cardboard to build castles, designing costumes, discussing what information was most valuable, asking for permission to go beyond the school web browser to find more, exclaiming over some fascinating fact.
Additionally, project work meant that struggling students got to work with stronger students. They picked their first group partner and I strategically added another partnership for groups of four. Thus, one of my strongest partnerships researched innovations while their team-mates were given responsibilities commensurate with their abilities and all four benefited. The group that built a trebuchet and launched volleyballs helped both my classes see the mechanics of siege weaponry in a way that they will be likely to remember for a long time.
In the end, I picked up the less-interesting-to-them topics that I needed to cover and created an interesting PowerPoint, drawing on the threads they were spinning, and weaving it all together. Thus, all of us prepared useful, engaging projects, then listened and, in some cases, interacted directly (Jeopardy game about peasant life) with the presentations. We covered all of the necessary information in the time allotted and made memories and learning for a life time. Plus, their test scores afterwards proved that they could teach themselves and others, and really learn the content.
Irene Smith is a guest blogger and teacher in the Yakima School District.
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