Question: Some of the high-school teachers in our children's schools are now using project-based learning (PBL). They are quite enthusiastic about it. How exactly does PBL help children learn? Are there are any negatives? -- Want Information
Answer: Project-based learning was developed with the idea of taking learning beyond the traditional teacher-led classroom. It goes back to John Dewey's idea of learning by doing. To be successful, the project must not only be meaningful to students, it must also have an educational purpose. In project-based learning, the teacher acts as the facilitator, working with the students to help them ask worthwhile questions and structure the task to develop knowledge.
Students work as a team to solve serious, nontrivial, real-world problems related to the core curriculum. They are given a driving question that they are to answer, such as "How did the soldiers survive winter at Valley Forge?" They look for solutions by generating more questions, finding answers to these questions, which leads to asking more questions, making and revising predictions, designing plans and/or experiments, collecting and analyzing data, drawing conclusions and presenting their findings to a real audience. Having a real audience increases the quality of the work beyond work prepared for a teacher or test. Their presentation can be done through a variety of media, such as videos, writings, art, photography or technology-based presentations.
The use of project-based learning in schools varies greatly. In some, PBL will guide the entire curriculum, while in others it is just employed in a few hands-on activities. They may be multidisciplinary (mostly in elementary school) or single subject. Projects may involve the whole class, a small group or just individuals.
The plus of PBL is that it requires the 21st century skills of critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration and various forms of communication. And students in PBL classrooms do get higher scores than those in traditional classrooms.
Of course, not everyone is on the PBL bandwagon. Disadvantages include some team members loafing on projects and a lowering of standards of the entire group to promote group congeniality. Furthermore, teachers often just grade the finished product -- not noting the part that individuals play in achieving it.