Introduction to Project Based Learning
I don't remember much from my elementary school years. The activities and classroom routines seem to run together. However, I do remember one language arts project I did in eighth grade. Our teacher came to us with a task. He said that he was struggling to excite the seventh grade classes about grammar and that he needed our help.
From there, our class sprung into action. We observed the seventh grade grammar classes, interviewed students, and researched our own teaching ideas. By the end of two weeks, we had created many activities to help the seventh graders learn. Although we didn't know it yet, we had learned a lot in the process as well.
My eighth grade language arts teacher was using a teaching strategy called project-based learning. In this method, a teacher poses a problem to students and then coaches them through the process of a project to solve the problem. Students learn the necessary knowledge and skills they need by taking ownership and responsibility for their learning.
Now that you know the meaning of project-based learning, let's learn about some of the important components that support this teaching strategy.