Conclusion
We hope this guide has inspired you to bring project-based
learning into your classroom, and that it has provided lots of
ideas, tips and tools to engage and challenge your students.
High Tech High have been perfecting their approaches for
over a decade, and they’d be the first to acknowledge they’re
still learning. The Learning Futures schools are at a much
earlier stage in their journey, and can testify that doing
rigorous, purposeful project-based learning that leads to
results that students take pride in is not easy.
But it’s worth it. When students do projects, they surprise themselves,
their parents, and their teachers with what they are capable of. When
they present their work to a wide audience, they become confident
and articulate advocates for themselves, who will go on to stand out at
university and in the world of work. When making multiple drafts and
seeking critique becomes the norm, students develop a work ethic that
demands that they achieve excellence – not in order to satisfy anyone else,
but in order to satisfy themselves.
Projects also draw subjects together so that students experience learning as
an integrated whole, rather than a series of separate silos across the hours
of the day.
and projects foster not just student engagement, but also school engagement
with local communities, families and business. they help overcome false
separations between intellectual and practical skills and the world of adults
and students.