How Much is Project Based Learning Used at Your School?
The Buck Institute for Education (BIE.org) provides excellent resources on Project Based Learning. They claim that the experience of thousands of teachers across all grade levels and subject areas, backed by research, confirms that PBL is an effective and enjoyable way to learn – and develop deeper learning competencies required for success in college, career, and civic life.
As I am visiting Christian schools in various countries, it seems that more and more schools are interested in using PBL, and some of them even set aside a “Project Week” in their program. ACSI Europe has recently developed online courses on “Teaching 21st Century Skills in the Christian School”, and “Project Based Learning with Biblical Integration”. Both of these courses offer many ideas on how to develop and implement projects. While we at ACSI Europe believe that PBL is one of the most effective teaching strategies, I wonder if teachers of Christian schools in various countries agree or disagree with this statement.
We invite you to share your experience with PBL by responding to some of these questions in a comment below:
- Have you ever used PBL in your class?
- How did you use it?
- Did your students like it?
- Did you find it helpful?
- What was the greatest benefit?
- What was the most difficult about it?
- Would you be interested in a 4 week online course to learn more about PBL, and how to use Biblical Integration ideas with PBL?
Comments
Roslyn Barnes
AuthorOne of the things I really like about Project Based Learning is the opportunity for students to create something of value with what they have been learning that they can share with others. As students apply what they are learning to address real problems, the purpose for learning can shift from being self-centered (“why should I learn this? what good will it do me?”) to being others-centered (“how can I serve others and make my community a better place?”).
Laci Demeter
AuthorI agree, creating a valuable, presentable product together as a group of students certainly helps students learn how to work in teams, as well as recognize how individual gifts and talents may be used to complete a complex project.
Roslyn Barnes
AuthorI just read this interesting case study article by Jeffrey Philbrick on the ACSI (US) blog.
This school allocates separate time to working on projects, rather than using them to teach core content. What do you think are the pros and cons of this approach?