Project Based Learning: Creativity and Engagement

Engaging students in project based learning activities can provide deep learning experiences. Project based learning, according to the Buck Institute for Education (BIE), is a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. The BIE website lists the following essential elements that should be included in Project Based Learning designs:

• Key Knowledge, Understanding, and Success Skills - The project is focused on student learning goals, including standards-based content and skills such as critical thinking/problem solving, collaboration, and self-management.
• Challenging Problem or Question - The project is framed by a meaningful problem to solve or a question to answer, at the appropriate level of challenge.
• Sustained Inquiry - Students engage in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, finding resources, and applying information.
• Authenticity - The project features real-world context, tasks and tools, quality standards, or impact – or speaks to students’ personal concerns, interests, and issues in their lives.
• Student Voice & Choice - Students make some decisions about the project, including how they work and what they create.
• Reflection - Students and teachers reflect on learning, the effectiveness of their inquiry and project activities, the quality of student work, obstacles and how to overcome them.
• Critique & Revision - Students give, receive, and use feedback to improve their process and products.
• Public Product - Students make their project work public by explaining, displaying and/or presenting it to people beyond the classroom.

During the 2013-2014 school year, Elizabeth Forward Middle School created a DREAM Factory by combining art, technology education, and computer science. In this project, students became entrepreneurs where they worked in teams to design, create, and market a new candy bar. Their final project was the creation of a 30 second commercial marketing their candy bar and their company that created it. This project, highlighted in the Edutopia blog, Finding the Sweet Spot: Creativity, Candy, and Commerce, is a bright example of well-designed and implemented Project Based Learning.
Project Based Learning has the potential to develop deeper learning and understanding for students, thus better preparing them for College and Career Readiness goals. (http://bie.org/about/why_pbl). Implementing this approach in the classroom requires a change in methods and preparation for teachers, but the result of student engagement and learning is often worth it.
Many of the courses available through Pepper will provide a foundation of understanding that will allow teachers to move toward a Project Based Learning classroom approach. Check out our wide range of Pepper Courses and our Pepper Resource Library to further your own professional growth.
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