Dive Brief:
- Teachers taking a backseat and granting students some control over their learning through project-based learning can often lead to enhanced creativity and engagement in the classroom, reports eSchool News.
- For instance, educators at Tampa Preparatory School in Florida who have initiated PBL allow students to customize their learning through technology like iPads, later asking students to share their insight with other classmates. In another example, an English teacher from a middle school in West Virginia incorporated STEM subjects into the curriculum through projects that had students engage in stories, like those that deal with forensics, with interactive projects on finger-printing and DNA analysis.
- As the workforce demands innovation and diversity of thought, looking toward strategies like PBL at the K-12 level is one way educators can start getting their students to work more independently and creatively as they move on toward higher education.
Dive Insight:
At the same time employers now seek graduates who are technology savvy, independent, and creative, students that are entering the classroom are also demanding greater flexibility in the curriculum to stay interested. This reality means that educators must adapt to 21st century learning needs in order to ensure that students at the K12 level and beyond are ready for the real world. So in order to keep students in the classroom engaged, teachers may need to experience a mind shift when it comes traditional pedagogy--where the role of the teacher shift to the background as students acquire a more-hands on and independent approach to learning.
In fact, studies show that nontraditional instruction methods like PBL can enhance student outcomes. A 2016 report from MIDA Learning Technologies, which look at PBL in second- and fifth-grade, showed that students with PBL setting outperformed other students by 49% in second grade and to a similar degree in fifth grade. As school leaders move to adopt strategies where students get more autonomy in their learning, they can look toward tools like technology and online PBL sources, as well as embrace themes such as 'learn by doing.'