Project-Based Learning
An Introduction to Project-Based Learning
The Potential of Project-Based Learning
Examples of Projects Using Technology
Common Phases or Steps in Project-Based Learning
Project-Based Learning Resources
Project-Based Learning Worksheet (PDF)
An Introduction to Project-Based Learning
What is project-based learning?
Project-based learning (PBL) is an approach to instruction that focuses on problem-solving and/or product development. Learners generally work collaboratively in groups to solve a problem, accomplish a task, or both. PBL helps students see how the skills and content they learn in the classroom can apply to real-life.
What skills are addressed in project-based learning?
Project-based learning helps students develop a wide range of skill areas. Depending on the project, PBL can reinforce reading, writing, listening, and/or speaking, as well as content knowledge. Students can also learn how to manage time and information, and practice their skills of organization. Because most PBL is done in teams, social skills (such as interacting, communicating across diversity, resolving conflicts, teaching and communicating new information to others, and collaborating) are also addressed.
Perhaps most importantly, project-based learning provides a realistic “model” of how personal skills and knowledge can be applied in real-life situationswhether at home, at work, or in the community In this sense, classroom and community projects become engaging and powerful ways to promote learning.
The Potential of Project-Based Learning
Why use projects in adult literacy settings?
Projects can do the following:
- Build community and trust
- Bring participants together across educational, class, linguistic, racial, and cultural lines
- Provide engaging opportunities for participants to share their diverse skills
- Validate skills of participants that are often not tapped into in traditional paper and pencil classroom activities
- Build confidence as participants have a successful experience
- Draw on cultural knowledge
- Strengthen social skills
- Offer guided opportunities to interact with the broader community, the school, and government organizations
- Provide a means for participants to identify and work on issues that are important to them
- Promote civic engagement
- Create “legacy” learning (i.e, produce a product that can be used by others in the future)
- Strengthen workforce skills
- Tap into previously unrecognized opportunities for growth, employment, social connections and education
Projects in family literacy settings can be intergenerational (projects where parents and children participate together) or adult-focused (parents working on a project collectively).
Examples of Projects Using Technology
- Projects Drawing on Cultural Ways of Knowing
- Natural Medicine A bilingual book in Spanish and English about home remedies. Written and created by adult students. Print book and webpages. This type of a project, in which learners document their cultural practices and knowledge, could be part of a thematic unit on health.
- Proverbs A project in which students worked across regions using the Internet and collected proverbs from different cultures and discussed them. This kind of a project could also be done within one program with adults and provide an opportunity to use interview skills and practice oral language. In a culturally and linguistically diverse class, this project can build community and intercultural understanding.
- Publishing Projects
- Chain Reaction This student-produced newsletter was created by women and deals with women’s issues. It provided a forum for women to give voice to their views and experience and publish for a broader audience. The resulting newsletter was created as a print publication and also made available on the Internet.
- Family Histories This project was an introductory project to enable students to write about themselves and learn about their classmates.
- Autobiographies Using PowerPoint This project enabled students to become proficient in Powerpoint while writing about themselves and their own experiences.
- Other Possibilities
- New student orientation handbook
- Resource guides (parent orientation written by parents; community resource guide, etc.)
- Videos
- Puppet shows (to be presented to children)
- Documentation of traditional stories and storytelling presentations
- Webpages and websites
- Class books, newsletters, or journals
- Student-run businesses
- Presentations, plays, and skits
Common Phases or Steps in Project-Based Learning
- Step 1. Identification of Problem, Issue or Theme
Depending on the group and the goal of the project, the teacher may choose a theme or else use their students’ knowledge and brainstorming sessions to determine a topic for exploration in the project. - Step 2. Preliminary Investigations
In this step, participants decide if what they want to do is possible. Learners move from general ideas to more focused ones. For example, they may shift from, “We want to write about ourselves” to “We want to write family histories and publish them with pictures.” - Step 3. Planning and Assigning Tasks
This step can make or break your project; it is key in determining whether students can work effectively through to the completion of their project. In this step, instructors will be very helpful, especially when students work in pairs or teams. Common questions at this point are: How do I help students plan? What support can I provide to them? Are the assigned roles realistic and appropriate? - Step 4. Researching the Topic
Here students gather information about the topic they choose so they can create their final product. Information can vary widely depending on the project. It can include going to the library, researching on the Internet, interviewing people, gathering materials, etc. - Step 5. Drafting and Developing the Product
This is the actual creation of the final productregardless of the form it takes. It is extremely motivating for the group to see its vision begin to take form. - Step 6. Disseminating and/or Presenting the Product
In this step the group takes its finished product and essentially “makes it public,” whether it is with the rest of the class, with the local community, or with a broader audience. Teachers frequently ask, What is the best way to make student’s projects public? Should it be a publishing party, an end of semester presentation, a posting in a publication? Depending on the kinds of projects your class is working on, presentation will take different forms - Step 7. Evaluation
How do you know what students learned in the process of completing their projects? How do you measure and document learning? We recommend a multi-faceted approach to evaluation that includes:- Student self-assessment
- Teacher evaluation
- Praxis: reflection on action
Project-Based Learning Resources
Below is a list of articles and resources to help you better understand and develop project-based learning startegies.
Knowledge in Action: The Promise of Project-Based Learning
Project-Based Learning for Adult English Language Learners
Project Based Learning and Technology Supports
Equipped for the Future Content Standards
LINCS Technology Special Collection
