Project-Based Learning

The museum opened on May 1 to rave reviews. I was so proud of my kids! They came through and were able to talk about their topics quite well. Now while project-based learning seems to be fairly new, I have been doing this for years - probably since I started teaching. The second year teaching my students sponsored a World Peace Day that they worked on all year, and the third year we sponsored a Model UN, with schools around the islands representing various countries. Both were fabulous events.

Probably the only difference, albeit an important one, is the direct instruction and structure that goes with project-based learning. I had to do a huge amount of work at the beginning of this, in September, in order for the students to have the skills to accomplish their panels. After all the prep, I basically didn't do much else except help with reading, note taking, citations, and the like, until the last month when we did the design and construction of the panels. Peace Day and the UN just happened, without a lot of direction at the beginning except a vision of what we wanted at the end. With the museum all the steps were very deliberate, and yet I don't feel like anything was taken away from the experience with the direction they got. Maybe part is also the difference between high school students and middle school students. Either way, it was a great experience and worth every lost minute of sleep!