How to Use Project-based Learning to Engage Students?
The education system has always maintained a traditional method of teaching theoretically with lectures and instructional ways and this has been continuing over decades. The essential part of this is forgotten over the course of time that the child is the center of education.
The mind, body and spirit of the student needs to be developed and enriched; hence this should be reflected in the education planning. While the traditional method of education can convey the information to its students, can it really enhance skills? Skills that propel curiosity, propagate teamwork and encourage the problem solving mindset. Memorising information has never been the right way to learn, anyone can memorise and a whole lot of us have been guilty of that but have we benefited from it? Could we apply it to real life situations in the actual sense of the word?
This is where project-based learning programs come in. The same students who did not remember every bit of knowledge that they learnt in traditional schools have made a huge community of “Unlearning to learn” method of learning.
In the recent past, a study showed that 700 upwards people in leadership roles globally had almost the same thing to say. That while job applicants are technically proficient, lack decision making powers, have weak communication, and problem solving skills.
A project-based learning curriculum is a combination of assessing performance and gathering the necessary skills for it. Using the same curriculum or devising a new one is not the major issue, it is the implementation that matters. A higher rate of engagement and participation boosts student learning and is imperative to steady and significant growth.
India has quickly picked up on this because of its deep roots in the culture of the Gurukul system. There is a nationwide community that is fast-changing to different methods of schooling rather than the traditional way. Project based learning schools in Bangalore are on the rise and one such school, Tapas Education has adopted the PBL system and adapted it into the traditional curriculum in a synchronised manner. This has helped in academic discourse as well as organised learning around meaningful goals.
At Tapas, the project based learning curriculum has two major components. One is theory based learning and the other is practice based learning. Tapas follows the module of emphasised problem solving, where the students are motivated by an educator to work on a problem on a particular subject by themselves. This builds confidence levels and creativity as they try to move forward from roadblocks on the said subject.
Project based learning has many principles of child-centric education interspersed through it. Play and learn which makes the student understand themselves better as well as connect with their peers which is a natural way of learning through curiosity. Self-discovery is a big theme too, where a student can discover their own skills, passions and abilities to perform. The teacher has the job of supporting them at this juncture where they learn through problem solving, creativity, innovation and thinking independently.
Most of the schools that integrate this kind of project based learning ideas with traditional methods are considered to be holistic education communities. Process orientation with a natural assimilation of varied subjects and vast skills makes it an all-encompassing way of preparing the student for life. In traditional schools, students are pushed to grapple with knowledge they barely understand and the time to question the educator or themselves correctly is lost in the rat-race to reach a certain target. It is a well-known fact that learning happens when a child feels safe in an environment where he/she is not emotionally challenged by overwhelming textbook learning. The knowledge absorption is also way higher and it is a proven fact that when a child or even an adult is encouraged to think and work flexibly, they perform better. For a child, their sense of adventure should not be lost because they learn better with experimentation and exploration.
Let’s empower children to be responsible learners and thus community members, because they will understand that freedom, responsibility and trust go hand in hand and this will make them better global citizens. Project based learning programs will aid them to make choices, being fully aware of the consequences. This type of learning provides team learning as well as individual learning. It makes them smart in many ways, physically, emotionally, intellectually, artistically and many more valued ways.
Please visit https://tapaseducation.com/ to learn more.