In its simplest form, project-based learning involves a group of learners taking on an issue close to their hearts, developing a response, and presenting the results to a wider audience. Projects might last from only a few days to several months. In some cases, projects turn into businesses, such as the student-run cafe at ELISAIR, an English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) program in New York City.
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...When asked what project work has meant to them, learners mention a greater awareness of their own abilities to research and report ndings; the con dence that comes from being able to map out a project and see it come to fruition; the joy and frustration of working with others; the pride in gaining important knowledge and insights; the enthusiasm generated by mastering new technologies; and, in the case of presentations of a personal nature, the excitement of sharing a story worth telling.
from Knowledge in Action: The Promise of Project-Based Learning by Heide Spruck Wrigley
www.ncsall.net/?id=384
www.ncsall.net/?id=384
I believe that using a project-based approach to language learning gives meaning to the learning that normally goes on in a classroom. I have taught a traditional teacher-centered classroom using a textbook and was always dismayed at how little language was learned. The instruction in project-based learning, at least the way I do it, is less direct than in a traditional class. Students develop language and literacy skills by working on a product that will exist beyond the classroom walls. This creates excitement and motivation that I have not seen in a traditional, text-based only class. In project-based learning, I do a lot less teaching and see a lot more learning in the classroom.
from Less Teaching and More Learning by Susan Gaer
www.ncsall.net/?id=385
www.ncsall.net/?id=385
Project-Based Learning series from Focus on Basics
www.ncsall.net/index.php?id=76
