Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on May 31, 2007 - 05:48.
I heartily agree, project-based learning is essential because it brings meaning into the classroom. The omnipresent boredom we currently see is not something students can remedy through willing themselves to be interested. Most kids require relevance, as if it were oxygen.They can not simply do what they are told, and get education for the sake of education. They need to see how math, reading and writing (along with sciences and social studies) allow them to solve problems that are like things they will do as adults. Using projects and experiential learning unleashes a power that is virtually absent from most of the middle school classrooms that I visit. The downside: before, it can be successful, in-school projects require teachers to help students develop skills for critical thinking and for working in groups. These can not be taught with worksheets, and I think many teachers feel these pose too steep a challenge. I had one teacher describe her 8th graders as too immature to use computers until the spring of the school year! Kids will achieve in middle school when their teachers use projects and experiential learning to create for them a learning environment that feels real.
Improving middle schools
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on May 31, 2007 - 05:48.
I heartily agree, project-based learning is essential because it brings meaning into the classroom. The omnipresent boredom we currently see is not something students can remedy through willing themselves to be interested. Most kids require relevance, as if it were oxygen.They can not simply do what they are told, and get education for the sake of education. They need to see how math, reading and writing (along with sciences and social studies) allow them to solve problems that are like things they will do as adults. Using projects and experiential learning unleashes a power that is virtually absent from most of the middle school classrooms that I visit. The downside: before, it can be successful, in-school projects require teachers to help students develop skills for critical thinking and for working in groups. These can not be taught with worksheets, and I think many teachers feel these pose too steep a challenge. I had one teacher describe her 8th graders as too immature to use computers until the spring of the school year! Kids will achieve in middle school when their teachers use projects and experiential learning to create for them a learning environment that feels real.