Seven essentials for project-based learning

From the Curriculum Leadership electronic journal "for leaders in education":
http://cmslive.curriculum.edu.au/leader/default.asp?id=58&issueID=12255

Seven essentials for project-based learning

Educational Leadership Volume 68 Number 1, September 2010; Pages 34–37

John Larmer, John R Mergendoller

Abstract :
Unless projects are meaningful, engaging and challenging for students they may become just another form of 'busy work'. Good quality project work displays seven features.

1. Firstly it inspires students with a need to know about the topic. Interest can be stimulated through an 'entry event' such as a video, lively discussion or field trip. In contrast, students tend not to be motivated by exhortations of the value of the topic to their future studies, careers or test papers.
   
2. Secondly, a driving question encapsulates the projects' purpose in a clear and compelling way. The question may be abstract, eg 'when is war justified?', or concrete.
   
3. The third element is to give students voice and choice, ie options on how to how to pursue the project. The level of choice should be tailored to the particular group of students as well as to the teacher's style. A wide degree of freedom would allow students to decide on the products they create, the resources they need, how they organise their time and even the topic itself.
   
4. Fourthly, the project should call on students to apply 21st century skills of collaboration, communication and critical thinking, perhaps with supports such as rubrics to measure their group's progress in these skills, and through training in public speaking, perhaps through the development of podcasts or videos.
   
5. Fifthly, real inquiry and innovation should be required. Rather than reproducing knowledge from books and websites students should have to develop their own questions, search for resources to answer them, test ideas and pose further questions and draw their own conclusions.
   
6. The sixth component is feedback and revision. Students come to learn that these are typically required for high quality work. Feedback from external experts is particularly valuable. They also learn to critique each other's work.
   
7. The seventh element is public presentation of the completed work. Presentation to a real audience underlines the work's importance to the student.

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