This is me in the 8th grade. I was a combination of shy and
nerdy. My whole goal was to remain invisible. I had one friend, this kid named Matt. We were
two nerds in a pod. And, fortunately for me, he had perfect attendance year after year. Until,
one day he was sick. I stood in the cafeteria, looking out at the sea of students, someone
would invite me over. But it didn’t happen. I hid in boy’s restroom for the next 24 minutes.
I was invisible.
But not to Mrs. Smoot and Mr. Darrow. They knew me. They knew I cared about
social justice and baseball and history, so they invited me to do a History Day project.
Although it was fun, it was also terrifying. I had to plan the entire project and
track my own progress. I had to figure out what
questions to ask and where to find the answers. I had to narrow down my topic to something I cared
about—in this case, Jackie Robinson and the integration of baseball.
I wrote letters to newscasters and made phone calls to former players.
I remember picking up the phone, my hands trembling,
as I read aloud my pre-recorded script and waited for the stranger to respond.
I eventually worked on a slide presentation.
The most nerve-wracking moment occurred when I sat in a radio studio recording my script.
When I listened to my voice for the first time, I hated it.
At one point, I threw my hands up in the air. “I’m not doing this,” I said.
But Mrs. Smoot looked me in the eyes and said:
I ended up sharing it with my class and then
in the district competition, state competition and eventually in Washington D.C.
Although I didn’t realize it at the time, Mrs. Smoot was why I became an
educator. That project helped me grow into a creative thinker and
problem-solver. And that experience is why I ultimately embraced project-based learning.
Project-based learning is different from traditional classroom projects
Learning through projects culminating projects
Student choice in design vs. following a set of instructions
Student inquiry vs. Pre-planned questions Self and peer assessment vs Teacher assessment
Student ownership of process vs. Teacher ownership of process
The Buck Institute identifies the following seven project design elements:
1. Challenging Problem or Question
2. Sustained Inquiry 3. Authenticity
4. Student Voice & Choice 5. Reflection
6. Critique & Revision 7. Public Product
Note that project-based learning can work in tandem with other pedagogical models,
like inquiry-based learning, design thinking, and problem-based learning.
But the key idea remains that students
are learning through projects and as a result they engage in deeper learning.