Project Based Learning

This semester, my favorite project was the Project Based Learning(PBL) Video our class was required to make.  At first, I hated the idea of being involved in a PBL project because I wanted the requirements completely laid out before me, and I have not been challenged to complete a project based off of my own creativity (which scared me to death).  At the start of the PBL, my group and I were extremely lost and had tons of questions, but after we decided what type of video we would create, the creative “juices” started flowing.  We were all contributing ideas and asking for opinions.  Looking back, I think that if Dr. Alexander had given us specifics on our Project Based Learning Video, we wouldn’t have had as much fun working together as a group, and we wouldn’t have seen the creativity that we possess.

This project could be used in a classroom in many different ways!  It could be used for group projects of any kind because it is a great way to teach the importance of collaboration and respect for others’ ideas, it could be used for every unit a teacher would need to teach, for individual research, and the list could go on forever!  This project has endless possibilities since each student is required to use their own ideas to accomplish a main objective.  In this way of learning, book facts become unintentionally important to the student because they are actively contributing to their own learning.  With this, I think test scores would inevitably rise and that students would start to become excited about learning in every subject.  If you could put yourself if the students’ shoes for a moment, you would realize that if you are able to control the way you learn, it seems more fun because it was your idea.  Image what a great trick this would be!  To me, the PBL project was definitely the best one we did this semester due to the many ways it could be used in a classroom and how it facilitated growth in my own outlook of learning and creativity.