Benefits of Project-Based Learning By Dawn Bartz

Introduction• As project manager of small learning communities and theme coach

for global studies in the Danbury Public Schools, Dawn Bartz of Pleasantville, New York, focuses on the implementation of project-based learning. An advocate for project-based learning throughout her career in education, Dawn Bartz has chosen the topic as the focus of her doctoral dissertation.

Drawing on the philosophy that students are more likely to achieve at significantly higher levels when they are engaged, project-based learning uses practical issues as topics for study. The methodology presents students with a problem to solve or a product to produce, rather than an abstract set of facts to memorize. The initial question is typically complex and requires the student to make independent decisions, plan research, and interpret data before developing an original response.

Project-Based Learning• Project-based learning builds on the experiential

education work of such pioneers as John Dewey, Lev Vygotski, Maria Montessori, and Jean Piaget. These innovative theorists understood that children learn by interacting with their environment, which makes learning meaningful and connects concepts to the real world. To create these connections, project-based learning experiences require students to gather information through open-ended inquiry and to then demonstrate their knowledge by creating an actionable solution. This process mimics the challenges that students will have to meet in their adult careers, while also granting them agency in their work.