Planning, running & assessing project-based learning in your classroom

Project-based learning works best when students regard the project as personally meaningful and when it fulfils an educational purpose – in other words, when it is an integral part of the curriculum.

A project can be made personally meaningful if teachers begin by triggering students’ curiosity. In other words, at the start of the first lesson on the project, the teacher uses a “hook” to engage students’ interest and initiate questioning. A hook can be anything: a video, a lively discussion, a guest speaker, a field trip, or a text.

With a compelling project, the reason for the learning becomes clear. A project can also be made personally meaningful to students if the teacher poses a big question that captures the heart of the project in clear, compelling language, and which gives students a sense of purpose and challenge. A big question should be provocative, open and complex. The question can be abstract or concrete, or it can be focused on solving a problem. The big question is the string that binds the project together.