The Power of Project-Based Learning: Helping Students Develop Important Life Skills

Project-based learning is a teaching approach that motivates and inspires students to learn and helps them to become self-directed learners over time. Students learn not only the content surrounding their projects, but also important life skills such as problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, communication, time management, and responsibility. Author Scott Wurdinger has implemented this approach over the past ten years in his own classrooms, has conducted numerous research studies on this topic, and has seen the effectiveness of project-based learning firsthand. This book provides information on the history, research, and application of the project-based learning approach and should be read by educators who want to change their classrooms into dynamic exciting learning environments. Educators will learn everything they need to know about how to implement this approach in their classrooms, as well as how to help students create meaningful, relevant projects that can help impact and solve school, community, and even global problems. Read this book and bring project-based learning to your classroom!

Table of Contents:
Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One: Changing Education University Bureaucracy Public School Bureaucracy Competency Based Education Deeper Learning Chapter Two: Project-Based Learning and Skill Development Historical Roots of Project-Based Learning Why Use Project-Based learning Experiential Learning and Project-Based Learning Collateral Learning Things to Consider When Using Project-Based Learning Potential Problems with Project-Based Learning Chapter Three: Skills That Matter What Are Life Skills? How Do Students Learn Life Skills? Connecting Life Skills to Project-Based Learning Chapter Four: Using Your Place for Student Projects Local Projects Projects Outside the Local Community Chapter Five: Tracking and Assessing the Project Process Tracking the Project Process Project Proposal Form Project Progress Form Project Completion Form Student Assessments Personal Reflection Form Student Presentations Chapter Six: Schools Using Project-Based Learning Colleges Using Project-Based Learning High Schools Using Project-Based Learning Conclusion Leadership Classroom Culture Creating Projects Skills Proof Projects and Place Tracking and Assessing Increasing Numbers References

About the Author :
Scott Wurdinger is a professor of experiential education and leadership studies at Minnesota State University in Mankato, and currently serves as the coordinator of the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program. His research interests focus on the use of various approaches to experiential learning and how they develop life skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity.

Review :
With The Power of Project-Based Learning, Scott Wurdinger shows us of the benefits of immersive learning experiences that put students in authentic roles as problem solvers and engaged citizens. Multiple examples, from high school through higher education, show how PBL accomplishes serious academic aims while imparting significant life lessons. Wurdinger makes a strong research case for PBL, but the most compelling arguments in favor of this instructional approach come from students themselves who emerge from projects more creative, better connected to their communities, and well prepared for whatever challenges they choose to tackle next. As a state legislator in Minnesota, who sits on Education Committees, I am interested in crafting policy that helps educators implement strategies that will have the best outcomes for students. Reading Scott Wurdinger's new book The Power of Project Based Learning, I am encouraged by the direction he takes in explaining and advocating for this important method. It represents the kind of strategy that challenges and engages students in pursuing their own path in the learning process. Project based learning, when done right, as Professor Wurdinger points out, individualizes learning and emphasizes life skill development by the process that comes to life through this method. I highly recommend the book and the method. A well-educated person is one who not only has retained important knowledge but who also knows how to apply that knowledge in ever-changing contexts. Project based learning recognizes that reality, and Scott Wurdinger’s new book provides practitioners with guidance on how these approaches can be designed well at all levels of a student’s educational journey.