Willowwind School
What is Project-Based Learning?
Project Based Learning (PBL) is a teaching method that involves students working to solve real-world problems over an extended period of time. Students learn by actively engaging in projects that ignite their personal passions and are set around challenges and complex questions they may encounter in the real world. PBL requires critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and various forms of communication and presentation. Students are challenged to take their thinking beyond basic recall of information. Through PBL, students apply higher-order thinking skills and work as a team to create high-quality work and respond to some of the world’s most thought-provoking questions and curiosities.
In our classrooms, projects are tied to every aspect of learning. Students are engaged in creative problem-solving, taught the importance of collaboration, engaged in finding the right tools for the job, and are taught how to build self-regulated learning and project management skills.
Willowwind prides itself on being a Project Lead the Way (PLTW) school. The hands-on, engineering focused units provide a springboard for our teachers as they craft their unique PBL endeavors. This curriculum is used in a meaningful way to engage our students in scientific thinking and reasoning and to motivate and support our teachers as they strive to weave STEAM education into everyday classroom life and learning.
Research supports PBL as an avenue for helping students be successful in today’s rapidly changing and complex world by developing a holistic set of knowledge and skills as well as positively impacting academic achievement.