Why Project Based Learning?

Strengthening Executive Functioning Skills

Project Based Learning is the perfect vehicle to hone in executive functioning skills! It offers enrichment opportunities for students who are looking for academic challenge and remediation opportunities for students who would like to develop more independence with inquiry, research, and the fine motor skills involved in art and writing. Envisioning, planning, organization, and time management are all central to the process. The following section outlines the creative process students undergo when engaging in Project Based Learning and highlights some of the many benefits of this learning methodology. 

A Teacher’s Journey

As a classroom teacher, with fourteen years of experience teaching Project Based Learning, Mary Beth can attest to the magic and beauty of supporting students as they ask questions, explore their interests, engage in the research process, and use their creativity to teach others about what they have learned. There is a tremendous amount of joy in watching students learn and grow in this authentic way and delight in giving children the space to innovate and create. One-on-one sessions are the perfect opportunity to go deep into the project creation process and individualize Project Based Learning to students’ unique interests. Many of our tutors on staff are formally trained in Project Based Learning and are experienced using it in the classroom setting, as well as in one-on-one instruction.

Curiosity and Inquiry

Through Project Based Learning enrichment sessions, students choose a topic or question of interest and explore their curiosities. Examples of project topics include the human body, Ancient Egypt, and critters under the sea. Students ask meaningful questions and use multimedia tools to investigate their questions. Elements of environmental activism and social justice are woven into project topic exploration as they are relevant. Project Based Learning provides a wonderful opportunity to develop research skills through book research, hands-on experimentation, critical examination of videos, virtual field trips, and interviews. This requires lots of organization as students develop their own style of note taking. Students sharpen their note taking skills as they document what they are learning. 

Informational Writing

Once students have gathered new information they synthesize their new knowledge through drafting informational text. Students are guided in creating text that is organized, detailed, and engaging. The children are supported as they allow their voice to shine through in their writing so that the readers soon come to share their interest and passion for the topic of choice.

Creative Presentation

Once students have gathered a body of knowledge, they choose a way to creatively present their findings, so that they can teach others what they learned. It’s amazing to watch children’s imaginations run wild as they make models, videos, board games, paintings, plays, and more! Once students have envisioned what they what to create, they make a plan for how to accomplish it, breaking the project into manageable steps. Monitoring their productivity and sharpening their time management skills is an important part of preparing to present to an audience.

Children are taught to have an eye for polish and learn to hold themselves accountable for producing high quality work that is both informative and attractive. This is a great opportunity to hone in fine motor skills with drawing, cutting, and gluing. 

Projects conclude with a celebration of learning, so that students can showcase their new knowledge as well as share the process they went through to gain the new information. This is an opportunity to practice oral presentation skills as they work to inform their audience.

We invite you to explore Engaged Mind’s project enrichment sessions to spotlight your child’s unique interests and creativity.

See Our Sea Shells Example Project

Kids document what they learn about shells and add to their web through their project.

Students record their questions about shells. These serve as jumping off points for further research.

Children sort shells as they learn to identify using book resources.

We always cite our sources when doing research!

This student chose to make an iMovie to teach her audience the answer to the question “What is a shell?”

This student used a book reference to identify shells according to their defining characteristics. She documented her findings using Book Creator.

With new knowledge gained from our shell project, this kid was able to identify shells she found at the sound.