How Project-Based Learning Is Helping Students Build 21st Century Skills | Classroom - EdTech Magazine: Focus on Higher Education

A new pedagogy that focuses on a mixture of education technology, soft-skill building and real-world examples is sweeping through K–12 classrooms, reports Doug Bonderud, award-winning writer capable of bridging the gap between complex and conversational across technology, innovation and the human condition.

Photo: EdTech Magazine: Focus on Higher Education

Organizations face a growing skills gap — as noted by the World Economic Forum, more than half of employees will require “significant reskilling” in the next three years to meet 21st century expectations. 

While digital skills such as cloud computing competency and basic programming knowledge are critical in tech-driven environments, the bigger picture focuses on analytical skills — or as The Balance SMB puts it, the ability to “confront a problem, think it through, and decisively apply solutions.”

To help bridge the gap between current skill sets and the next generation of employees, K–12 schools are adopting a new approach that is ideal for technology integration: project-based learning (PBL)...

To drive widespread adoption and impact, the future of PBL depends on four key factors:

1. Student Buy-In: From developing virtual museum apps to creating prosthetic hands, projects must engage students and link to real-world applications. While knowledge in isolation is useful on mandated assessments, it translates poorly into practical use cases. Achieving student buy-in drives critical retention.
2. Teacher Commitment: Larmer believes that “as more teachers experience PBL, they will teach it.” But shifting away from traditional methodologies isn’t always easy — as noted above, projects are designed to cover multiple skills across interconnected disciplines, requiring a reimagination of the effective classroom environment.
3. Administrative Support: Mandated results drive the lesson plans of many teachers. Achieving success with PBL requires administrative support, especially when it comes to technology infrastructure. As noted by Larmer, because not all students have access to necessary technology at home, schools must be the primary provider of this project-based connection. This requires the adoption of secure, broadband connections along with new firewall and IAM protocols to ensure data defense without limiting information access.
4. IT Integration: School IT staff are also part of the equation. Selecting the right tools is critical — from collaboration apps that allow students to connect asynchronously to smart boards and mobile technologies that align with student experience outside the classroom. IT teams are also responsible for ensuring the security of students’ data as they move beyond the virtual walls of the classroom into the world at large.

Classrooms are inherently insular, designed to facilitate learning at microscale to help students succeed in a macro world.
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Source: EdTech Magazine: Focus on Higher Education