Teaching the "Tech" Way: Project-Based Learning

In Sunday’s New York Times, the article “At School, Technology Starts to Turn a Corner,” highlights the use of technology as a tool for teaching and learning in the classroom. The article goes on to feature Decatur School of IDEAS in Indiana as a school that has embraced the role that technology can play in education. Yet, what is really so extraordinary about Decatur is the shift from the stand-and-deliver teacher model, to project-based learning. The project-based approach encourages active learning, promotes collaboration among students and encourages communication both online and in person.

“Unless you change how you teach and kids work, new technology is not really going to make a difference,” said Bob Perlman, the director of strategic planning for the New Technology Foundation, a nonprofit organization that has developed the model for project-based learning. Forty-two schools in nine states are implementing New Tech’s model. The shift to project-based learning helps ease some of the concerns that public schools are falling short in preparing students for the challenges of a 21st century global economy.

At the 2008 NCTAF Symposium, Pearlman along with Tom Wachnicki, principal of Decatur High and two high school students spoke about the challenges of preparing students for today’s world. The panel underscored the importance of improving schools to encompass not just mastery of core academic subjects, but also of 21st century skills and content. Today’s graduates need to be critical thinkers, problem solvers and effective communicators. The students shared their experiences with attendees and were enthusiastic about being engaged with their peers and using analytical and 21st century skills to solve problems. No longer are they stuck behind a desk simply reading page after page from a textbook.

The New Tech model is just one way educators are addressing the need to prepare students to compete in a global economy. How else can we move our education system out of a factory-era model and into the 21st century?

Watch Bob Pearlman, and hear his thoughts on building a 21st century education system!