Project-Based Learning (PBL): Learning in Action! 2

Project-Based Learning (PBL): Learning in Action! 2

This year on the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (75 years of India’s Independence) schools are organizing many activities. Students are participating in poster competitions, patriotic song competitions, collecting information about freedom struggle, organizing exhibitions, presenting roleplays and many more can be added to the list. 

      When I interacted with schools about Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav activities, many school leaders told me that they had taken a project this year and their students are reading biographies of freedom fighters, and collecting patriotic songs. They would work on this for a semester and culminate this study on the annual cultural day by presenting a drama. Our students would dress in period costumes to present role-plays and dances. 

      After hearing these narrations many questions came to mind: 

What is a project?

What is the difference between

a project and an activity and an assignment?

How to differentiate the term ‘Project’ from project-based learning?

Dictionary meanings of 

Project: Project is a piece of work involving the careful study of a subject over a period of time. 

Activity:  Activity is a task that we do for interest or pleasure. 

Assignment: An assignment is a task or piece of work that somebody is given to do as part of his studies. 

And no exact meaning was found for project-based learning.

So, let’s try to spell it.

      Time spent or required for the study of a topic can be the first basic criterion. Activity can be a one-minute task or a long-duration task. Projects and assignments can take more time to study topics. Many times, activities or assignments which are conducted over a period of time are called projects. 

Activities are done to attain a particular aim. Most of the time activity is a one-take single task. To complete an assignment and project one has to do a series of activities. Logical interconnected Series of activities is an important feature of project-based learning. 

      Generally, an assignment/Project is a piece of work given to a learner by some educational authority as a teacher or institution. Here ‘What to learn?’ is defined by somebody but not by the learner.

In project-based learning, the learner comes up with a Question or an Idea. With the help of a guiding teacher, he works to get an answer to the question or to convert the idea into a product. Project-based learning is a learner-centred process so the learner has to raise questions and ideas. Guide teachers can help the learner with the brainstorming process. For the implementation of Project-based learning educational authority can define a theme or area of work but within that framework, learners’ question or ideas is the core of PBL. 

      When a learner starts to work on his question or idea, he has to select a method and approach to get the answer. No ready-made solution is available. During this process, learners get the experience of the creation of knowledge. 

         To acquire experience in knowledge construction, localization of the topic for study is essential. By converting the problem to a local context, learners can easily find primary data sources. This helps to reduce dependency on secondary sources of information. 

To explore all aspects of the project question developing a system map about the scope of the project question is essential. This will help to find interdisciplinary connections associated with the question or topic. 

      So, if we are defining Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav as a theme for project-based learning 

• The learner should come up with a question regarding aspect of Azadi he wants to study. Apart from the political aspect they can explore economic, sociocultural, developmental etc questions about Azadi. 
• By limiting the scope of the problem to local context learners can find primary data sources such as local artefacts, and local references such as newspapers and can interview people directly associated with the event.  Ex. Title: Contribution of citizens of Pune to Quit India Movement. A learner can visit archives of local newspapers.  
• To comprehend Azadi, after data collection learner has to establish connections between facts. By questioning acquired information one can pick facts from the information. Questioning helps to set a better context to understand and interpret the information. Interpretation can serve to realize cause-effects, change-continuity and significance of Azadi.  For topics like Azadi comprehending the real meaning between what you read and what the author argues is essential. 
• To study events as Azadi, one cannot limit his study to the chronology of the event, life and work of people associated-involved with that event. They need to study all dimensions of the selected topic of study. The dimensions can be temporal, special, power, resource and social dimension of the event. 

These processes are essential to Understand of the big picture of Azadi

As the process of learning is at the core of Project-based learning.

                                                Prashant Divekar

                                          Jnana Prabodhini,Pune

Project-Based Learning (PBL): Learning in Action! 1