Why are independent projects an essential part of learning?
Have you ever wondered how to promote a more student-centered environment and motivate your students to take responsibility for their own learning? How about using projects in your classroom?
Independent projects are essential to learning because students benefit from choosing, designing, and implementing their own projects while receiving guidance and feedback from their teacher. For a variety of reasons, independent projects are an important part of the learning process, the most important of which is that teachers can focus on specific teaching methods, skills, and values that better prepare students for the real world. Using project-based learning, students have more control over how they will approach the project and are challenged to apply knowledge and skills at various cognitive levels.
Through independent projects, students decide how to work through their projects and how to design their own solutions, resulting in them taking on leadership roles. Instructional methods may include projects with real-world applications, multidisciplinary design, technology integration, and opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of creative ways.
Independent projects also allow students to apply content knowledge in a variety of ways on their own, with a partner or in a team. Aligned with 21st century best practices in teaching and learning, students learn through critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication, research, and technology applications.
Students can transfer knowledge and skills learned in class to real life situations through independent projects. Depending on the student's age and/or grade level, projects can be simple or complex. For example, students may research a geographical area and represent facts to the class in a creative way, such as a poster, advertisement, or PowerPoint. A more complex example could be identifying an environmental issue that needs to be addressed in their community, identifying data that supports their determination and developing a solution to make a difference.
To help students achieve their project goals, teachers can use rubrics, which are a scoring tool that establishes the criteria for their work. In addition to assessing student work, rubrics help teachers communicate expectations to students and track their progress throughout a project. Rubrics help students set work goals as well. The rubric's criteria are used to evaluate student or team performance, providing more thorough information than a simple grade. Students can use the rubric to set goals, monitor their progress, and be self-motivated.
In addition to learning more about their students, these types of projects also give teachers an opportunity to collect information about their students such as.
● Strengths, talents, and interests
● Dreams and aspirations
● Motivating factors
● Likes and dislikes
● Life experiences
● Learner preferences and learning styles
● Challenges and possible barriers to learning
So, in a nutshell, independent projects are an important part of the learning experience because not only can teachers utilize teaching methods and best practices that better prepare students for the real world, but students can also take ownership of their learning, challenge themselves to be creative and make an impact in their communities.
Ready to give it a try? Then, check some of our projects and let us know whether they worked well with your classroom!
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