Project-Based Learning in a Modern Classroom

This is a guest blog post written by Kristen Moore, Distinguished Modern Classroom Educator, math teacher, and STEM instructional coach at FlexTech High School.

The 2019-20 school year taught us that the only thing that was certain was the inefficiency of the traditional educational model to adapt to the rapidly changing needs of its students. Building educational programs that keep students at the center and foster student agency are critical to ensuring that our students are equipped to handle an unpredictable future. Both the Modern Classroom instructional model and project-based learning focus on developing student agency individually, and when combined they provide students a truly unique opportunity to adapt and flourish in uncertain conditions.

Having worked at an innovating charter school for the past decade, I was comfortable with implementing project-based learning, along with the elements of the Modern Classrooms model--blended instruction, self-pacing, and mastery-based grading. However, I lacked a streamlined way to fuse the four together. When the pandemic hit, I knew I needed to rethink how these elements would work together in a virtual or hybrid learning environment. The search for best practices in video-instruction led me to the Modern Classrooms Project. I found that the Modern Classrooms Project packaged all of the elements (blended instruction, self-pacing, mastery-based grading) in an easy to understand, easy to implement way that fused perfectly with project-based learning. Project-based learning is a messy process, but the Modern Classroom approach provides the structure and system to support my students. 

So what is project-based learning? 

Project-based learning is an inquiry-based teaching method in which students work to investigate, solve or respond to an essential question or challenge that is driving the learning. This is not a one-and-done project completed at the end of the unit, but rather the project is the driving force for all of the lessons, activities, and investigations the students complete throughout the project process.

Let’s take a closer look at how the Modern Classroom instructional model can be incorporated into a project-based learning approach. 

Blended instruction + self-pacing in a project-based learning classroom

Project Milestones, the bite-size stepping stones within a project-based learning experience, are the perfect opportunity to incorporate blended instruction and self-pacing. Within the milestone, students are learning and mastering new content to address the driving question(s) that are guiding the work for that milestone. Teachers provide opportunities for students to engage in a variety of blended instructional lessons and activities to ground student learning. For longer projects, teachers can offer students the ability to self-pace throughout the milestone, while still having firm deadlines to complete the milestone and, ultimately, the project. This enables the student to take the time they need exploring both the content and project knowledge within a milestone, while providing structure to support students in completing their project on time. Timely completion of a project is important, as there is often a public presentation or culminating experience to cap each project-based learning exploration.

Mastery-based grading in a project-based learning classroom

Throughout a project-based learning experience, students are continually building and developing both content and project-specific knowledge. Students have multiple opportunities embedded into a project to demonstrate mastery of the learning targets. You can naturally incorporate mastery-based assessment opportunities for students both within the individual lessons and within the project process. Assessments at the lesson-level work well for students to demonstrate mastery of learning targets individually. Assessments at the milestone-level allow for students to demonstrate mastery of learning targets collectively--incorporating all knowledge gained within that milestone or building upon knowledge from previous milestones. Since students are consistently being asked to demonstrate mastery of what they’ve been learning throughout the project process, they are more confident in the presentation of their knowledge at the culminating event. 

For more details about how the Modern Classroom instructional model and project-based learning work together, check out the webinar below.

Interested in attending a future Modern Classrooms Project webinar? View our upcoming topics and register.