What is project-based learning for self-directed learners and why is it awesome?

I facilitate a women's studies seminar every year, and as a seminar finale, students design and lead their own high school project-based learning experiences around a subtopic of their choice.

One year a student chose to do her project on domestic violence. She connected with the Sojourner Project, a domestic violence shelter in the Twin Cities. An educator from there came into the school to speak with her. This student also contacted a self-defense instructor to come into the school to teach her and her classmates self-defense strategies. 

​This student assembled all of the information that she gathered into a presentation and created a brochure that included signs of domestic abuse, community resources for survivors, tips for friends and family of abuse survivors and more. She placed brochures around the community from health clinics to bus stops to school counseling offices. 

This student didn't gather statistics and info from a few websites online, copy and paste them into a Powerpoint presentation and regurgitate the information from her slideshow to her classmates.

She collaborated with the community, reached out to experts in the field, made an impact, and shared her knowledge and insight with a relevant audience. That is an example of self-directed project-based learning. She had choice in every aspect of the experience, and thus the experience was deep and meaningful. It mattered to her and her community.

What is project-based learning? ​

My experience and philosophy of teaching are largely based around project-based learning (PBL). I have been a high school project-based educator for 13 years. There are a few misconceptions around project-based learning that I hope to clarify in this post, one being that PBL is the same as a project.  

In short, project-based learning involves sustained inquiry, is innovative, relevant, and authentic. Students gather information on a topic or problem through questioning, learning activities, and community collaboration. They share their new skills and knowledge beyond classroom walls in such a  way that impacts the local and/or global community.

What is PBL specifically?

• PBL is designed to deepen an understanding of concepts that cross disciplines. The driving question can be used as the foundation of this process. 
• The nature of PBL allows students to build essential skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, creativity, time-management, personal responsibility, and more.
• Project-based learning experiences are authentic. Rather than gather information from a textbook or lecture, students engage with real people and experts from the community.
• Students create the materials, not the instructor.
• Rather than share breadth of content via a test, students demonstrate competency of skills and depth of knowledge by creating an innovative final product. 
• Authentic presentations are a critical piece of project-based learning. Students share what they've learned with a relevant audience that can benefit or utilize the information or product in some way. Distributing a brochure with tips for victims of domestic violence in the community is an example of an authentic presentation. 
• Students are evaluated on skills developed and the process of PBL as much as they are the content. Rubrics are generally used as an assessment tool, as are portfolios.
• Project-based experiences encourage learning HOW to learn vs. WHAT to learn, which sets students up for sustained, lifelong learning. 

What is Project Based Learning for Self-Directed Learners Anyway?

The level of self-direction varies among educators. ALL project-based learning experiences in my classroom are student-directed - designed and led by students. There are many opportunities in PBL to give students choice and autonomy.​ That's why I love it!
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• Students can choose their own project topics and write their own driving questions. I often give students a theme and they choose a subtopic under that theme. I have a variety of themed self-directed project-based learning activities and tools in my store.
• Students develop their own project goals, including goals for 21st-century competencies.
• Students choose how they will gather information, including community experts, to connect with. 
• Choosing how they will demonstrate learning is an important element of choice. Students have unique learning styles, backgrounds, interests, and more. Choosing a final product to create is a great way to engage students in the experience and is an opportunity for them to shine in their own unique ways. Check out this formative assessment list of final products ideas.
• Students evaluate their own progress and learning outcomes. They adjust to reflect their self-evaluations, which encourages quality of work and the desire to improve. My students often generate their own project-based learning rubrics to reflect their distinct experiences. 
• Students choose their authentic audience and mode of getting their final product to that audience. My student in the example above CHOSE to create a brochure. This choice was based on what she experienced in the community as she was gathering information and working with community partners on the issue of domestic violence.
• Students manage and build their own learning outcomes assessment portfolio. They add project-based learning rubrics, reflections, photo samples, and more to a comprehensive digital portfolio. ​

Free Project-Based Learning Assessment Portfolio

• Your role changes from giver of content to participator and facilitator of learning. Check out last week's blog post on this topic - What does the teacher do in a self-directed classroom or homeschool?

Self-Directed Project-Based Learning Activity Planning: 

But what does a self-directed PBL experience look like when in action, especially with 25 students in your class?

I use the PBL starter kit and plan facilitation using a planner that I specifically designed for coordinating self-directed PBL. Read my blog post on the facilitation steps of project-based learning activities, specifically those that are self-directed. Grab my free digital, Google Slides planner and head over to that post for a play-by-play.

Free Sample: Project-Based Learning Activity Planner

Getting Started with Self-Directed Project Based Learning: 

A great way to get started is with my self-directed project-based learning activities starter kit. It includes all of the guiding tools for designing, planning and executing project-based learning activities. It also includes a more comprehensive version of the free sample PBL learning planner. 

​If this post has your interest, continue following this blog series on how to execute self-directed project-based learning. I've covered the philosophy. Now it's time for details and tangible, actionable steps. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you next week, planner in hand!

Follow Experiential Learning Depot on Pinterest, Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram for more on self-directed education, and check out my TpT store for experiential learning activity resources. 

Did you know there is an experiential learning Facebook group? Check that out - Experiential Learning Community for K12 Teachers - and join in the discussion about experiential learning ideas such as citizen science.