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When students are engaged in learning science or math which is personal to them (real world problem solving), they become more engaged in the learning process. Project based learning situations in science and math increase opportunity for students to internalize and make connections.

When a teacher, school, or district tells parents and community members, "We're going to do Project Based Learning!" the response may vary. You're lucky if some say, "Great news! Students need to be taught differently these days!" but a more typical response might be: What's Project Based Learning?  That's not how I was taught. Why do we need PBL, if (a) our school is already doing well, or (b) what we really need is a better literacy/math program to raise test scores?  Isn't that just a trendy new thing that doesn't really work?  How is this going to affect my child (and me)?  Basically, they're asking for the what, why, and how. Here are some successful strategies we've seen to answer these questions.

Several educators suggest in the newest issue of Science that schools use video games to simulate the real-world situations in the classroom to help students develop critical-thinking skills and enhance their understanding of science and math and, perhaps, even encourage them to pursue careers in those and related fields such as technology and engineering.

'The duration of these activities may range from days to weeks, or longer. The teacher acts as a facilitator of the exercise, as students work together usually in pairs or small groups. The students may have different roles to fill and gain specific expertise in these team building events. Social interactions plays an important part. '

The Lost Lunchbox is the one of internet's first educational role-playing games (RPG) designed specifically for children in grades 3 -8. Conceived by Greg Nussbaum, creator of MrNussbaum.com, and designed by the team at igamestudio.com, The Lost Lunchbox is an unforgettable and exciting experience for students that incorporates critical thinking skills in multiple disciplines, problem solving, and a healthy dose of adventure and curiosity. The Lost Lunchbox is an outstanding, educational alternative to traditional video games that glamorize violence and promote mental stagnation.

From High Tech High, San Diego In the project "Maxed Out," students spent six weeks learning about the credit card industry. They derived formulas to model credit card debt, and also researched various tactics employed by credit card companies to recruit and deceive customers. Each group of 2 to 4 students then chose how to create public awareness of the potential dangers of credit cards. The final projects are very diverse, ranging from websites to films to rap videos. Below are links to each project. Please follow each link to see some of the fantastic work samples, and also maybe to educate yourself about credit cards as well. You may be suprised what you find out!

Project based learning using all or any of the three online resources offers a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges.