Project Based Learning

Teachers make learning come ALIVE for students.....💡

Last week 11 Tahuna teachers attended a three day professional development course at Balmacewen Intermediate. They joined several other groups of educators from schools throughout New Zealand focusing on Project Based Learning. PBL is a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real world and personally meaningful projects. Students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem or challenge.

Next term students will be working on a project over 7 weeks that engages them in solving a real world problem. They will demonstrate their knowledge and skills by creating a public product or presentation for a real audience or group of clients. As a result of this learning and design process students develop deep content knowledge as well as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication skills. 

The staff who were lucky enough to attend this course came away buzzing with new ideas and wonderings to provide the opportunity for students next term to get our PBL topic underway. PBL will drive the school curriculum and become part of our school culture in providing innovative learning opportunities for individuals who will take away long, lasting, life skills.

We believe PBL unleashes a contagious, creative energy and we cannot wait to share this wonderful learning process with our students and wider community.

Kristy McBride