Project-based learning is education through action. Instead of only reading about a topic in a textbook or hearing about theories discussed in a classroom, project-based learning (often known as PBL) has students actively engage with a project to learn the concepts and real-world applications of information.
Project-based learning is part of a wider education philosophy known as deeper learning. It is used with older students and younger students, spanning the K-12 education system. Sometimes the projects are something small and can be handled in one lesson in class, other times the projects can be large and take long periods of time. The projects have the students take an idea from start to finish to learn real-world applications.
Many people unfamiliar with PBL may have an easier time understanding it if they think about after-school activities. When students join the debate club, they are taking part in project-based learning. They learn how to debate and through every debate they participate in, they come into obstacles and things they don’t know how to do, and in order to accomplish their project, they figure out how to accomplish these tasks and overcome them. This deeper engagement in the activity invests them in their own self-directed education, with the help of a teacher there to lead them further into the project.
One advantage of having students learn through real-world applications is it helps them see the possibilities. When you have a student work through a math project that they then consult an engineer on, they see how they could someday become an engineer. This helps them understand the importance of their own education. They naturally understand that there are reasons they should pay attention, engage, and work through the things they are learning. Even without wanting to become an engineer, they are more interested in how something works when they need to understand it to complete the project, as opposed to one written assignment. The focus becomes completing the project, and learning what you need to do to accomplish that, instead of achieving a specific grade on an assignment.
Currently, project-based learning isn’t widely used. There are schools structured around PBL, but most public schools haven’t adopted the practice. This is changing though as the benefits are further researched and teachers are discovering new ways to align PBL with their current curriculum.
Alex Mallory is the Founder and President of Competitive Edge Tutoring in New York, New York, where he helps students hone their academic skills and prepare for the college application process.
During his own academic career, Alex was no stranger to the stress that accompanies the intense workload and high standards demanded by the education system. An ambitious and hard-working student, like many others Alex knew the pressure of performing at his peak constantly or else potentially hindering his college applications.
As he progressed throughout his education, Alex attempted several times to work with tutors; however — on top of the exorbitant hourly fees — he felt that doing so only increased the amount of work on his plate and didn’t serve to provide any structure or relief from the pressure he was experiencing. As a result, when he was in the place to do so himself, Alex began offering tutoring lessons specifically for the SAT and ACT while attending Williams College for his degree.
After graduating from Williams College, Alex briefly worked for a national tutoring company as an SAT tutor, but quickly grew dissatisfied with the large and corporate approach to the activity. He knew tutoring was something he cared about, but the current system wasn’t working the way he needed. So, Alex left his job and decided to found Competitive Edge Tutoring as an answer to the need that so many students have.
The tutoring sphere is an incredibly saturated industry, but his approach and philosophy behind Competitive Edge Tutoring quickly helped Alex distinguish himself and his business. Where other companies apply a cookie-cutter approach to teaching that is often impersonal and leaves students wanting more, Alex implemented a more individualized approach to help students achieve their goals. Alongside tutoring students in subjects like mathematics, language, science, and the social sciences, Alex also created a unique and time-tested approach to the standardized reasoning tests most students must take, including the SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT.
Looking forward to the future of academia, Alex Mallory is excited about the possibilities that “distance learning” has to offer when it comes to not only tutoring but education in general. To spur this along and contribute a driving effort towards this growth, Alex has teamed up with a software startup out of San Francisco to extend the same kinds of high-quality, cutting-edge standardized test preparation services he offers his students in New York with students living in rural or otherwise remote areas around the country.
For more about Alex Mallory, check out his blog!
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