Project-Based Learning

Project-based learning is a type of approach to learning that teaches students to explore real-world problems and challenges. Sadly, schools from around the nation are still approaching education the same way they always have --- traditional-based learning. Here in Philadelphia, however, things are beginning to change. My decision to attend an alternative senior year program called The Sustainability Workshop was the best decision I ever made. The school’s approach to learning, the attitude of the teachers and students, and the fact that individual students got personal attention, all contributed to a senior year that helped me grow to become the student I am today.

The project-based learning (“PBL”) method used by The Sustainability Workshop helped create a sense of unity, through critical-thinking and doing that radically changed my approach to learning. By creating unity through doing, I was exposed to aspects of learning that have been keen and vital to my success. I experienced the advantages of PBL firsthand at The Sustainability Workshop. There, I learned the true importance of teamwork by working together on projects that were long and meaningful. This approach taught me how to think critically and solve real world problems. I felt like I was a part of something while I was there. On the contrary, at my old, comprehensive high school, I was frequently bored. I felt like I didn’t learn anything and that, “It was just another day at school.” As it turns out, I found that I learn better with the project-based approach rather than tradition-based approach.
Secondly, the expectations of the teachers and the student body encouraged me to do my best and push myself as a student and as a learner. Teachers would encourage me to expect the most of myself while students helped me, and helped each other, with personal or community problems. From time to time, we would have arguments but overall, students and staff were all supportive, as we tended to have common