Te Main Course, Not Dessert:

Preparing Students for the 21st Century

With Project Based Learning

John Larmer John R. Mergendoller

As the volume level rose, Christina tried once again to convince her group that she was right about how Guatemala should try to increase tourism. “We can’t focus so much on the history and the jungle! We should show more on our website about the other reasons!

How about the beaches – remember that chart we saw about how warm the weather is in winter? Or the low prices – remember the exchange rate?” Her teammates listened, and seemed to be wavering. Maybe she was right and they had been getting lost in the details of their historical and environmental research. The point, after all, was to answer the question, “What makes a place a destination?” and create an effective web page for their client nation, not to show off how much they knew about the Mayan ruins or howler monkey habitat. But the presentation deadline was approaching, and their timetable called for finishing the draft of their proposal by Monday. As they paused for a “process check,” they decided to revise their work plan to allow time to discuss Christina’s ideas.

Around them, the social studies classroom was a flurry of activity. Some students worked on their laptops, checking for messages from the travel agency or doing more research on the nation their group had chosen. Others were figuring out the fine points of web page design as they studied professionally done examples and the rubric their teacher had given them. A few students were gathered around the teacher, who was answering questions to clarify their understanding of time zones. When the lunch bell rang, no students left the room.

The project above took place at New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn, New York, in the Acad- emy of Hospitality and Tourism, using new project-based curriculum materials from the Na- tional Academy Foundation and the Pearson Foundation. According to teacher Griselda Vile, “Students love the project. They get to share their prior knowledge and have more choice, so they take ownership.” She also notes that her ninth graders are motivated to do high-quality work because they know a panel of adults from outside the classroom is going to be their audience and will ask tough questions. And she knows from conversations that her students

Virginia Educational Leadership

Vol. 7 No. 1

Spring 2010

28