Over the years I have worked with a number of teachers and schools to bring unique projects and new tools into the classroom. The one thing that always seems to come up is the fact that kids get pretty bored just sitting at desks and listening to lectures. This is true for kindergarten just as it is true for seniors in college and beyond. Humans learn best when humans are in motion and using more than just their ears to take information in. 

Our brains are set up so that when we use more than one part of the brain during any experience the memory and understanding of the moment tends to stick. This is why engagement and learning experiences are so much more impactful than straight lecture and memorization. Kids, like all people, are wired to use all their senses to learn. Add in a little emotion or meaning and the whole thing becomes rather unforgettable…do that for an entire school year and you're the teacher they will always remember for showing them why learning matters!

I have been doing hands-on workshops for children from 8 - 83 and I have found that there are some things that really keep people engaged. And then there are those more challenging things that keep them curious and downright hungry to learn more! This is what we want! When we use a project as a container for all the learning, students are empowered to formulate their own questions and seek their own answers. 

Building a good project itself takes a lot of thinking through things and preparation. Having a recipe book and sous chef for good projects can make all the difference especially if there are a lot of hungry learners in the mix. This is where I can help! As a Certified High Performance Coach I’m usually helping build out “projects” for business ideas or life goals or some manner of creative output. The funny thing is, this collaborative process works just as well in a learning environment AND it teaches students real world problem solving skills that they will always have. On top of that, applying project based learning in a classroom setting means students have a built in pool of teammates to collaborate with, and as any good educator (or leader) knows, “TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK” because ideas flow and combine faster in groups!

So if you are one of those teachers or educators, or administrators who really want to see the ones you teach walk out those doors more equipped, let’s collaborate on building a project based program that will give your students the life long learning experience they deserve.