Revista simpozionului Eficiență și calitate în educație - 19 mai 2017 Eficiență și calitate în educație | Page 51

BENEFITS OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING
Laura Rita Pitariu, Inspectoratul Școlar al Județului Sibiu
Abstract:
Introducing projects into the curriculum is not exactly a new or revolutionary idea in education. The practice
has evolved into a more formally defined teaching strategy. Project-based learning has gained a greater
foothold in the classroom as researchers have documented what teachers have long understood, namely the
students become more engaged in learning when they have a chance to dig into complex problems that
closely resemble real life.
Key words: project-based learning, Erasmus+.
Defining the terms
Project learning, also known as project-based learning, is a dynamic approach to
teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges, simultaneously
developing cross-curriculum skills while working in small collaborative groups.
Interdisciplinary projects – the most successful ones. They refer to combining more
disciplines or areas, transpassing the traditional boundaries.
Benefits of PBL:
• Increased attendance, growth in self-reliance, and improved attitudes toward
learning Students take greater responsibility for their own learning than during more
traditional classroom activities
• Opportunities to develop complex skills, such as higher-order thinking, problem-
solving, collaborating, and communicating
• Access to a broader range of learning opportunities in the classroom, such as
cultural diversity, new technologies
Challenges of PBL:
• Teachers have to recognize situations that make for good projects
• Integrating technologies where appropriate
• Developing authentic assessments
• Projects are not economical from the point of view of time or costs
• It is difficult to supervise students all the time
We will take as an example the Erasmus+ Project, LOCAL FOOD, GLOBAL
CHANGE, 2014 – 2016, from “Onisifor Ghibu” High School, Sibiu. This project "Local
Food, Global Change" was dedicated to teenagers and aimed at changing their minds by
proving that eating local, organic or garden food can be trendy, funny, ecofriendly and
healthy. We found it relevant for our project to be close to the UNESCO decision to make
2014 the International Year of Family Farming. This theme has also made students want
to express themselves and communicate thanks to modern languages. It has also made
them leave the classrooms and learn outdoors.
The present project had three main objectives. First of all, it tried to modify
teenagers' usual opinions on local or organic food and on food coming from one's own
garden. Most teenagers tend to think this kind of food is old-fashioned, unattractive or
tasteless. They usually prefer imported or highly processed food such as cheap food, fast
food or ready-cooked meals which are produced in very urbanized and industrialized
areas. On the contrary, our project has got teenagers to think about the basic definition of
food as a product derived from nature or agriculture and originating from the countryside. It
has made them discover forgotten or traditional fruit, vegetables or dishes and entices
them to consume them on a more daily basis by inventing new eating habits or recipes. It
has been also a great opportunity for teenagers to learn about agriculture which is a key
economic sector where they can find inspiration for their career pl