This is the difference between ‘projects’ and ‘project-based learning’

Getting students excited to learn is one of the most stressful, difficult, and time-consuming tasks you can imagine. However, the rewards are plentiful as a properly assembled lesson, engaged class, and obvious learning makes any teacher thankful for the hard work they put into the class.

One of the more exciting ways teachers are engaging students these days is through the use of ‘projects’ where students are assigned a task that they typically complete with the help of classmates. They create a proposal, plan, and execute the project with varying levels of success.

It’s a lot like work.

But a next-generation method of getting students excited is the idea of ‘project-based learning’ (PBL) where a teacher acts as a guide on the side and less like a sage on the stage. Poetic, no?

This learning process is quite effective as students are working on something highly relevant to their lives and are in control of how the project proceeds. If it fails, it’s on them. If it succeeds, it’s on them. Either way, it’s a powerful learning process you should be able to differentiate.

This visual from friEdTechnology walks you through the many ways that ‘projects’ and ‘project-based learning’ differ. There are some critical ways that differentiate the two.