My TEDx talk on project-based learning

Here's a link to my TedX talk on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1_AlvWJiH4

Following is the transcript.

Going to Mathsland

For the past few years, I’ve been trying to learn French. I’ve used a range of apps, studied the dictionary, learned the grammar, the lot. And still, I can’t speak French. Why is it that when I went to France for a week, I felt my confidence in the language skyrocket?

Well, immersion in the language is probably why. Because I was surrounded by French, I learned French better.

What if this were possible with maths? Or Chemistry?

I’d like to welcome you to the land of maths, let’s call it “Mathsland”. You visit this magical place not to taste the excellent pi’s but to better understand mathematics. You learn just like how a native French speaker knows French—you become fluent in maths.

This might sound too good to be true, but with a teaching method called project-based learning, we can get close to sending students off to Mathsland.

In project-based learning, instead of being spoon-fed information, groups of students are given a massive, real-world task, which they work on for an extended period of time. Through working on that task, they understand how to use different resources and tools related to the subject being taught. Project based learning drives students to encounter the core ideas and principles of a subject.

About 4 years ago, I was part of a pilot where our school tried out project-based learning. My group’s task was to design a school from scratch. This might seem excessive for a team of 12-year old’s, but it was quite possibly the most fun I have had learning. Budgeting, planning, project management, teamwork, presentations. All these real-world problems we had to constantly work through in time for a deadline. We also had to work almost entirely by ourselves—we had a teacher mentoring but they only guided us and didn’t hold our hand the whole way through.

One of the things I loved about it is that I knew why I was learning things. I didn’t just have to memorize the properties of different timbers for a GCSE exam, I had to learn it so that I would know which one to use for the floors of the classrooms. I didn’t have to learn how to use Excel because my IT teacher told me to, I had to learn it so I could keep track of the imaginary school’s budget.

Also, in this project, we had little to no help from our teachers, we were completely independent. We had to direct ourselves and plan our time well to make sure we hit our deadline. Giving this independence made us want to go above and beyond, to show our true potential, and gave us experience in real-world time management.

Another advantage is the teamwork aspect of the project. I was in a group with people I didn’t really know, this gave me experience in collaborating with people outside my comfort circle, a skill which is sought after in today’s globalized environment.

I’m going to go on a bit of a philosophical tangent to explain why project-based learning is possibly better than the status quo: Right now, the standard teaching technique emphasizes repetition and reinforcement—basically, practice and tests. However, many philosophers and educational pioneers are arguing that students best learn when they build knowledge for themselves, they use their experiences with the world to create new knowledge. This idea is called constructivism and it has been proven to be a much more effective way of learning new things. Rather than just being told how the world works, you find out for yourself.

The main idea in project-based learning (and other alternative teaching strategies) is to stop focusing on what is being taught and instead to focus on what is being learned. Project-based learning has been proven to be more effective, more engaging, and more fun for the students as well as the teachers than conventional teaching methods.

But let’s think practically for a moment, will anyone use this technique? After all, if you don’t do well in your exams then finding a job to show off the skills you’ve learned through project-based learning might be difficult. It seems like not focusing on revising for the exam means your result will be worse, right?

Wrong. Some studies have shown that students who learn through project-based learning achieve significantly better results than those who learn through a conventional method. For both technical and non-technical subjects. Also, the same studies show that students are more engaged in lessons and have a better attitude towards learning.

Let’s face it—schools will probably not adopt this strategy; schooling has barely improved for 100 years and I don’t see signs of that changing. So, what can you do? Well, as a teacher, try to use project-based learning in your lessons, there are plenty premade lesson plans online you can use. As a student, try to use project-based learning for yourself, set yourself that extra challenge and you’ll see how much more you’ll achieve. And as an adult, try to use project-based learning in your own life, learn something new the right way.

Everyone deserves a chance to visit Mathsland.