Project-Based Learning: A Parent Primer
Learn the benefits of project-based learning and how you can help make it successful at your children’s school.
Parent involvement in education is one of the pillars of student success in school. Numerous studies show a strong link between reading to young children at home and holding high expectations for them and their academic achievement. These are some of the tenets of Baby College, a program for new and expectant parents living within the boundaries of Geoffrey Canada's Harlem Children's Zone.
Parents are also critical to the success of technology-infused project-based learning at schools such as King and Casco Bay. The schools seek out qualified parents as experts for projects and expeditions, they rely on parents to make sure the laptops are well cared for, and they expect parents to attend all the culminating events where students present their final products.
Families also benefit from the Maine Learning Technology Initiative. One of former governor Angus King's reasons for supporting the initiative was to level the playing field by providing computers and Internet access to students from low-income families.
As you can see from the resources below, parent involvement is written into the laptop and project-based learning programs in Maine.
Resources from Edutopia
Edutopia Core Concept: Project-Based Learning
An Introduction to Project-Based Learning (3-minute video)
Real World Issues Motivate Students
Project-Based Learning: More Model Schools with Solutions
More Free Resources, Downloads, and Links
- Casco Bay High School
- Casco Bay Family Handbook
- Principles of Expeditionary Learning
- Center for Education Policy, Applied Research and Evaluation, University of Southern Maine
- List of Research Reports and PowerPoint Presentations
- Helen King Middle School
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Video: What Is Expeditionary Learning?
- Laptop Take Home: What You Need to Know (King Middle School 2009-10)
- Laptop Sign-Out Expectations and Parent/Guardian Take-Home Permission Form
- Maine International Center for Digital Learning
- Getting Started in a 1-to-1 School (Part II relates to parent involvement and support.)
- The Impact of Parental Involvement on Children's Education
Meet other parents in the Edutopia Parents community group on Facebook.
