The value of project-based learning is evident in the professional career, as all the knowledge drawn from it remains in training long after completing the training. We are talking about an eminently practical approach, which incorporates experimental projects taken from the real world.
This way of approaching training encourages continuous learning and captures a greater interest on the part of students, and helps them identify which career they want to pursue in their future work by facilitating first-person contact with the reality of different exciting career paths.
Project learning has another advantage: it encourages teamwork and facilitates networking, two values that can make a difference in the future employment of students.
Importance Of Project-Based Learning
While it is true that implementing project-based learning can be challenging, when done in the right conditions, it improves the outcomes and experience for students.
Its main virtue is that it puts the trainees to the test, requiring them to use their skills and knowledge and combine everything they have learned to tackle the problems that arise. This is possible because the experiences are designed and lived within companies and organizations that welcome students with specific knowledge of the discipline.
Project-based learning moves away from generalization and is a student-centered approach, which goes beyond the “one-size-fits-all” learning style. Among its strengths is that it presents formats that appeal to various learning techniques and needs.
Best Practices For Project-Based Learning
As we said at the beginning of this post, it is an approach that involves some implementation challenges. However, these are challenges that can be overcome thanks to the application of best practices, such as these:
- The educator must be aware that his role is to help the student build a solid base of knowledge, but then it is up to the student to carry out the initiatives in their actual application.
- Trainers may need to adapt the format of their courses.
- The teacher must assume the role of supervisor.
- Finding suitable projects is key to matching student goals and skill sets mirrored in the real world.
- When designing training, please find a way to integrate the theory and its application. Conceptual frameworks are always going to be needed, but they are actively focused on supporting students in figuring out how to tackle the real business challenges they are exposed to.
Organizations testing project learning need to ensure that they provide their students with the resources they will need to succeed in their projects. These resources may include guidance for managing initiatives like those that interest them.
In addition, participating companies should be responsible for providing relevant business information, following the signing of a non-disclosure agreement by students, providing data on finance, sales and marketing, distribution, customer profiles, market share and competitive profiles, among others, as well as access to experts in the field.
Also Read: How To Retain Talented Staff?