Pearl City Elementary School students displayed their hard work Wednesday night during the schools Project Based Learning Curriculum Fair held in the school cafeteria and campus grounds. Pearl City Elementary is part of the Pearl City/Waipahu Complex that has initiated Project Based Learning in the state.
“We are showcasing our Project Based Learning projects that the students completed from kindergarten through grade six,” said Mrs. Robyn Andrade, PCEL Curriculum/Title I Coordinator. “Every grade level completed two project based units (one per semester) that includes Science, ELA and Math.”
Wednesday night was a great opportunity for the students to share their finished projects with parents and family. Their parents played an integral role throughout the project learning process by helping out at home with research and problem solving.
“The students are excited to share their projects,” Andrade said. “They wanted to be here to show what they learned. It’s a lot of grit. They had to continue working and working until they perfected it. Their parents are very proud because the students were also sharing at home what they are doing, and the parents had to help with research and kind of problem solve with them.”
With the first year of the Project Based Learning curriculum at Pearl City Elementary under their belts, the school is looking forward to growing the program and can already measure and see the successful results as the students have learned to engage better together in problem solving without being teacher initiated.
“It has taken more time than planned, but we see student engagement, we see student learning and students are able to engage better because they like what they’re doing verses paper, pencil, or always being on the computer,” Andrade said. “They have to work together and that’s one of the soft skills that they need to learn; communication, collaboration. They are working together with problem solving that’s not teacher initiated. The students become the learners. “
A strong bond of support towards the success of the Project Based Learning Program was much appreciated and on full display at yesterday’s Project Based Learning Fair as the students and their projects truly shined with creativity, ingenuity, and intelligence.
“We want to thank our Pearl City/Waipahu Complex for writing the grants, and the support from our Principals, and especially our teachers, because they’re the ones that are working with the students and going through the process itself,” Andrade commented with a sense of sincere gratitude. “It’s a big paradigm shift verses what we learned, and what we were taught. “
Thank you to Principal Dr. Susan Hirokane and her students, faculty, and staff for inviting me to attend such a wonderful and inspiring event that showcased the amazing talents and bright futures of the Pearl City Elementary School students.
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]
Photo by Barry Villamil | [email protected]