Does project-based learning improve achievement?

Sophomore Tamika Taylor, front, gets help from fellow sophomore Jasmine Mareko at a computer station at Nanakuli High and Intermediate. Each student has a computer account and has an assigned computer station in classes.

A struggling Hawaii high school is overhauling its teaching practices to incorporate more project-based learning in an effort to boost student achievement with more hands-on activities. "Traditional teaching is the teacher up front lecturing about the subject as the expert. But with project-based learning, the students come up with the questions, they do the research, finding answers, and the teacher becomes a facilitator," said Robin Kitsu, a curriculum coordinator and mass media teacher at the high school. The Honolulu Advertiser