Descriptor

Definition

Project-Based Learning Experience

 Project-based learning allows students to gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. The project is framed by a meaningful problem to solve or a question to answer, at the appropriate level of challenge. Students engage in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, finding resources, and applying information. Students often make their project work public by explaining, displaying and/or presenting it to people beyond the classroom.

Service-Based Learning Experience

Service-based learning integrates meaningful service to enrich and apply academic knowledge, teach civic and personal responsibility (and other employability skills), and strengthen communities. SBL can be classified by three core indicators: 1. Integrating academic study with service experience; 2. Reflecting larger social, economic, and societal issues; and 3. Collaborative efforts between students, schools, and community partners.

Work-Based Learning Experience

Work-based learning (WBL) is a strategy to reinforce academic, technical, and social skills learned in the classroom through collaborative activities with employer partners. Work-based learning experiences allow students to apply classroom theories to practical problems, to explore career options, and pursue personal and professional goals.

WBL includes activities that occur in workplaces and involve an employer assigning a student meaningful job tasks to develop his or her skills, knowledge, and readiness for work. It supports entry or advancement in any particular career field and can serve as the culminating course or event in a student’s chosen career pathway. Through WBL, students have the opportunity to apply the concepts, skills, and dispositions learned in previous coursework in real world business or industry settings.