This is project-based learning, where educational instruction
moves away from a traditional academic setting to an active
classroom that encourages collaboration and communication among
students. As the Montgomery County Public Schools system plans
to replace the Wheaton High School building in Silver Spring,
officials aren’t just aiming for physical classroom overhauls.
They’re also planning to redesign the curriculum, expanding a
project-based learning environment that will resemble adult work
settings and real-life situations. It is part of a larger quest
to “redefine the school” and prepare students for “21st century
education,” Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr said.
“Critical competencies for workers now include skills and
knowledge acquired beyond a high school education as well as the
ability to apply learning, think critically about information,
solve novel problems, collaborate, create new products and
processes, and adapt to change,” Starr said. While project-based
learning has been successful