STLHE 2016 SAPES

This poster outlines professional project management strategies that instructors can use to support project-based learning (PBL).


PBL is a student-centered instructional strategy. Depending on the instructional context, a project can be initiated by an instructor, proposed by a group of students, or sponsored by an outside organization. Students collaborate on a project team (Alves et al., 2012). They co-plan their learning with the support of the instructor, leading to the creation of a final product that answers a driving question they have posed. The final product is presented to a public audience beyond a project team’s instructor and classroom peers. The formative assessment of learning is ongoing. Students monitor and regularly report on their individual and project team's progress which allows instructors to track student learning on an ongoing basis.


Designed by a certified project management professional, the poster highlights best practices related to planning projects, mitigating project risks, communicating with project stakeholders, managing/monitoring/modifying projects, and closing projects by focusing on lessons learned. Planning for ongoing assessment throughout all phases of the project lifecycle is emphasized. The PBL research shows that these elements are key to project success (Harmer and Stokes, 2014).


Attendees will: become familiar with the project management body of knowledge, including where to learn more; discuss concrete project management best practices that can scaffold student project work; identify the ways project management best practices can be integrated into their own teaching practice.


References


Alves, A. C., Mesquita, D., Moreira, F. and Fernandes, S. (2012). Teamwork in project-based learning: Engineering students’ perceptions of strengths and weaknesses. In Proceedings of the Fourth International Symposium on Project Approaches in Engineering Education., pp. 23-32.


Harmer, N. and Stokes, A. (2014). The Benefits and Challenges of Project-based Learning: A Review of the Literature. Plymouth, UK: PedRIO/Plymouth University.