From Project to Portfolio
Project-based learning is well-known to progressive education, and thrived in Web 2.0. How can a Web 3.0 environment build on that foundation?
This is essay 5 of 5 essays for The Tech Progressive Writing Challenge. Join the conversation in the build_ Discord.
“Also by about 1990, new assessments of college students had shown that the knowledge they acquired in high school remained at a superficial level. Even the best scoring students, those at the top colleges, often had not acquired a deeper conceptual understanding of material - whether in science, literature, or math (Gardner, 1991).”
“Project-based learning allows students to learn by doing and applying ideas. Students engage in real-world activities that adult professionals engage in…it is based on the constructivist finding that students gain a deeper understanding of material … by working with and using ideas.” (Krajcik, J. S., & Blumenfeld, P. C. (2006). Project-based learning (pp. 317). na.
This was written 15 years ago, referencing research since the 90s.
So, Project-Based Learning is not a johnny-come-lately concept.
As stated in a previous essay, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has been integrating projects and portfolios into their grading since 1979. So, the need for relevant, in-depth learning experiences has been recognized for quite a long time.
Web 2.0, which made the internet more user-friendly and interactive, opened up new possibilities for project-based learning.
Digital technologies were the tools, used to:
collect and analyze data more efficiently,
design and create new products (such as with a 3D printer) and,
engage with an audience beyond the classroom (such as via a class podcast or film production).
Project-based learning thrived in a Web 2.0 environment.
With Web 3.0 blockchain technologies and tokens coming into their own, what can it add to the pot?
For one, we are back to the portfolio.
On one hand project-based learning, does translate into higher exam scores.
“The good news is that research shows that PBL can promote student learning and may be more effective than traditional instruction in social studies, science, mathematics, and literacy” (Kingston, S. (2018). Project Based Learning & Student Achievement: What Does the Research Tell Us? PBL Evidence Matters. 1(1), 1-11. http://bie.org/x9JN, pp. 1)
However, it is difficult to convey the body of work that may have been done, soft skills developed, and experienced gained in a school-leaving certificate.
A portfolio can work, but current formats are still relatively clunky. Even the best website can still get lost in the crowd of thousands of college or job applications. What Web 3.0 can contribute is a way to make portfolios more nimble and user-friendly. Imagine a portfolio, formatted in such a way that AI can scan them just as easily as they currently scan resumes and CVs.
I describe how that can work, building on Balaji Srinivasam description of the crypto-credential, in a previous essay.
There are many other downstream impacts of Web 3.0, that have yet to emerge. This is a starting point. In any case, project-based learning is a robust strategy, and is here to stay, no matter the direction education takes.