October 07th, 2025

School programs are often filled with projects and initiatives designed to make learning more innovative and engaging for students. Too often, however, these efforts turn into extra burdens for teachers and impersonal activities that students don’t truly enjoy. The real challenge is finding ways to design projects that are both fun and motivating for students, while remaining practical and efficient for teachers.

With this question in mind, the new edition of the course “Introducing Project Based Learning in the Classroom​” took place in Tenerife from 06/07/2025 to 12/07/2025. The participants came from all across Europe, with Irene,Giuseppa Maria Grazia ,Giuseppa ,Laura from Circolo Didattico di Zafferana Etnea in Italy,Paola,Elisabetta ,Simonetta,Maria, Stefania from IIS di poppa rozzi, Daniele and Francesca, Michela from IC Ai Campi Elisi - Trieste in Italy

In the first days of the course, participants explored the core concepts of Project-Based Learning, with a particular focus on its five key elements. Using case study videos, they identified how these elements appear in real projects. Through this process, they quickly realized that PBL is not just about completing a regular project, but rather a structured teaching approach with its own principles and methods.

From there, we began breaking down the preparation of a PBL project into different phases:
1. Preparing the class for Project-Based Learning. Through self-reflection and discussion, teachers recognized the importance of equipping students with the right mindset and skills to engage in PBL—fostering curiosity, critical thinking, inquiry, and above all, collaboration.
2.Defining Learning Outcomes and Using Backward Design. A key aspect of PBL is that it must be firmly rooted in the curriculum, rather than treated as an “extra task” to be completed at the end of a unit.
3.Creating the Driving Question and Project Details. A hallmark of PBL is the use of a Driving Question—an open-ended challenge that sparks curiosity and guides the learning process. As students work toward answering this question, they engage in research and inquiry that naturally lead them to explore and master the essential concepts of the disciplines involved.
4.Establishing Effective Assessment Methods. One of the main concerns raised by participants was how to fairly evaluate each student’s progress within group work. During this phase, they explored the difference between formative and summative assessment, recognizing that formative assessment is often more valuable for tracking student growth and performance throughout the project.
5.Integrating ICT Tools into Project-Based Learning. In today’s classrooms, PBL is difficult to imagine without the support of digital technologies. Participants had the opportunity to experiment first-hand with a variety of ICT tools that can enhance collaboration, streamline project management, and support the successful implementation of PBL.
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​What made learning truly effective for our participants was the opportunity to design their own project throughout the week. Each day, after exploring a new aspect of PBL implementation, they worked in groups to create a project tailored to their students’ age. This hands-on exercise not only helped clarify doubts that might arise when working independently, but also provided a valuable space to brainstorm ideas and exchange perspectives with colleagues from other countries. The final outcome fostered a strong sense of achievement—and even a personal commitment to try out their projects once back in their classrooms.

​Discover more about this course here.