As well known, Project Based Learning (PBL) is a learning approach that involves students designing and developing concrete solutions to a real problem. Usually, working in small teams, they implement creative and relations skills transferring knowledge into practice.
In this article, we will describe an experience of PBL, implemented by i-strategies, in an Italian high school (Liceo Scientifico “A. Orsini” of Ascoli Piceno) in 2018.
The PBL experience was divided into four steps:
1) Two companies based in the same province as the high school have been invited to launch a call for a corporate project that students would have developed;
2) A group of 22 final-year high school students – divided into five groups and under the tutoring of Gianluca Vagnarelli – implemented the five corporate projects using digital tools like Canva;
3) The two companies have been invited to the school. Students presented to them the projects they implemented in the context of 5 minutes elevator pitches;
4) Students received from companies a corporate certificate of achievement for their activities.
Implementing the PBL activities, students have strengthened the following competencies: a) To read and understand a corporate call for projects; b) to brainstorm ideas for a project; c) to develop teamwork capabilities to write and implement the corporate project; d) to develop problem-solving capabilities; e) to create a digital presentation of the corporate project using Canva digital tool; f) to effectively communicate the corporate projects in front of the companies using the Elevator Pitch method (5 minutes oral presentation, one minute for each student).
The high school involved in the PBL project could: i) complement its learning offer with work-based solutions; ii) strengthen the link between the school and local stakeholders like companies. The companies involved in the PBL project could: i) establish collaboration with local schools; ii) receive innovative ideas from students.
In terms of awards received, the PBL project implemented by i-strategies at Liceo Scientifico “A. Orsini” of Ascoli Piceno: 1) got third place in the “Storie di Alternanza”, a competition organized by the local Chamber of Commerce to award the most interesting work-based school experiences; 2) has been recognized as a best practice of Alteranza Scuola-Lavoro (work-based learning) by the Italian financial newspaper “Il Sole 24 Ore”