Page 36 - Waterfall Issue 9 2021

Waterfall advertorial

St Peter’s College -

going bravely

into the future

W hen St Peter’s College,

a co-educational
independent school in
Sandton, Johannesburg,
decided to implement the Project-
Based Learning (PBL) programme
in 2018, the initiative posed its own
‘real-world’ problems, just as the
PBL concept demands. While these
challenges required persistence,
re-evaluation, adaptation and
adjustments, the decision to follow
the PBL path is now bearing fruit.

PBL is a Student-Centered Learning
approach, which encourages students
to take ownership of their learning.
Pupils gain knowledge and skills by
working for an extended period of
time to investigate and respond to
an engaging and complex question,
real-world problem or challenge. The
emphasis is on the learning attained
through the journey, rather than
the assessment grade at the end.

“Some years back, we noticed a
decline in the ability to read with
comprehension and, at the same time,
noted increased anxiety and stress
levels linked to the need to perform to
a numerical assessment level. We felt
that there had to be a better, kinder
and more joyous way of learning and
started exploring options,” says St Peter’s
College Headmaster, Rui Morais. “We The new teaching method was Suzie Boss and John Lamer, and used
looked for a strategy or programme introduced across Grades 8 and 9 of outside trainers to help develop their
that would address both the academic the College in January of 2018. The facilitation skills. Each teacher was
skills that we felt were lacking, and the timetable was adjusted to include tasked with developing a project
attitude to learning and assessment. The 14 - 16 day projects facilitated by that pupils could choose. While they
PBL approach, which allows pupils to a subject specialist, and providing were given a design template, there
construct knowledge through trial and feedback instead of grades. was no constraint on topic and the
error with the facilitation of a teacher result was a bank of approximately
but no direct instruction, seemed The teaching staff worked through 50 projects, covering subjects like
to offer exactly what we needed.” material developed by PBL Works, puppetry, car magazine journalism,

34 Waterfall Issue 9 2021