On May 3rd, at Erudito Licėjus, the fifth-grade International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP) project presentations on “How do we organize ourselves?” took place. Initially seeming complex, they became yet another accomplished task.

Some teachers referred to the fifth transdisciplinary IB PYP theme as “How do we organize ourselves?” while others termed it “How do we engage in our community?”.

Project-based learning helps assess and enhance competencies

“It’s much easier and more enjoyable for students to present their learning through projects,” notes elementary school teacher Giedrė Vilkaitė-Gürsoy. “Learning through projects is crucial for modern students and our society as a whole. We begin to assess students not only based on their academic achievements but also on their competencies. The IB PYP program has student attributes which we reinforce through project-based activities every six weeks – students learn to communicate, collaborate, inquire, reflect, think critically, organize information, and be socially and emotionally responsible.”

According to elementary school teacher Jūratė Babickienė, while creating projects, students gathered information from various sources about the relevance, attractiveness, usefulness of professions, and touched upon the topic of financial resources. “I’m pleased that most children, in strengthening their public speaking skills, present projects in their own words, with fluent sentences,” said teacher J. Babickienė, delighted with the improved competencies. It’s also heartening that, in preparing for project presentations, all teams rehearsed and managed to fit within the allocated time frame. “As always, it’s gratifying to see families gathered in large numbers and feel comprehensive support,” shares elementary school teacher J. Babickienė.

Parents are pleased with increased independence and communication skills

Both teachers and parents are pleased with the increased independence of students. They learn to solve problems themselves, find necessary tools and apply them, becoming more independent. “I’m very pleased and proud that students were able to quickly understand and decide what they learned, what was interesting, and what they would like to share with others without much planning. They knew what they needed, what they wanted to do and say. The development of self-reliance is fostered – they needed very little teacher intervention and minimal assistance,” says teacher Giedrė.

The noticed increase in independence is also affirmed by parents. “Parents are happy because we mostly see how they grow through projects,” assures Barbara’s mother, Goda. “Presenting a project in front of the class, especially for first graders, is a big challenge. We see a big difference between the first and this, already fifth, project. Projects become more interesting, more work is put into them, children grow, improve, become much more independent.”

Father Šarūnas is pleased with the increased confidence of his daughter Barbara: “Initially, project presentations required a lot of effort, but now I see that my daughter speaks more confidently and clearly. I think self-confidence building is really important.”

Šarūnas is supported by Saulius, father of first-grader Liepa: “I notice that my daughter communicates more, isn’t afraid of presentations, doesn’t feel stage fright. It’s said that one of the biggest fears people have is public speaking. We’re glad that it’s being nurtured in school from the first grade through project activities, encouraging children to be active, brave, so I believe that this generation will be different, and the fear of public speaking will turn into a strength.”

First-grader Barbora says that working on a project with three others wasn’t difficult because they divided responsibilities and tasks. Liepa assures that projects are beneficial because you need to summarize everything you’ve learned and discovered over six weeks, and creating projects is enjoyable because it’s a collaborative activity with friends, where you can share ideas and implement them.