The other morning in class I had the wonderful opportunity to hear from Elise Sheffield, the director of Boxerwood education. In this brief visit she discussed the new frontier of learning among Virginia’s public school systems…project based learning (PBL). In her presentation she explained that the new learning objectives have spawned from a statewide model of a high school graduate. After 12 years of public education it is the state’s expectation that students will be competent in: creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and citizenship. Through the platform of PBL, students will be able to demonstrate these five skills in an environment that requires interaction with other students. The social aspect of this learning campaign is designed to build confidence and understanding when working with other people, both inside and outside of the classroom. While many of my high school courses did not include this approach to learning, I fully understand the benefits of PBL. So much of the work I did in middle school and high school surrounded the idea of independent study and work. I still believe there is a lot that can be learned from the idea of self-reliance; however this can still be achieved in a group environment. As a young student I always worked well with others, but the idea of group projects never excited me. Assignments that included PBL were usually difficult for a number of reasons to include poor teammates, lack of direction, conflicting group ideas, and limited communication. Due to these reasons group projects always seemed uncomfortable and awkward, especially with unfamiliar students. It is my hope that through the program of PBL, teachers and students alike will be able to break down the barriers of working with others. To collaborate and communicate fluently with others is not normally a skill that comes naturally to most people. In my opinion, one of the best aspects of PBL is that it puts students outside of their comfort zone in a controlled learning environment. In my future visits to the local middle school I hope to encourage students to push themselves within the elements of PBL. If young students can understand and be excited about the core principles of PBL, I have no doubt that they will excel in any future path. I can’t wait to see how the elements of PBL are used in the classroom!