Introduction chapter one. The features of linking activities

Make it compelling – When planning project based lessons for your class, think of a compelling ‘theme’ or problem of which your pupils can relate to in their lives, then plan the learning activities and required learning objectives to tie in with that. Issues of social significance such as poverty, urban sustainability, human rights and health issues etc…work well for this and also serve to raise your pupils’ emotional intelligence as they develop empathy for those affected by the issues raised.

Think across disciplines – For lessons like food technology, scientificprinciples can easily be incorporated into the lesson plans, as students learn what’s actually happening to their cake as it rises in the oven.

Read a newspaper –Bring current events into your lessons, whenever a relevant story is applicable to the subject you teach. This will help your students discover the significance of what they’re learning, plus they will develop an appreciation for how information changes and develops within that field.

Use technology to modernise textbooks –For subjects like English, where literature that is hundreds of years old is studied in great detail, getting the students to modernise the set texts is a great way to stimulate their creativity, whilst simultaneously developing their skills in ICT. For example, you can get them in groups to convert a section of Shakespearean dialogue into modern vernacular, using video creation and animation apps like iMovie.

Real life materials – By getting your students to study from real-life examples, they automatically get a feel for how the subject applies to them in a real life context. For example, if you’re looking at budgets in mathematics, then you may want to set a project that involves the pupils trawling through catalogues in order for them to compile a budget for everything they need to redecorate a house. Or for food technology again, get them to examine all of the hidden ingredients that go into their favourite snack foods³.