Project-based learning: the complexity, benefits, and challenges within 21st century education

Abstract

Within the context of the 21st century education paradigm competence and new skill require new authentic learning methods. The growing popularity of the project-based learning (hereinafter PBL) paradigm, as an active, student-centric methodology, is related to extended opportunities in terms of knowledge attainment, facilitating the acquisition of several transversal competences such as team work, search and selection of information and synthesis and analysis abilities. Therefore in this paper authors would present main features of PBL identifying aspects that give both students and teachers a kind of drive for the involvement of all parties in the learning process; also discussion on the innovativeness within PBL paradigm is presented and finally some obstacles/challenges are dealt on the basis of leaving an open space for further considerations and possible explorations on the effectiveness using this approach in learning and teaching.