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Writer's pictureAndy Bauer, PhD

Compelling Learning Through Construction – Progressive Project-Based Learning

Embedded forms of learning have existed since the beginning of civilization and even earlier during prehistoric times. One example of this is well demonstrated by the habits and skills children pick up from their parents in the context of daily life. The learning process itself is embedded in daily interactions in a natural, unaffected manner. For this reason, “learning,” so to speak, need not be an intentional effort. In many cases, the focus naturally rests on absorbing the inspirations and motivations behind the skill/habit or knowledge base. In many cases, it is a playful, often cheerful, intriguing, and even relaxing process.


Interestingly, the Chinese term 习得的 (xí dé de)

refers to implicit learning yet comes across

as a very casual expression


In modern-day society, with the birth of various pedagogical methods, the classroom has gradually become a more diversified space for learning. At the same time, there are unsettled concerns about how the classroom is fundamentally colored and preconditioned in less ideal ways that can be attributed to educational, cultural memory (that is, an unconscious passing down of learning modes aimed at a specific purpose). Concretely speaking, the classroom is being argued to be modeled after training methods geared for use on the industrial line or, rather, factory line.

That brings us to today’s core point of discussion. Project-Based Learning is a method of instruction through which students can gain knowledge, experience, and skills by working for an extended period to investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex question, problem, or challenge. Along with this comes a rarely discussed learner’s asset – esthesia (capacity for sensation or feeling; sensitivity). Although English speakers seldom visit this term, the Chinese equivalent, 感知 (gǎnzhī), is used very often even outside of technical discussions and can roughly be translated as “feeling knowledge.” For this reason, it would not be surprising if it turned out that the Chinese have an advantageous astuteness when it comes to learning in action/context.

Project-based learning is powerful because it harnesses a primordial element inherent to all informal learning processes. But the practical side of things, with parenting or students selecting coursework that will help them with their future career path, the takeaway question naturally becomes: What would Progressive Project Based Learning look like? For this, we must bring into the discussion the founder of the ed-tech start-up Harmony Plus, Inc. Through his efforts, the very notion of collaboration is being upgraded alongside its education.

Mr. Bill Zhao is the Founder of Harmony Plus. Originally from Shanxi Province and a seasoned entrepreneurial education practitioner, he provides consulting and training services regarding enterprise transformation and innovation to well-known international companies and institutions executives. Also, he is deeply involved in consulting services in the Bay Area Local School District. He designs, co-designs, and operates programs with UC Berkeley, Stanford, MIT, and other renowned organizations. He helped hundreds of students to get into their dream schools for continuous success.

Typification of PBL Modes

We become more familiar with his educational philosophy during a discussion with Bill. According to what we understood, in his opinion, progressive project-based learning (PBL) comes down to integrating PBL with breakthrough topics and groundbreaking projects. He explains that “PBL is a teaching method where students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects. PBL engages students in deep and long-lasting learning and inspires them a love of learning and personal connection to their academic experience. Engaged hearts and minds, deeper learning, exposure to adults and careers, a sense of purpose, success skills, rewarding teacher relationships, creativity, and technology.”

Comparison of Tradition and Modern Model

There are other benefits to these programs Bill explained, “passing through these research programs, you can get unique experience, show your interest in specific academic areas, try to get recommendation letters from professors – importantly not so much written based on passive observations of you but more so based on collaborations with you!”

We may never know if the industrial line developed in Europe during the industrial revolution has indeed deeply conditioned the potential of classroom modes. But on the other hand, we can be confident that organizations like Harmony Plus, Inc. will be part of the redefining of learner-coach dynamics, something that will also directly impact the speed and outcomes of the next industrial revolution.


Current Harmony Plus PBL Courses

Please scan the QR code to view the corresponding

sub-page of our official website

 


The Future Entrepreneur Boot Camp is a startup competition in which students receive instruction and mentorship from experienced tech professionals who help them develop real products, which they pitch to a panel of Silicon Valley investors. Top students will build lasting connections with influential figures in the Valley and can win internships at high-growth startups. The Future Entrepreneur Challenge (FEC) course is designed for prospective middle school students and above who want to understand how to change the world. Students will learn the knowledge and competencies needed to start a business and receive guidance from experienced professionals and entrepreneurs to help students develop real products.

 


This program helps learners to develop original methods used to orally convey all kinds of ideas. In the process of coming up with creative and interesting topics to share during a talk or presentation, learners will learn to connect the dots. Although the use of slideshow or other kinds of visual aids makes for a much more captivating talk, and the creation of such aids can help develop students' confidence, there is a lot more to giving a powerful presentation on the non-verbal side of things. Join us to up your game!

 


Research consultants perform and conduct studies on topics in their specialized fields. They gather and analyze source materials, design research programs, perform in-depth research and create reports on their findings. Harmony Plus research consultants offer custom-tailored programs for a variety of fields, as well as for interdisciplinary research topics.

 


Recently, the job search site Glassdoor released the 2022 U.S. best jobs evaluation report. The report indicates that 'Data Scientist' ranks 3rd on the best occupations in the United States list and is currently one of the hottest occupations in the job market, with a median salary of $120,000. Data science jobs are in high demand, with many vacancies. Since 2012, open data science jobs on LinkedIn have increased by 650%; according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will still be 11.5 million vacancies for data science jobs by 2026.

 


This program offered by UC Berkeley professor Greg L. aims to provide an understanding of the role of data and statistical analysis in managerial decision-making. We focus on the role of managers as both consumers and producers of information, illustrating how finding and/or developing the right data and applying appropriate statistical methods can help solve problems in business. With a highly experiential curriculum that combines lectures, case discussions, and team projects, this program will equip students with a competitive edge in their professional and academic careers by mastering one of the hottest topics of technology.

 


This is an introductory program requiring no previous knowledge of machine learning. Some computer programming experience will help but is not a prerequisite. We focus on using Python at a high level, mainly via API calls. We also focus on machine learning libraries such as the Scikit-learn library as well as PyTorch (a deep learning framework). Through this process, we have worked through all relevant steps to create a successful machine learning application. You will get more out of this course if you are familiar with Python, NumPy, Scikit-learn, as well as matplotlib libraries. All of which will be visiting during this program.








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