Learning ‘FOR REAL’: How Project-Based Learning Drives Education at HLS
In the fall of 2017, I was between jobs when I mentioned to my son’s nursery school teacher that I was looking for a teaching position, just in case she knew of any openings. She said, “You should meet my friend Cate, she started a school.” I remember thinking to myself, “Who does that?!”
I scheduled a tour with Cate Han, who founded the school with her husband Stacey. As we were walking, she explained why they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) as the model for HLS, and it felt like such an ah-ha moment for me. It was as if this teaching method had finally aligned with how I believe education should be—preparing students not just for tests and worksheets, but for life. With PBL, kids aren’t just sitting passively, absorbing information and memorizing things for a test. Instead, they are active participants, problem-solvers working on real-world challenges.
And here's what I love most: PBL mirrors life in its unpredictability. We all know that no matter how carefully we plan, life has a way of throwing curveballs. Deadlines change, challenges pop up, and we’re left to pivot. Project-based learning teaches students how to embrace that chaos, how to think critically when things don’t go as expected, and how to keep moving forward with purpose and resilience.
Working on projects that have real-world implications helps students develop empathy, too. I’ve seen kids light up when they realize they’re not just doing work for a grade, but to solve actual problems in their communities. That connection to the world beyond the classroom is powerful. It motivates them in ways traditional learning doesn’t always do. As my son would say, “It's FOR REAL Mom!”
I often get the question, “How do you teach all the academic subjects within a project?” There seems to be a misconception that projects are fluffy, or extra, or that academic rigor is a separate thing. No! The academics are embedded in each step of the project. PBL is the vehicle we use to deliver instruction. And for the kids, there is so much more context. They don’t ask why we have to learn this, it’s obvious why they have to learn it, because it will help them answer the question or figure out the problem they are working on.
I will pause here and say there is one exception: Math. Math cannot reliably be woven into projects, so we do have a separate math class. In Math, they learn all the fundamentals so that they can apply them to projects when it makes sense. We can usually get data or measurement into a project, not so much practice with dividing fractions.
We aim for the bulk of our instruction to be woven into the projects. When our teachers plan, they start with a document we call the Elements of Learning. It contains all the New York State standards in each subject area. They examine which concepts and skills might work nicely together. Rather than explain, let me paint a picture. A K-1 project started with the driving question, “How can we, as ecologists, take care of our environment and inspire others to help us?” This was inspired by the students' fascination with extreme weather, after a recent storm. The teachers designed the project around several science standards:
Ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change to define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each performs.
Use and share observations of local weather conditions to describe patterns over time.
They also looked at ELA, Math, and Social Studies standards and chose ones that would lend themselves to this project. For the sake of brevity, I won’t list them here.
Every project starts with unpacking the driving question, which inevitably leads to the research phase. There are research standards at every grade level. The students had to explore, “What is an ecologist? What does ‘environment’ mean?” Then they met with a real live ecologist. That conversation led to questions like, “What is the difference between weather and climate?”and “How is our climate changing?”
As the project unfolded, the students' interests inspired even more questions such as, “Where does our water go?” which led them to find out that it all ends up in the Hudson River. That made them curious about how the water reaches the river, which led them to the concept of erosion and watersheds… I could keep going. See what I mean? The concepts, the skills, the vocabulary all become what I call the “connective tissue” of the project. Ultimately, the students noticed a big erosion problem right here on campus. They went on a mission to figure out what to do, and discovered the concept of a rain garden. They decided to create a rain garden to fix the hill just off of our patio. However, we don’t own this property, so they then had to create and practice a pitch to sell the idea to the Facilities Manager to get permission. Once they got permission, they had to fundraise, problem solve, collaborate, and work together to install the garden.
In the end, the students were introduced to not only the skills required by NYS, but so, so much more. Curiosity, collaboration, problem solving, leadership and agency are just a few of the things that students learn in a good PBL project.
If you know me at all, you know I can talk about PBL for days! But let me wrap up by saying that its core, PBL at HLS, represents more than just an instructional model—it embodies a philosophy of education that prioritizes curiosity, real-world problem-solving, and resilience. By engaging our students in projects with meaningful implications, PBL transforms learning from a series of isolated tasks into a cohesive journey where academic knowledge is naturally intertwined with life skills. At the end of the day, isn’t this what we all want for our children and students? To see them thrive, not just academically, but as thoughtful, adaptable people who are ready to tackle whatever life throws at them? Project-based learning is one of the best ways to set them on that path.