Key Points Summarising Session 3
This session explores student experiences of delivering a PBL project as part of their Level 3 Children’s Care, Learning and Development Traineeship. Crucially, student reflections highlight clarity both around the skills they developed and on how these can support their future careers, demonstrating essential metacognitive skills.
Authenticity and Real-World Application
Students reflected on the contrast between traditional instruction and the authentic, applied nature of PBL:
“It's not always the whiteboard and us taking notes. We're given a challenge, we come up with ideas on our own and then put them in place for the event. With Project Based Learning you're actually physically doing it.”
Prior to their placement, learners researched, organised and delivered a Winter Wonderland event for local primary children:
“Our event was a Winter Wonderland for children in a local primary school to come into the college and take part in a range of activities.”
“We used Google and Pinterest to research and ended up doing homemade reindeers with their hand and footprints.”
“I set up a team with biscuits. On the day it was busy, but it was fun seeing what the children made and how excited they were to eat them!”
Curriculum Connections and Skills Development
Students consciously linked the project with curriculum units and child development theory, noting how their own skills were improving:
“Unit seven is a play unit, so the event linked in really well with different development areas of children, like intellectual, physical, social.”
“I felt more confident after it, just motivated – it improved my communication skills and my overall attitude, and helped me decide that childcare was what I really wanted to do.”
“The activity helped my confidence. It was probably the first time that I've worked with children, especially because I hadn't got my placement before that, so this was my very first time.”
Responsibility and Independence
The project also gave students a degree of responsibility and a preview of professional practice:
“You felt like you were interacting with the children and seeing where you’d go during the placement… Actually having the responsibility to have a challenge and have it done by this set date, and making sure it all goes smoothly – having that responsibility, nothing builds confidence in the same way.”
“We were able to build more skills as well as being able to interact with children, and it helped for our work placement as well as our future qualification.”
“It was hands on. It gave us the opportunity to be quite independent with it… We weren't molly-coddled during it. It gave us an insight in lesson planning, too. You're going to do things like that all throughout your career, so it was kind of your first look into that.”
The final video in this virtual visit explores some specific aspects of SRC’s approach in more depth.