Our partner, Education Above All (EAA), is committed to ensuring equal access to education and leveraging the power of quality education to drive positive, sustainable, and inclusive change.

Andhra Pradesh
Schools with PBL = 105
Teachers Trained = 240
students Impacted = 11513

Bihar
Schools with PBL = 156
Teachers Trained = 1000
students Impacted = 50000

To bridge the literacy and numeracy learning gap in learners from backward classes in MJPAPBCWREIS schools.

To promote sustainable practices for PBL and learning by doing.

To build capacity and momentum for PBL as a mechanism to improve the quality of teaching and learning at scale in India in a sustainable way

Hands-On Learning Through Project-Based Learning

What is Project-Based Learning?

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional approach focusing on students actively engaging in real-world, authentic projects to gain knowledge and develop essential skills. It is a student-centered pedagogy that promotes inquiry, critical thinking, collaboration, and problem-solving. PBL goes beyond traditional classroom learning, providing students with opportunities to explore topics deeply, work on complex problems, and apply their learning in meaningful ways.

Why do we need Project-Based Learning??

Project-based learning not only fosters academic growth but also nurtures 21st-century skills among students, such as collaboration, critical thinking, curiosity, problem-solving, teamwork, and leadership abilities. Unlike traditional teaching methods, project-based learning offers an alternative that transcends the mere imparting of subject knowledge, addressing the holistic development of students engagingly and dynamically.

The National Education Policy (NEP 2020) proposes using project-based learning in various ways. It offers holistic and multi-dimensional means to assess and communicate student progress by incorporating project-based learning into the curriculum. It also insists that early childhood care and education consists of “multi-faceted, play and activity-based learning”. Under their larger goal that “learning should be holistic, integrated, enjoyable and engaging”, the NEP insists on using activity-based learning from Anganwadi/pre-school levels to Grade 5. Further, with the growth of online and hybrid learning media over the past couple of years, the NEP suggests blending experiential and activity-based learning with online education to cater to the social, affective, and psychomotor dimensions of learning. The NEP recognises the need for project-based approaches to learning for holistic student assessments, of students with special needs, early childhood care and education, and online learning and to promote a more holistic approach to student learning and outcomes.

Where are we doing Project-Based Learning?

We are implementing project-based learning in 105 schools in Andhra Pradesh, involving 240 teachers and 11,513 students. In Bihar, the initiative spans 29,052 schools and involves 29,052 teachers.

Project-Based Learning in Action

See how our hands-on approach is transforming learning outcomes and driving student success.

Dipstick study and baseline survey

State-wise localisation of our resources

Launch, monthly orientation and review meetings

Training and orientation of system leaders

Our Theory of Change

Explore our strategic framework for driving comprehensive and sustainable change through project-based learning.

In the MJPAPBCWREIS schools, Parent-Teacher Meetings (PTMs) occur three times a year. During these PTMs, various activities are organized for parents to engage in, ranging from Principals addressing the parents about the school’s achievement to students showcasing their work to the parents.

One such activity that caught the eye of the Department’s Secretary was the Food Stall project, which was done by grade 7 students. Impressed by the project’s success, the Secretary suggested that it be scaled up and become one of the main activities during the PTMs. The idea was to have the students set up food stalls for parents. This initiative would provide a platform for students to showcase their culinary skills and an opportunity to learn about the concept of running a business.

Students could learn about budgeting, pricing, marketing, and customer service by working on the project. Overall, the project was a huge success and a valuable learning experience for all the students who participated in it.

“An English teacher from a school in the Eluru district of Andhra Pradesh started PBL in her grade 6 and grade 7 classrooms with great vigour and hope to engage her students better and improve their FLN skills. Her school being a single-teacher school, she had to take care of English for all grades from 5th to 10th. Maintaining her high energy levels and sustained passion for conducting PBL classes was becoming increasingly arduous for her. At the end of the second project and the dipping motivation levels, she experienced a wonder (in her own words). A low-achieving student who struggled with essential English reading and speaking came forward to perform in an activity and spoke fluent English. What surprised the teacher was that after the activity, she approached the teacher and said she wanted to learn English and study well. The teacher was overwhelmed by this turn of events and felt instantly energised and excited for the positive changes PBL would bring in the future.”

Sriram,

Program Lead, Mantra4Change

Sriram,

Program Lead, Mantra4Change

A two-day offline workshop was conducted for all the society’s grade 6 & 7 English and Math teachers. This workshop took place in three different places, Simhachalam, Nandalur and Amalapuram, for the ease of teachers to travel to the closest place to their respective schools for the workshop.

The workshop’s objective was to give all the teachers an idea of the What, Why and How of PBL. The different structures and processes they will be following for the academic year concerning PBL implementation in their schools.

The workshop also had a simulation of teachers taking up a challenge(Marshmallow Challenge) where they were asked to work in teams to give them all an understanding of how a PBL classroom would look like.

Teachers were also made to go through the lesson plans of PBL, and some critical feedback was taken from them, which helped us to make it easier for the teachers to implement it in the classroom.

As the academic year ends, the state has also organized a state-level exhibition showcasing multiple innovations by more than 76 students across the state. The students could present their learning and connect it with their daily challenges. The guests and stakeholders left the space with a lot of inspiration and motivation for themselves.

The exhibition was conducted at three levels -at the block, district, and state. Many of the schools in different blocks organized exhibitions where children showcased their projects and learned from PBL lessons. Projects selected at the block level competed at the district level, and 2 projects from each district were selected and sent to the state. A total of 76 projects were showcased at the state.

The exhibition was graced by the presence of the Director, SCERT Bihar, and several other dignitaries from the Bihar education department.

Our approach is to address the issues in the education system by supporting and developing the capabilities of stakeholders running the system.

Leadership Capacity Building

Designing Tools

Developing Processes

Dipstick Study and Baseline Survey

PBL Dipstick assessments in Bihar were conducted before starting the program, in Bihar. Based on the learning-levels assessment conducted in 8 schools across the district of Bhagalpur and Bhojpur with around 328 students from grades 6-8, it has been found that students have difficulty comprehending and understanding certain elements in the science chapters, i.e., the learning outcomes (LO) mapped in the chapters. The baseline study done by third party (ConveGenius Insights), is done with the purpose of determining the effectiveness of this program in Bihar. CGI has conducted a baseline to measure the impact of students’ learning while an end-line study is in progress.

Co-creation of resources with SCERT

Mantra4Change, along with the implementation partner Education Above All, created the 24 lesson plans based on the Science textbooks of Bihar. These were further contextualized to meet the needs of Bihar's students. These 24 plans and the supporting videos were co-created with SCERT. The Joint Director, SCERT, and several other educationists from Science colleges vetted the resources. After this, the state invited 10 Science teachers to participate in the pilot program, who practiced all projects and provided their input. A final edited version based on their feedback was published and distributed to all science teachers. Furthermore, to support the teachers better, the DIKSHA* course was also launched along with micro-improvement projects to support their actions in the classroom and school. It aids the implementation of the program, where the teachers share what they have learned and best practices with the state (SCERT). It was launched in 3 phases.

State-wide Launch, Monthly Orientation and Review Meetings

The program was launched on 24 August 2023 in Bihar by the Director of SCERT Bihar. It was live-streamed on the YouTube channel SCERT. 15k viewers watched the launch video on video, which can be watched here. With the objective of its reach at scale and to ensure that the government and other stakeholders adopted the program, the cadence of the monthly orientation and review meeting was set with SCERT (State Council of Educational Research and Training) and BEPC (Bihar Education Project Council) to review the program and share the updates of each month, which is streamlined live through SCERT YouTube channel. Till now, 7 orientation and review meetings have been conducted by the state. Different stakeholders (teachers, students, TE coordinators**) from different districts shared their experiences implementing the Project-Based learning program. It acted as a major motivation factor for other stakeholders.

Training and orientation of system leaders

The program is aimed to reach a total of 28986 schools. These schools cater to students from grade 6 to grade 8. Post launch of the program in August 2023, out of 14446 designated Science teachers, 11000 Science teachers (76.14%) were trained at the state and in districts. Not only teachers, but the state also oriented ~900 head teachers on PBL so better support can be provided to the teachers. The HTs also went through the DIKSHA course. SCERT, supported by Mantra4Change, conducted an in-person orientation on the PBL program of 260 Block resource persons (BRPs) at SCERT. BRPs are responsible for school visits and, hence, monitoring the progress of the program. One-day training was conducted for TE coordinators* and district tech team members at the state level to further support the block officials (BEO**, BRPs). The training focused on the further support and orientation of block-level officials to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the Project-Based learning program.

Stories From the Ground to Social Media

Regular field visits are conducted by the Mantra4Change team to understand the ground reality, take status updates, and support the stakeholders if required. Interaction with teachers, head teachers, and students helped me understand the program's current status. The stories from the field are quite powerful and provide the team with a reality check of what’s happening and what more can be done. To capture the stories from the classroom, a Facebook page dedicated to the program was created by SCERT, where teachers and head teachers shared anecdotes from their classes/schools. Several other social media handles are leveraged to share updates on the program, such as SCERT and BEPC websites, the YouTube channel of SCERT, and the Twitter and Instagram handles of the Bihar education department. Along with these, WhatsApp groups are created with block and district-level officials such as BRPs, TECs, teachers, head teachers, etc.

Voices From Ground

Hear firsthand experiences from those at the heart of our work.

Dr. Rashmi Prabha,
Joint Director (DIET) SCERT

Project-based learning has transformed traditional education. It sparks curiosity and critical thinking as students learn by doing and develop essential skills through creative projects.

Sunidhi Kumari,
Student, Gov.Primary School, Nalanda

I have learned many concepts through PBL. I enjoy doing projects with my friends. It's so much fun to work in groups, share ideas, and learn together!

Nisha Lal,
Teacher, Gov.Primary School, Siwan

I've noticed that students who were once irregular now attend school regularly, and even those who struggled with concepts beforeare | eagerly participating. The divide between front and backbenchers s fading away.