Bill Taylor wishes he had a transformative high school learning experience but acknowledges that he just spent a lot of time memorizing content and repeating it to teachers in whatever format they wanted. “I learned how to play the game and achieved marginal success. However, I loved college because I finally could study what interested me, and graduate school was even better as the focus narrowed and intensified.”
Taylor’s interest in project-based learning evolved from his drive to help young people discover their interests and talents and, in the process, commit to their own journey of self-awareness. “We as teachers should provide opportunities for students to be more reflective and proactive in their own learning. Schools need to provide tools to equip our students to be citizens of the 21st century. If we can find ways to help young people be more self-aware and create meaningful content that emanates from that exploration, then our students will be prepared for college and the workplace.”
At Trinity-Pawling, the capstone Senior Independent Project serves as the convergence of those roads. Taylor revels in seeing a young man sparked with energy as he works on a project of interest. “This year, we had a student expand his interest in theater by directing the fall play. The challenge of this exercise was compounded because we had three different theater instructors working on the project with him. He learned how challenging it is to lead peers and coordinate the collaborative efforts of adults and students toward a finished product. The result was an exceptional show and a senior whose engagement with theater was broadened in unique ways.” This winter, another group of students will be building an outdoor pizza oven for their interdisciplinary Winter Project that is sure to be a hit with the community.
Taylor feels the faculty has evolved with this emphasis on project-based learning. “When they see what some boys have created and sense their enthusiasm, that energy motivates them to perhaps retool their own approach. I’ve become more cognizant of my own teaching and am trying different methodologies. The bottom line is that we are all together on this journey to increased self-awareness.”