When you build a house, there is a lot of preparation that goes into getting the site ready to receive the house. It is the same in your classroom. You must prepare your classroom to ensure that your students will be highly engaged in their learning.

There are four things to initially keep in mind as you contemplate introducing project-based learning to your students. You can remember these four essential things by using the acronym PREP.

P: Plan ahead: One of the first steps in preparing your classroom for project-based learning is to plan ahead to be certain that you have a classroom that is both physically and psychologically ready for project-based learning. Not only do you need to provide material resources, but you must also change the atmosphere in your classroom from that of a traditional classroom to one that is less teacher-centric and more student-centric.

R: Respond enthusiastically: To energize your students, you need to model enthusiasm for what they will be doing. Your own attitude and behavior will go a long way towards having your students show enthusiasm for learning.

E: Engage the intellect: All students need to be challenged, and the challenge must be appropriate to each student. This can be tricky, but it is possible, especially in a project-based learning environment. All students deserve rigor in their learning. Appropriate challenges will engage students’ brains in the most positive way, will guarantee that with effort students can achieve success, will include practice in skills students need to be able to do, and will be relevant to students’ lives now and in the future.

P: Provide resources: Students will need a variety of resources to learn. Most traditional classes rely mainly on textbooks and resources. Students in a project-based learning environment will need more than textbooks. You will want to plan ahead so you know how to direct your students, either in the classroom or elsewhere, to the equipment and the materials that they need for their research and for the creation of any products that will result from their research.

• Material resources students may need: space both in and out of the classroom, access to written material other than textbooks, the availability of and access to computer technology and other media, access to community resources and organizations, and possibly access to various types of art or construction materials.
• Social resources might include: you, other teachers and administrators, especially those involved with technology and the library or media center, experts in the field in which students are developing their projects, people in community organizations and local businesses, other students, and family and friends.
• Psychological resources will need to include: encouragement from you and others, a positive outlook, willingness to put forth effort, motivation, enthusiasm, a “can do” attitude, effort, appropriate challenges, a supportive atmosphere, and relevancy in what students are required to learn.