Project-based learning can make community service come alive for students, and it isn’t new. It’s more than a century old, rooted in John Dewey’s belief that children learn best by doing. That idea has stood the test of time. Research continues to confirm that students retain more when they engage with content actively, with their minds, hands, and hearts.

Despite its promise, traditional project-based learning often collapses into superficial showcases: glorified slide decks and videos passed off as deep learning. Kids have been making presentations since kindergarten; by high school, it’s more ritual than rigor. It’s an astonishingly inefficient use of time, talent, and opportunity.

I know this because I’ve lived it. I helped design and launch several of Los Angeles’ most successful project-based charter schools, including Larchmont Charter and Valley Charter,  between 2004 and 2014. I’ve taught mathematics, earned a master’s in curriculum construction from Stanford University and worked alongside brilliant educators committed to making learning meaningful. And I believe it’s time to evolve what project-based learning can do — not discard it, but bring it fully into the world our students actually live in.

That world is complex, unpredictable and increasingly polarized. It requires collaboration, communication, creativity and adaptability. So our learning models must meet that challenge. We can do this by fusing the best of what project-based learning can provide for students with the best of community service —and then modernizing both.

Too often, “community service” in schools becomes a checkbox. Students log hours doing well-intentioned but disconnected tasks. They pack food boxes or clean park trails. These efforts are not without value, but they’re rarely linked to any larger purpose, and they rarely push students to think, lead, or grow.

What if, instead of logging hours, students designed and implemented “community impact projects?”

Imagine a model where students start by exploring who they are: what drives them, what skills they bring, what kind of work energizes them. Some are motivated by a specific cause. Others want to develop a skill or explore a career path. Some are simply determined to make a visible difference. These internal motivations matter. They shape what a student is willing to commit to over time.

From there, students look outward. They conduct interviews, collect data, read local news and observe their neighborhoods. What are the real needs? Where are the gaps? Who’s being left behind?

Read the full article about project-based learning by Dvora Inwood at The 74.