Higher education of the 21st century is impelled by competitive global forces that require teaching methodologies, technologies, and research to be truly innovative for dynamic progress. The economy is faced with increasingly shortened product life cycles and hyper-competition in an innovation-driven, technology-infused, and time-compressed environment. Therefore, a rational solution needs to be found to the problem of how to effectively harness innovation diffusion through pragmatic methods, specifically to close the prevailing skills-and-employment gap. To accomplish this, Project-Based Learning (PBL) is being increasingly recognized as an invaluable inquiry-based learning methodology whereby learners execute a hands-on team project to investigate and implement actionable solutions to a complex, real-life problem. Despite evidence of informal PBL frameworks, currently there is a crucial need for a robust, interdisciplinary PBL model that incorporates self-directed learning, project management, and change leadership. This book offers such an interdisciplinary and result-oriented Project-Based Learning model that can be successfully applied across diverse educational environments.
Project-Based Learning: A Multi-Disciplinary Model