Lectures, textbooks, demonstrations, homework problems and tests all have a valid role to play in education, but the most effective and memorable learning experiences often center on projects. When learners make decisions about how to achieve something real, they can succeed in astonishing ways.
Sometimes the appropriate project may be small—almost like a homework problem but with a real outcome and with real decisions about what data to use. An example of a small project might be to estimate the pressure to which bombs are subjected at the bottom of the Bay of Bengal. Sometimes the goal of an appropriate project is much larger, such as deciding what (if anything) ought to be done about the enormous quantities of surplus chemical warfare agents which were dumped into oceans around the world during and after World War II. We strive to provide ideas and resources for learners as they engage in projects of any scale.
