• Inquire
  • Apply
  • Summer Camps
  • Giving
  • Our Community
    • Parents
    • Alumni
    • Donors
    • School Calendar
  • +1 (866) 472-6723
Maharishi School
  • About Us
    • Why Maharishi School
    • Our Head of School
    • Meet Our Students
    • Our Mission & Values
    • Fast Facts
    • Bragging Rights
    • School News & Blogs
    • Facilities
    • Our Town
    • Our History
    • Sustainable Community
    • Oprah visits Maharishi School
  • Academics
    • Preschool
    • Lower School
    • Middle School
    • Upper School
    • Our Faculty
    • College Counseling
    • College Acceptances
  • Admissions
    • Admissions Process
    • Who We Look For
    • Apply Now
    • Tuition & Financial Aid
    • Visit Us
    • Places to Stay and Eat
  • We’re Different
    • Our Unique Approach
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • Total Brain Development
    • Managing Stress
    • Yoga Asanas
    • Science of Creative Intelligence
    • Food and Natural Health
  • Boarding
    • Boarding Program
    • Residential Life
    • ELL Program
    • Student Activities
    • Community Service
    • Summer Camps
      • LAUNCH Summer Camp
        • Camp Payment
      • ESL LAUNCH Camp
        • Camp Payment
      • Kids Explore Summer Camp
        • Explore Deposit Payment
  • Programs
    • Athletics & Fitness
    • Project-Based Learning
    • Creative Problem Solving Program
    • Arts – Performing and Visual
    • Seed to Table
  • Connect
  • Search
  • Menu

Project-Based Learning

Discover and test-drive your passions

Upper School students are given 70 minutes to work on a passion project 3 days each week. They problem-solve, experiment, falter and keep striving. Through the process, they learn real-world skills that will serve them when they are adults working on projects at their workplaces. Some of the Learning Goals for project learning are creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, a growth mindset, societal impact and service, interdisciplinary integration, development of student portfolios.

Each project is either designed by a teacher or proposed by the student at the conception stage and addresses an authentic, engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. The students work either independently or in small teams and exercise real-life skills in their areas of interest while being fully supported by teachers, community experts, and leaders brought in to match the students’ interests. At the end of each quarter, all the students’ projects are showcased as part of a community-wide event.

In a recent Play Production Project, the students vetted and selected the play, built the sets themselves, sourced the costumes, learned stage makeup, created and executed a marketing plan to promote the play, created a budget and managed finances, built a lighting and sound plan, created a cleaning schedule, made refreshments for the intermission and finally produced and performed in the play. With only guidance, the students handled every aspect of the play from soup to nuts allowing them to not only complete a behemoth task but leave with pride and joy as they shared the fruit of their passions with others.

Prior Projects Offered

Advanced Jazz Performance and History Music Theory
Advanced Rocketry with Air Brake Design Music Competition
App Prototyping Myth and Watercolor
Aquaponics National TARC rocketry competition
Architecture and Design Novel Writing
Art History: Creativity and Communication Painting: Acrylics and Oils
Beginning Jazz Performance Performing Arts: Iowa High School Speech Competition
Business Development: ELL Tutoring Performing Arts: Musical Theater
Choreography Photography
Claymation Physical Fitness Coaching
Climate Change and Filmmaking Physics of Acoustic Instruments
Collaborative Creative Problem Solving Play Production
Computer Programming Power Poetry
Earth to Table: a ceramics and cooking fundraiser Primitive Ceramics and Raku Firing
Entrepreneurship Product Development and Engineering
E-Sports Protest Songs and Acoustic Guitar Basics
Experimental Music Python and Algorithms
Fictional or Informational Video  Robotics
Film Series Production  Science Fair
History Fair: Taking a Stand  Self-Acceptance Initiative: You Are Enough
History of Film Students for Peace
Investing Sustainable Art and Fashion Design
Is Peace a Myth? Textile Art
Japanese Woodworking Apprenticeship Watercolor Illustration
Movie Screenwriting World Food Prize Paper
Music & Recording Arts (MICRA) You-Tube Video Series Production

Read the Project Course Descriptions

Project Course Descriptions 2016-2019

PreviousNext
Maharishi School Students for Peace project

Other Skills to Learn in Projects

  • Creativity. Students achieve project outcomes in a variety of ways and are given the tools, resources, and freedom to do so. Students experiment with a variety of possible choices/solutions. Students engage in original thought based on their own understanding and experience. Students understand that foundational knowledge and basic skills allow for more nuanced creativity.
  • Collaboration. Students work together to achieve project outcomes. Students apply effective strategies to get the most out of group work, in terms of conflict resolution, a division of labor, peer feedback.
  • Communication. Student practice using various communication methods: reading, writing, speaking, listening, and visual expression.
  • Critical thinking. Students use goals/criteria to assess the quality of their group’s ideas/outcomes. Students explore the various material and come to an informed, justified conclusion.
  • A growth mindset. Students experience that hard work and constructive critical reflection lead to improved outcomes. Students make use of opportunities to complete several drafts/prototypes for a project. Failure is delayed success.
  • Societal Impact and Service. Students understand that the value of a project comes in its ability to contribute to society. Project outcomes will be considered in terms of both local and social sustainability.
  • Interdisciplinary Integration. Students explore topics from a variety of perspective and integrate skills from across disciplines to create meaningful project outcomes.
  • Portfolios. Students work towards creating products that can be documented and shared.
INQUIRE
VISIT
APPLY NOW

Programs:

  • Programs
  • Athletics & Fitness
  • Project-Based Learning
  • Creative Problem Solving Program
  • Arts – Performing and Visual
  • Seed to Table

Questions?

Contact Springli Johnson, Admissions Director at
(866) 472-6723

Follow Us on Social Media:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Translate:

en English
ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)cs Czechnl Dutchen Englishet Estoniantl Filipinofr Frenchde Germanhi Hindiit Italianja Japaneseko Koreanlv Latvianne Nepalifa Persianpt Portugueseru Russiansd Sindhies Spanishsv Swedishth Thaitr Turkishvi Vietnamese

Navigate:

  • Parents
  • Alumni
  • Donors
  • About Us
  • Academics
  • Admissions
  • We’re Different
  • Boarding
  • Programs

More:

  • Connect
  • Request Records
  • Video Cafe
  • Accreditations
  • Employment Opportunities
  • Governance
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Notice

Resources:

  • School Calendar
  • Parent Portal
  • Faculty Portal
  • Directions
  • Payments
  • Website Feedback

Contact Us:

804 Dr Robert Keith Wallace Dr.
Fairfield, IA, 52556


Tel: (641) 472-9400
Toll Free: (866) 472-6723
Email Us

© Copyright Maharishi School | Site by RileyDesigns.com
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
Scroll to top