The presentation of Project Oriented lessons is directed at  both encouragement to participate and meeting the student demand for more activity and freedom of expression in the classroom.  Yes. The students can converse and interact in the same sane way people do in a normal work environment.  The initial reaction of teachers who have been accustomed to assignments that demand student silence will be amazement. There is positive effect on behavior, especially in regard to students who may have been behavioral problems previously. Student verbal interaction can be channelled constructively when such restraints on talking are not only lifted, but they are encouraged as a form of Cooperative Learning between students.

 

The students are placed in an environment similar to the conditions in a job at some small business.  They have a "job" to be done, and they quickly relate to grades that are based upon the simple Rubric of how well they have completed the projects that were assigned throughout the year.  They tend to compete and/or take a particular pride in the manual constructions and the general appearance of their finished projects.  When grading of the assignments that are filled in their portfolios becomes the method for Report Card grades, much more attention to these daily assignments can be noticed. 

 

Each student maintains and files away the completed project assignments in portfolios.

These portfolios remain in the classroom and are passed out at the beginning of each session. 

They serve to store various projects which have been completed, and retain materials being worked on

They also take the Class Roll for the day, in that absentee portfolios remain in the teacher's hands after the distribution process is over.  Portfolios are a ready record of student progress and open to comparisons with other student portfolios.