Oral History Project: Lithuanian Students Study the Past to Gain Skills for the Future

Abstract

This paper focuses attention on international school reforms that position students to gain
critical 21st century work skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration and
creativity. Special attention is given to a category of instructional methodologies known as
project-based learning (PBL). PBL aptly teaches standards-based curriculum while also
challenging students to inquire, make decisions and communicate with others as they work
collaboratively to complete a project. PBL comes in many forms from problem-based, more
centered on student thinking processes, to activity-based, making a product, and, finally,
place-based, which is generally focused in the community. This paper addresses the latter
kind as it involves an Oral History community project in a Lithuanian secondary school. This
particular project was selected, not only to showcase the many benefits of PBL, but also to
highlight 21st century skills that students gained while working on the project. As the paper
makes a case for incorporating 21st century skills into international school reforms, it also
hopes to inspire other educators who may wish to consider incorporating PBL pedagogies in
their own schools.