Management of projects in project-based learning: A case study in the project Rio Paraíba do sul: Preservando o futuro

Project-based learning (PBL) is a model that organizes learning around projects. Children are propelled by curiosity, driven by an intense need to explore, interact with, and make sense of their environment. Unfortunately, as children grow, their passion for learning frequently seems to shrink. Specially in Brazil, this problem is more serious in function of the precariousnesses of the basic public education. This research is based on a project financed for the foundation of the Brazilian government (FAPESP), involving a college of engineering (Faculdade de Engenharia de Guaratinguetá - UNESP) as leader and seven high schools in the Paraíba do Sul river valley in the state of São Paulo. The project Rio Paraíba do Sul: preservando o futuro stimulated the schools to implant a proposal pedagogical based in projects that involves students in a constructive investigation and put project as central not peripheral to the curriculum. The interdisciplinary theme is Paraíba do Sul river. One of the objectives of this research is to evaluate the adequacy of the Project Management Technology in PBL. (c) 2006 PICMET.