May 2026
MBCI incorporates a Project Based Learning (PBL) approach across grades and in every subject area. Projects are a student-centered, inquiry-based approach to curriculum engagement through which students apply their own curiosity and hands-on problem-solving skills to real-world questions. Learning may incorporate all the elements of a project, or in some instances specific PBL characteristics like “voice and choice”, service component, or public presentation. Learning this way helps students grow in their ability to communicate, collaborate, and think creatively and critically.
Grade 11 Health Day Presentations
Whenever possible, Project Based Learning seeks to serve others in some way as well as share learning with an audience. Our Grade 11 Biology students demonstrated both of these skills as part of their Heart Health Project, taking their own research and knowledge and designing interactive presentations for our Grade 7 & 8 students as part of their middle school health day learning. Younger students rotated through stations with creative, hands-on activities demonstrating how blood flows and how clots form, games that remind us of how to make healthy preventative choices, and even an original song – “blood clot boogie”. This project gave Grade 11s a chance to practice presentation and design skills while building cross-grade connections.
Grade 9 Human Rights Cross-curricular Project
Grade 9 students engaged in a collaborative cross-curricular project between Social Studies and Art. In Social Studies, each student learned about the specific human rights assigned to all children and researched a real-world story connected to that human right from somewhere in the world. Students then brainstormed symbolic imagery and commissioned the Grade 9 Art class to provide visual representations using briefs outlining the human right, the story, and their visual ideas.
The Art students interpreted these commissions and created painted panels based on the concepts, expanding on the symbolism and artistic expression. Once completed, the panels were returned and assembled into a larger unified mural. The final piece represents how individual human rights connect to form a collective whole, while giving the students the opportunity to see their research transformed into a meaningful, collaborative piece.
Grade 8 Science Creative Creatures
Our Grade 8 Science students deepened their understanding of the human circulatory and respiratory systems through a project that challenged them to use that knowledge and take it further. Using their understanding of human organs, students invented fantastical creatures with genetically modified organs that could serve the needs of their invented creatures in similar ways. This project asked students to forge a strong blend of creativity, biology, and communication skills – a characteristic of Project Based Learning that supports students in assuming ownership of their learning in memorable ways.
Grade 8 Nutrition Mystery Box Challenge
The principles of PBL translate across all grades and into every subject area – including Nutrition! Grade 9 nutrition students engaged with a Mystery Box project designed for them to practice using leftover food while having some fun with their knowledge of plating. Without the help of recipe books or the internet, students used their own skills and knowledge to cook a meal using the food that remained after several weeks of classes and were required to plate and present their final results. This fun challenge incorporated the PBL principles of: “voice and choice”; serving others with our learning; real-world application; driving question (How can we best use the leftover food supplies?); collaboration; creative problem-solving.
An important focus in Project Based Learning is engaging with experts; discovering more about how questions are answered and problems are solved within the real world context.
Do you have an area of expertise and experience that you think could relate to what our students are learning in the classroom? We would love to hear from you and add you to our list of resources on which teachers can draw when connecting with experts.
Contact us at advancement@mbci.mb.ca and let us know a bit about your work, how it could relate to our learning, and if you would be willing to connect with students as part of a project.
