Using students’ experiences and backgrounds as a springboard, deeper learning engages kids—particularly those who fall through the cracks in traditional schools—and prepares them for success after graduation.

Though the maker movement is often associated with things like 3D printers and circuits, it is really a fusion of newly accessible technology with old ideas about how we learn best. Maker projects, whether they're "egg cars" or homemade boats, stick in our memories not simply because they are fun. Getting lost in the challenge of making something work—something you care about—is a learning experience that sticks with kids and, it turns out, adults.

Ken Lockette, Principal of Avonworth High School, joined leaders and educators of the Spark network today at The Sprout Fund offices for a Lunch & Learn focused on project-based learning.