“A boogie-woogie out of a tambourine and a guitar.” Project Based Learning applied in the Brazilian Vocational Education contexto

Abstract

This article is based on an ethnographic work that aims to show how project based learning can be applied to vocational education at the Federal Institutes of Brazil. For that, I used mainly my field diaries, the evaluations and self-assessments made by the students, their testimonies and some audio recording of the process. As a result, we were able to conclude that, since it is adapted to the local context, Project Based Learning can help students, by placing them in the center of the process, while developing several skills and abilities demanded by the 21 st Century, such as: collaboration, autonomy, critical thinking and systemic thinking.