Last week, I went to see the new Stephen Sondheim musical, 'Road Show' at the wonderful Menier Chocolate Factory in London. I also finished reading Ron Berger's fantastic book on Project-Based Learning, 'Ethic of Excellence'. It struck me that this legendary composer and this visionary teacher/carpenter have a lot in common. Let me explain.  

Stephen Sondheim first premiered his life-enhancing musical about the Mizner brothers in 1999. Back then it was called 'Wise Guys' and even to get it onstage required the usual workshops, re-writes, and re-staging that goes with any theatrical performance.Despite being directed by Sam Mendes (yes, that Sam Mendes) the show got decidedly mixed reviews.

By 2003, the piece had been substantively re-written and re-titled ('Bounce'). The direction was taken by Hal Prince, who co-produced West Side Story in 1957 and directed, or produced, most of the classic Broadway musicals in the intervening 50 years.  Still the reviews were lukewarm, and it looked as though the show was going nowhere fast. 

Five years later, with yet more re-writes, new songs, and a new director, John Doyle, and Road Show runs off-Broadway, and now previewed in England, to thrilled audiences. As the I Ching has it, 'perseverance furthers'.

According to Ron Berger, the twin pillars of great project-based learning are 'multiple drafts' and 'peer critique'. Without either of them, theatre  - and almost all of the arts  - would cease to function. And yet neither are seen much in schooling. Most curricula are so content-heavy that kids usually get a single shot at a task (if they're lucky) and then they're on to the next horse on the carousel. And the idea that other students would be able to offer advice on how to improve the project - well, that's the teachers job, isn't it?

But, if we want to prepare kids for their working lives (and not just the next test) then they need to understand that multiple drafts and peer critique are part of the modus operandi of creative working teams. And students become engaged in their learning when they are required to think and behave like scientists, engineers, or artists.

And if it's good enough for one of the great composers of our time, then perhaps more of our teachers and schools should bring it into their learning designs.