Project Based Learning
What better way to learn than by doing.
What It Is
In project-based learning, students — with the guidance of an instructor — create their own learning through the development of projects. Projects involve an extended problem-solving process, the application of content knowledge to practice, and the development of skills such as teamwork, communication, work ethic, creativity, and critical thinking.
How It Works
Implementation of project-based learning can vary, but several key principles guide its design,¹ organized around a central question or specific problem, for example, how to use school data to improve support for families whose children are struggling in math.
Project-based learning involves balancing guidance — through the content and pedagogical expertise of the instructor — and flexibility for students to decide what and how to learn. Instructors facilitate rather than control learning and familiarize students with core concepts in disciplines and topics. They provide tasks with clear directions and direct students to appropriate resources. Students manage their own projects, including research, fieldwork, and the creation of end products or artifacts.²
Projects entail collaboration: with peers, with community partners, and with the instructor. Students work collaboratively to explore questions, analyze issues, and apply their learning to practical situations. The involvement of real-life application also encourages the acquisition of knowledge across subfields within a discipline as well as across several disciplines.
What Changes
Projects use formative and summative assessment to link learning objectives and the knowledge gained through individual or collaborative work. Faculty members have observed that through project-based learning, participants become more motivated about what they are learning.³ By sharing the end products of their projects with one another and by having opportunities to revise end products, students gain new insights and deepen learning.⁴
A study of mechanical engineering students found that projects helped students gain conceptual understanding of content areas and present their ideas clearly in written and oral presentations. They were able to apply theoretical knowledge to solve a practical problem and to recognize that multiple solutions could be designed.⁵
Higher-education faculty have learned that project-based learning can be challenging to implement. As a new pedagogical approach for students, the goals of project-based learning are more likely to be achieved when the method is linked across courses and implemented over a period of several semesters.⁶ Faculty need institutional supports for implementation, which include faculty training and ongoing professional development for project-based learning, collegial and supervisor support, and reconsideration on how to evaluate teaching for deep learning. Lastly, community partnerships are important for project development, although the needs and interests of community agencies do not always match course objectives.⁷
Approach In Action
In 2014, the city of New York took a bold step to expand universal preschool services to all 4-year-olds throughout its boroughs, regardless of a child’s race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status. This initiative, called Pre-K for All, could fulfill this goal by creating collaborations with existing early childhood programs, schools, community organizations, and other public institutions. The New York Public Library worked with Pre-K for All teachers to enrich children’s language and literacy development.⁸ The library also piloted project-based learning to address two critical questions: how to promote family engagement in early literacy and how to strengthen the relationships between teachers and librarians. Librarians and teachers from two schools developed projects to engage children and families in learning about movement through the use of balls and about the environment through the life cycle of butterflies. The projects involved families learning together in school and library settings. One outcome of the project was the growth of teachers comfort in giving concrete advice about what families and children could do at the library, and librarians felt more prepared to be ready to help families who were coming to the library. At the same time, this family-centered project could not have achieved its goal without organizational support from leaders in the library and schools. Leadership was a driving force in giving librarians and teachers the time, funds, and space to tinker with new ideas.
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Endnotes
¹ Roessingh, H., & Chamber,W. ( 2011). Project-based learning and pedagogy in teacher preparation: Staking out the theoretical mid-ground. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 23(1), 60–71.
² Roessingh & Chamber. (2011).
³ Lee, J. S., Blackwell, S., Drake, J., & Moran, K. A. (2014). Taking a leap of faith: Redefining teaching and learning in higher education. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 8(2). Available at: hEps://doi.org/10.7771/1541–5015.1426
⁴ Lee et al. (2014).
⁵ de-Juan, A., del Rincon, F., Iglesias, M., Garcia, P., Diez-Ibarbia, A., & Viadero, F. (2016). Enhancement of mechanical engineering degree through student design competition as added value: Considerations and viability. Journal of Engineering Design, 27(8), 568–589. doi: 10.1080/09544828.2016.1185514
⁶ de-Juan et al. (2016).
⁷ Lee et. al. (2014).
⁸ Caspe, M. & Lopez, M. E. (2018). Reimagining library-school partnerships to promote family engagement. Childhood Education, 94(4), 30–38. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00094056.2018.1494434
