I remember the day I made the
switch from having my students do projects for me to having my students do
projects for humanity. When I had explained
this new kind of assignment, there was an incredulous look on many of my grade
sevens’ faces: “You mean we can do something, really do something?” It was like they were just waiting for
permission. And they took that
permission and ran with it to places I had not fathomed.
(This post was originally published in the Fall 2014 Edition of Living Education eMagazine)
Intuitively it makes sense. While we spend the 200 days together, we
might as well make a difference. We
might as well move beyond what if two
trains leave their stations at such and such a time and into how could we improve the transit use in our
community. We might as well shift
from finding out what a wetland is to how we
can save the wetlands behind the school.
This is one of the tenets of project-based learning (PBL): learning
through interacting with real life, through completing real-life challenges. But do these kinds of projects actually lead
to learning? For educators, many
initiatives that seem well and good, may not be based in research. Does educational research support PBL?
John W. Thomas, Ph.D. (2000) formerly
of the Buck Institute for Education reviewed research on project-based learning
using specific criteria when considering whether something was project-based learning
or not. Along with criteria such as centrality,
a driving question, constructive investigations, and autonomy, he used as his
plum line a level of authenticity. His
fifth criterion was as follows:
Projects are realistic, not school-like.
Projects embody characteristics that give them a feeling of authenticity to
students. These characteristics can include the topic, the tasks, the roles
that students play, the context within which the work of the project is carried
out, the collaborators who work with students on the project, the products that
are produced, the audience for the project's products, or the criteria by which
the products or performances are judged. Gordon (1998) makes the distinction
between academic challenges, scenario challenges, and real-life challenges. PBL
incorporates real-life challenges where the focus is on authentic (not
simulated) problems or questions and where solutions have the potential to be implemented.
(Thomas, 2000).
Here we find what I see as the crux to project-based learning: authentic
problems or challenges. While Thomas reviewed
evaluative research, implementation research, and intervention research of
project-based learning in his article, he also reviewed research on PBL effectiveness. Of note was his look at Boaler’s (1997)
longitudinal study of two British High Schools.
One school taught Math in a traditional way while the other school
employed project-based learning. During
the periodic interviews, the “students at the project-based school regarded
mathematics as a ‘dynamic, flexible subject that involved exploration and
thought.’ (Boaler, 1997, p. 63)” while students at the control school reported that
they found Math boring and tedious.
Although the effect on students’ perceptions
of Math speak volumes to the impact of project-based learning, the students’ results
on assessments seemed to follow suit. “Students
at the project-based school performed as well as or better than students at the
traditional school on items that required rote knowledge of mathematical
concepts, and three times as many students at the project-based school as those
in the traditional school attained the highest possible grade on the national
examination. Overall, significantly more students at the project-based school passed
the national examination administered in year three of the study than
traditional school students.” (Thomas, 2000).
More recently, Boss et al (2011),
as reported in The Foundation Review, desired to create an engaging and
effective AP (Advanced Placement) course for students centered on experience-based
project cycles. The researchers set up
an experiment that would compare their US Government and Politics AP course containing
authentic projects with a statistically matched control group. The PBL AP students completed projects all
the while keeping this fundamental question in mind: what is the proper role of
government in a democracy? The researchers found that students in the PBL courses
performed “as well or better than students in the traditional courses on the AP
test, and better than (or in one case, the same as) students in the traditional
courses on the KIA test.” The KIA test
was their Knowledge in Action test. Essentially,
the PBL students did better at applying their knowledge when given a new
scenario: to create a plan for action on a controversial political issue.
The above studies support that
project-based learning leads to better test results. Moreover, Thomas (2000) cited many studies
that have found other significant gains from PBL. Shepherd (1998) found gains in critical
thinking and confidence. The Cognition
and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (1992) found gains in “problem-solving
skills, metacognitive strategies, and attitudes towards learning.” Tretten and Zachariou (1995) found
improvement in “work habits, problem-solving capabilities, and self-esteem.”
But more telling is what the
students have to say about their experience.
“Project-based learning actually helps you to apply it to life because
when you read things out of a book, you kind of wonder, ‘When am I ever going
to use this?’ That’s a question that students ask almost every day.” (Boss et
al, 2011). One of my own students whose
project led her to collect used books to send to Uganda to build portable
libraries wrote: “instead of just doing one small
assignment and being over with it, it seems like we get to do a project for a
while and really get involved with it. We also like that with this project we
got to take some action towards what we wanted to help fix, and actually get
the students in the school and the people in our community involved.”
(Robinson, 2014).
The possibilities are
infinite. Portland students consulted professional
microbiologists to create soil bacteria information pamphlets to be distributed
at local garden centers. San Diego
eleventh graders developed forensic techniques that help protect African
wildlife; they shared their findings with wildlife-protection officials and
even traveled to Tanzania to present bush-meat identification workshops. (Curtis,
2001). The types of projects are limited
only by the opportunities the teacher avails and the imagination the students
bring.
For my own personal experience, once
the paradigm shifted, the atmosphere in my classroom became more like a campaign
headquarters than a classroom. “The next thing I know, we
are tweeting the mayor, writing proposals, finding email
addresses, advertising for a bake sale, and abiding by a group’s request to
stop all screen-time for two days.” (Robinson, 2013). Money was raised for orphanages in Ethiopia
and food distributing organizations; used books were sent to Uganda; trees were
planted in schools and parks nearby.
Though there are many aspects
to project-based learning, I believe it is the authenticity of the projects
that really set this kind of teaching apart.
Students learn the material often to a greater degree and with
depth. Work habits and attitudes toward
learning improve. Local and global needs
are addressed. Self-esteem is increased. The learning is enjoyed. The students win. The community wins. Humanity wins.
Bibliography
Boss, S., Johanson, C., Arnold, S.,
Parker, W. Nguyen, D. (2011). The Quest for Deeper Learning and Engagement in Advanced
High School Courses. The Foundation Review: Vol. 3: Iss. 3, Article 3
Curtis, D. (2001). Project-Based Learning: Real-World Issues Motivate Students. Retrieved August 8, 2014 from EDUTOPIA on the World Wide Web:
Robinson, S. (2013). “The Problem
with Project-based Learning.” Retrieved August 8, 2014 from ON THE SIDE OF TECHNOLOGY on the World Wide Web:
Robinson, S. (2014). “Diary of some
not-so-wimpy Project-based Learners.” Retrieved August 10, 2014 from MRRCLASS on the World Wide Web:
Thomas, J. (2000). A Review of Research
on Project-based Learning. Retrieved August 5, 2014 from NEWTECHNETWORK.ORG on the World Wide Web:
