Project-based learning: Difference between revisions

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== History ==

[[File:John Dewey in 1902.jpg|thumbnail|John Dewey in 1902]][[John Dewey]] is recognized as one of the early proponents of project-based education or at least its principles through his idea of "learning by doing".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bender|first=William N.|title=Project-Based Learning: Differentiating Instruction for the 21st Century|publisher=Corwin Press|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4522-7927-5|___location=Thousand Oaks, CA|pages=42}}</ref> In ''My Pedagogical Creed'' (1897) Dewey enumerated his beliefs including the view that "the teacher is not in the school to impose certain ideas or to form certain habits in the child, but is there as a member of the community to select the influences which shall affect the child and to assist him in properly responding to these".<ref name=":0">John Dewey, Education and Experience, 1938/1997. New York. Touchstone.</ref> For this reason, he promoted the so-called expressive or constructive activities as the centre of correlation.<ref name=":0" /> Educational research has advanced this idea of teaching and learning into a methodology known as "project-based learning". [[William Heard Kilpatrick]] built on the theory of Dewey, who was his teacher, and introduced the project method as a component of Dewey's problem method of teaching.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last1=Beckett|first1=Gulbahar|title=Global Perspectives on Project-Based Language Learning, Teaching, and Assessment: Key Approaches, Technology Tools, and Frameworks|last2=Slater|first2=Tammy|publisher=Routledge|year=2019|isbn=978-0-429-78695-2|___location=Oxon}}</ref> Kilpatrick endorsed project-based learning in his 1918 essay ''The Project Method'', calling for "whole-hearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment". The essay was immediately lauded by progressive educators.<ref>{{cite book | last=Ravitch | first=Diane | year=2001 | title=Left back: A century of battles over school reform | publisher=Simon & Schuster | isbn=978-0-7432-0326-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xyOxAKKwfDYC&pg=PA178 | page=178f.}}</ref><ref name="Pondiscio 2010">{{cite magazine | last=Pondiscio | first=Robert | date=2010 | title=Edutopian vision | workmagazine=Education Next | volume=10 | number=3 | issn=1539-9664 | url=https://www.educationnext.org/edutopian-vision/}}</ref>

Some scholars (e.g. [[James Greeno|James G. Greeno]]) also associated project-based learning with [[Jean Piaget]]'s "situated learning" perspective<ref>Greeno, J. G. (2006). Learning in activity. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (pp. 79-96). New York: Cambridge University Press.</ref> and [[Constructivism (philosophy of education)|constructivist]] theories. Piaget advocated an idea of learning that does not focus on memorization. Within his theory, project-based learning is considered a method that engages students to invent and to view learning as a process with a future instead of acquiring knowledge bases as a matter of fact.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sarrazin|first=Natalie R.|title=Problem-Based Learning in the College Music Classroom|publisher=Routledge|year=2018|isbn=978-1-351-26522-5}}</ref>

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Outside of the United States, the [[European Union]] has also providing funding for project-based learning projects within the [[Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013]]. In China, Project-based learning implementation has primarily been driven by [[international school]] offerings,<ref>[https://www.pblworks.org/blog/pbl-china-yes-maybe]. Larmer, John (2018)</ref> although public schools use Project-based learning as a reference for Chinese Premier Ki Keqiang's mandate for schools to adopt [[maker education]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ccc.princeton.edu/events/making-china-cultivating-entrepreneurial-living|title = Making China: Cultivating Entrepreneurial Living &#124; Center on Contemporary China}}</ref> in conjunction with [[Micro-schooling|micro-schools]] like Moonshot Academy and ETU, and maker education spaces such as [[SteamHead]].<ref>[http://www.xinhuanet.com//english/2017-03/13/c_136125085.htm] Xin Hua News, referenced 2017.</ref>

In [[Uganda]] since the introduction of the new lower curriculum,<ref>{{Cite web |last=says |first=Droku Benbella |date=2024-02-29 |title='Despite challenges, schools have embraced the new curriculum' – Economic Policy Research Centre |url=https://eprcug.org/press-releases/despite-challenges-schools-have-embraced-the-new-curriculum/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |language=en-US}}</ref> students and teachers have been urged to embraced project based learning especially with training from the Ugandan Government<ref>{{Cite web |title=Teachers must be trained for new lower curriculum to succeed |url=https://www.newvision.co.ug/articledetails/NV_158605 |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=New Vision |date=20 April 2023 |language=en}}</ref> and UNELTA<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNELTA |url=https://unelta.org/ |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=UNELTA |language=en}}</ref>

In the context of '''world language education''', project-based learning provides meaningful opportunities for students to use the target language in authentic, real-world scenarios. Projects might include interviewing native speakers, creating bilingual podcasts, conducting cultural research, or planning hypothetical travel experiences entirely in the target language. These activities support the development of '''linguistic proficiency''', '''intercultural awareness''', and '''21st-century skills''' such as collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Programs such as those at [https://www.languagebird.com LanguageBird], an accredited online language school, incorporate project-based learning into one-to-one instruction, allowing students to demonstrate mastery through personalized, culturally relevant projects rather than traditional tests.

==Roles==

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When students use technology as a tool to communicate with others, they take on an active role vs. a passive role of transmitting the information by a teacher, a book, or broadcast. The student is constantly making choices on how to obtain, display, or manipulate information. Technology makes it possible for students to think actively about the choices they make and execute. Every student has the opportunity to get involved, either individually or as a group.

The instructor's role in project-based learning is that of a facilitator. They do not relinquish control of the classroom or student learning, but rather develop an atmosphere of shared responsibility. The instructor must structure the proposed question/issue so as to direct the student's learning toward content-based materials. Upfront planning is crucial, in that the instructor should plan out the structural elements and logistics of the project far in advance in order to reduce student confusion once they assume ownership of their projects.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Tawfik |first1=Andrew A. |last2=Gishbaugher |first2=Jaclyn J. |last3=Gatewood |first3=Jessica |last4=Arrington |first4=T. Logan |date=2021-08-17 |title=How K-12 Teachers Adapt Problem-Based Learning Over Time |url=https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/ijpbl/article/view/29662 |journal=Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |doi=10.14434/ijpbl.v15i1.29662 |issn=1541-5015|doi-access=free }}</ref> The instructor must regulate student success with intermittent, transitional goals to ensure student projects remain focused and students have a deep understanding of the concepts being investigated. The students are held accountable to these goals through ongoing feedback and assessments. The ongoing assessment and feedback are essential to ensure the student stays within the scope of the driving question and the core standards the project is trying to unpack. According to Andrew Miller of the Buck Institute of Education, "In order to be transparent to parents and students, you need to be able to track and monitor ongoing formative assessments that show work toward that standard."<ref>{{cite web|last=Miller|first=Andrew|title=Edutopia|url=http://www.edutopia.org/blog/effective-assessment-project-based-learning-andrew-miller|publisher=© 2013 The George Lucas Educational Foundation|access-date=22 October 2013}}</ref> The instructor uses these assessments to guide the inquiry process and ensure the students have learned the required content. Once the project is finished, the instructor evaluates the finished product and the learning that it demonstrates.

The student's role is to ask questions, build knowledge, and determine a real-world solution to the issue/question presented. Students must collaborate, expanding their active listening skills and requiring them to engage in intelligent, focused communication, therefore allowing them to think rationally about how to solve problems. Project-based learning forces students to take ownership of their success.

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==Outcomes==

[[File:Cover to cover reading versus problem or project based learning.png|thumb|370px|Example of problem-/project-based learning versus reading cover to cover. The problem-/project-based learner may memorize a smaller amount of total information due to spending time searching for the optimal information across various sources, but will likely learn more useful items for real-world scenarios, and will likely be better at knowing where to find information when needed.<ref>Image by Mikael Häggström, MD, using source images by various authors. Source for useful context in problem-based learning: {{cite journalbook|title=Understanding Medical Education - Problem-based learning|author=Mark A Albanese, Laura C Dast|date=2013-10-22|url=https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118472361.ch5|website=Wiley Online Library|doi=10.1002/9781118472361.ch5 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>]]

Proponents of project-based learning cite numerous benefits to the implementation of its strategies in the classroom – including a greater depth of understanding of concepts, a broader knowledge base, improved communication, and interpersonal/social skills, enhanced [[leadership]] skills, increased [[creativity]], and improved writing skills.

Some of the most significant contributions of Project-based learning have been in schools of comparative disadvantage where it has been linked to increased self-esteem, better work habits, and more positive attitudes toward learning. The pedagogical practice is also linked to conversations revolving around equitable instruction, as it presents opportunities to provide learning experiences that are "equitable, relevant, and meaningful to each and every student while supporting the development of not only students' academic learning, but also their social, emotional, and identity development."<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Tierney |first1=Gavin |last2=Urban |first2=Rochelle |last3=Olabuenaga |first3=Gina |date=2023 |title=Designing for Equity: Moving Project-Based Learning From Equity Adjacent to Equity Infused |url=https://repository.isls.org//handle/1/10277}}</ref>

Teachers who implement Project-Based Learning assert that this approach emphasizes teachers helping their students track and develop their own processes of thinking, making them more aware of problem-solving strategies they can use in the future.<ref name=":2" />

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==Criticism==

Opponents of project-based learning caution against negative outcomes primarily in projects that become unfocused, as underdeveloped assignments or lessons may result in the waste of class time and inability to achieve the learning objectives. Since Project-based learning revolves around student autonomy, student's self-motivation and ability to balance work time both inside and outside of school are imperative to a successful project and teachers may be challenged to present students with sufficient time, flexibility, and resources to be successful.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ramos-Ramos |first1=Pablo |last2=Botella Nicolás |first2=Ana María |date=2022-08-31 |title=Teaching Dilemmas and Student Motivation in Project-based Learning in Secondary Education |journal=Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning |volume=16 |issue=1 |doi=10.14434/ijpbl.v16i1.33056 |issn=1541-5015|doi-access=free |hdl=10550/86538 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Furthermore, "Keeping these complex projects on track while attending to students' individual learning needs...requires artful teaching, as well as industrial-strength project management."<ref>{{cite web |title=Projects and Partnerships Build a Stronger Future - Edutopia |url=http://www.edutopia.org/blog/projects-partnerships-pbl-suzie-boss |website=edutopia.org}}</ref>

==See also==

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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070301102829/https://www.edutopia.org/php/article.php?id=Art_182 Testing the Water: project-based learning and high standards at Shutesbury Elementary School] – from [[Edutopia]] by the George Lucas Educational Foundation.

*[https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/education/k12/teach-elements.html Intel Teach Elements: Project-Based Approaches] is a free, online professional development course that explores project-based learning.

*[httphttps://project-work-in-english-teaching.blogspot.com/ Project Work in (English) Language Teaching] provides a practical guide to running a successful 30-hour (15-lesson) short film project in English with (pre-)intermediate students: planning, lessons, evaluation, deliverables, samples and experiences, plus ideas for other projects.

*[https://www.certificationpoint.org/ CertificationPoint] - Project-based learning within work experience builders.

*[https://www.discoverydayacademy.com/the-4cs/ The 4Cs of Learning] provides a guide for integration aspects of project-based learning.

{{Education}}