Project-Based Learning

AKA

Project Method

Focus

Supporting learning through co-dependent, goal-oriented action

Principal Metaphors

  • Knowledge is … scope of possible actions and interpretations
  • Knowing is … doing
  • Learner is … a collaborator (individual) or a project team (collective)
  • Learning is … developing understanding through application and exploration
  • Teaching is … supervising, facilitating, guiding

Originated

1910s

Synopsis

A type of Active Learning or Inquiry-Based Learning, Project-Based Learning aims to support profound understandings of curriculum topics (and more) by involving learners in complex challenges or problems over extended time. The orienting question should be authentic and interdisciplinary. Engaging with it should support creativity, resiliency, and passion on the personal level, as well as communication and other social skills on the interpersonal level. Students are expected to organize and manage their own work. Typically, Project-Based Learning is product oriented, with expectations of written, artistic, and/or technology-based artifacts to relay results. Associated constructs and discourses include:
  • Anchored Instruction (John Bransford, 1990s) – a discourse on teaching in technology-rich settings that is explicitly aligned with Social Constructionism, Situated Learning, and Active Learning. The term “anchoring” is used to highlight the connection between academic content and authentic context – and that connection, or anchor, typically comes in the form of a motivating narrative (preferably in video format) that is rich in embedded information and that ends with some sort of challenge to be resolved.
  • Purposeful Act (William Kirkpatrick, 1910s) – an intentional, goal-directed action where students apply knowledge to create, solve, or contribute meaningfully beyond the classroom, connecting learning to authentic contexts and real-world outcomes
  • Strategic Teaching Framework (Beau Jones, Randy Knuth, Thomas Duffy, 1990s) – a model of teaching based on Anchored Instruction, from which seven “critical dimensions” are drawn (e.g., learner input, multiple perspectives, opportunities for reflection). A defining aspect is a video library of exemplary lessons.

Commentary

Proponents of Project-Based Learning claim that a body of evidence has been amassed to show that learners retain their knowledge longer and are more enthusiastic about learning. Critics counter that such results tend to be based on subjective assessment tools, and data drawn from more standardized tools are less compelling. Concerns have also been voiced over how learners might develop nuanced understandings of higher-level concepts, especially more abstract notions that might not be easily integrated into an interdisciplinary inquiry. Finally, it is not difficult to imagine projects that would overtax classroom resources and teacher knowledge.

Authors and/or Prominent Influences

John Dewey; William Kilpatrick

Status as a Theory of Learning

Project-Based Learning is not a theory of learning

Status as a Theory of Teaching

Project-Based Learning is a theory of teaching.

Status as a Scientific Theory

Project-Based Learning is founded on scientific theories of learning. Proponents claim a significant body of evidence supporting claims that the approach, implemented with fidelity, is associated with higher achievement, more connected understandings, and improved attitudes. Detractors typically respond that “implemented with fidelity” is a hedge that permits proponents to cherry-pick results.

Subdiscourses:

  • Anchored Instruction
  • Purposeful Act
  • Strategic Teaching Framework

Map Location



Please cite this article as:
Davis, B., & Francis, K. (2025). “Project-Based Learning” in Discourses on Learning in Education. https://learningdiscourses.com.


⇦ Back to Map
⇦ Back to List