Project-based Learning

Studies show that almost all students are bored in school (Csikszentmihalyi, Rathunde, & Whalen, 1993). When students are not engaged and are bored in class, they are less likely to learn (Blumenfeld et al, 1991). Learning sciences research suggests that project-based learning may offer a potential solution to the problem of boredom in school. Students are more engaged and therefore less likely to be bored. Students learn by doing and applying ideas through real-world activities. Project-based learning is a form of situtated learning. There are 5 key features of project-based learning: 1. Instruction Starts with a driving question, a problem to be solved; 2. Students explore the driving question by participating in authentic, situated-inquiry. As students explore the question, they develop an understanding of the discipline and also how to apply their understanding; 3. Students, teachers, and community members engage in collaborative activities to find answers to the question; 4. During the inquiry process, students are scaffolded with learning technologies that allow them to perform activities normally beyond their individual ability; 5.Students create a set of products to address the needs of the question. These products are shared artifacts that represent the learning of the class (Blumenfeld et al, 1991; Krajcik, et al., 1994; Krajcik, Czerniak, & Berger, 2002).
The theoretical background of project-based learning includes active construction, situated learning, social interactions and cognitive tools.
Learning sciences research shows that deep understanding occurs when learners actively constructs meaning based on their experiences and interactions in the world.Situated learning requires that learning take place in real-world, authentic context. For example, in science, when students design their own investigation to answer a question that is important to them or to their community, they see the value of science and also see how science can be applied to solve real-world problems. Social interaction plays a key role in learning. The best learning results when students, teachers and subject matter experts from the community work together in a situated activity to construct shared solutions to problems and new understandings of underlying principles. Deeper understanding is developed through sharing, applying and debating ideas with others and this process of back and forth interaction creates a community of learners. Also, the use of cognitive tools can amplify and expand what students are able to learn. Learning technologies can support students in accessing and collecting a range of information; provide tools for visualizing complex, abstract ideas; allow for distance collaboration; assist in planning, building and testing models; and allow for the development of multimedia knowledge artifacts that can be shared globally.
Project-based learning reinforces that there may be more than one way to interpret data and more than one way to solve a problem. Driving questions should guide instruction and be meaningful and important to learners. The driving question should be a tool for organizing and directing the activities of the project. It provides an authentic context in which students can establish and explore learning goals, as well as provide continuity and coherence to the project. Driving questions have the following features: feasible in that students can design and perform investigations to answer the question; 2. worthwhile in that they contain rich science content that aligns with national and state standards and relates to real-world science; 3. contextualized in that the questions are real-world and important; 4. meaningful and interesting and exciting to learners; and 5. ethical in that they do no harm to individuals, organizations or the environment (Krajcik et al, 2002).