How Project-Based Learning Supports ALL Students
Have you ever had students complain about project-based learning or active learning? Or have students ask for worksheets and lectures?
I have, and it honestly confused me.
I believe there is a place and time for direct instruction, but have seen the benefits to student learning when it is active, hands-on, and applied.
However, many of our students (and many of us) feel like we learn more through lectures and traditional approaches -- even though the research shows that is not always the case.
For decades, there has been evidence that classroom techniques designed to get students to participate in the learning process produce better educational outcomes at virtually all levels. And a new Harvard study suggests it may be important to let students know it.
The study, published Sept. 4 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that, though students felt as if they learned more through traditional lectures, they actually learned more when taking part in classrooms that employed active-learning strategies.
Lead author Louis Deslauriers, the director of science teaching and learning and senior physics preceptor, knew that students would learn more from active learning. He published a key study in Science in 2011 that showed just that.
But many students and faculty remained hesitant to switch to it. So the authors set out to create a study where students would learn in two different settings (traditional lecture vs active learning) and then be assessed afterward.
The students would be surveyed on their perceived understanding of the topic after the traditional (or active) learning experience, and in turn, would see if those perceptions were correct.
When the results were tallied, the authors found that students felt as if they learned more from the lectures, but in fact scored higher on tests following the active learning sessions. “Actual learning and feeling of learning were strongly anticorrelated.”
This outcome was both fascinating, and a bit reassuring. Students "believed" they learned more in lectures, when in fact, the study shows they did not. Quite the opposite.
Often when we introduce project-based learning and active learning in our classes there can be hesitation from students. This is felt by all kinds of staff trying out facilitating (instead of lecturing), and is something we need to acknowledge and talk about.
As the authors share, it isn't about liking or disliking "active learning" but instead shows what our beliefs around learning are and what it should look like.
Those results, the study authors are quick to point out, shouldn’t be interpreted as suggesting students dislike active learning. In fact, many studies have shown students quickly warm to the idea, once they begin to see the results.
“In all the courses at Harvard that we’ve transformed to active learning,” Deslauriers said, “the overall course evaluations went up.”
How to Make Project-Based Learning Accessible To All Students
We’ve seen that the research is clear, active Project-Based Learning increases student achievement and overall love of the learning material.
It does not matter if the learners are at Harvard, high schoolers in AP classes, or 2nd graders - Project-Based Learning has been shown to work at all levels. Let’s take a look at some of the research that supports making this shift.
From a recent report on testing: A multi-year study of students taking AP United States Government and Politics (APGOV) and AP Environmental Sciences (APES) showed students did better on AP tests when engaging in project-based learning. APGOV students engaged in PBL in high-achieving schools “had a 30 percent higher pass rate on the APGOV exam than non-PBL students in comparable schools.” The study was conducted from 2008-2013 and was led by the George Lucas Educational Foundation.
That same study showed that APES students in poverty-impacted schools “had a 19 percent higher pass rate than non-PBL students in comparable schools matched nationally.”
Another study showed that second-grade students living in poverty increased their literacy and social studies skills through project-based learning, researchers at the University of Michigan found. The study compared students at 20 high-poverty elementary schools. It showed “students whose teachers used the project-based learning curriculum made gains that were 63 percent higher than their peers in the control group in social studies and 23 percent higher in informational reading.”
So…what gives then? Why aren’t we seeing more of a PBL approach in schools and learning environments today?
Chances are most teachers, students, and parents have experienced project-based learning in some way, shape, or form.
And, if they are anything like me - their experience has probably been a mixed bag.
Here are just a few of the experiences I’ve had as a teacher, parent, and student in PBL experiences:
As a student, I had a country report project that was basically following 20 specific steps with a partner. My partner did not do their “steps” so I had to spend extra time doing those steps.
As a teacher, I gave a Junk Sculpture project that turned into an epic disaster of symbolic waste filling up the classroom and hallway.
As a parent, my daughter had a group project where everyone waited till the last minute to do their work, scrambled to get it done — missed steps, and argued much of the time — only to receive an “A” even though they thought they all failed.
But, on the other hand, I’ve also had these experiences:
As a student, I was part of a group that researched the impact of school policy on student happiness, well-being and achievement. Was able to present our results to the administration and help change policies that had a major impact on our school and students for the future.
As a teacher, I saw groups of students work on a global project to inform their peers, community, and world about human rights violations that were happening right now. Their media awareness campaigns reached over a million people and I still receive messages today about the work they did in that PBL experience.
As a parent, my son came home every day excited and mesmerized about the electricity project where they had to make their own flashlights at school, and go through the entire scientific method without a teacher telling them what to do every step of the way.
Total mixed bag…
And here is the kicker, the country report project, Junk Sculpture project, and my daughter’s group project all had the potential to be incredibly engaging activities filled with meaningful and relevant learning - but they were missing one big piece of the puzzle.
A Universal Design Approach to Finding the Zone of Adaptation For Each Learner
James Clear shared this and I immediately started to think about my Project-Based Learning experiences:
First, let’s think about this in terms of a tennis match.
Zone 1 would be like playing a match vs the ball machine or coach sending the ball to the same forehand spot over and over again. At first, this may help you improve your swing, but very quickly you’ll have mastered that shot from the same place and at the same pace. It will be automated and there will be no improvement or learning.
Zone 3 would be like playing a match vs Serena Williams. Every shot would force you to adapt your body, your racket, your position, and your movement. She is so good you would be consistently aggravated and there would be little to no improvement or learning.
It is difficult to learn when we are constantly forced to adapt in a reactive way, over and over again, beyond manageable difficulty. I think about how these zones were present when I first started doing project-based learning.
I often over-scaffolded PBL for my students. I gave them the exact steps to follow like a recipe. They only needed to go through the motions and checklist, and although many were compliant almost none of my students were engaged or empowered.
Although the activities changed, it was almost always in the Zone of Automation for my students in these types of PBL experiences.
Then there were times when I would put together a ridiculously hard/challenging project or assessment and almost every single one of my students would be in the Zone of Aggravation. There wasn’t much learning happening here either, just a lot of cramming for something they would often forget weeks and months later.
The sweet spot happened during design sprints and project-based learning experiences where students had a manageable level of difficulty but also an end in sight. Whether they were creating a PSA for a UN Global Goal or crafting a video with a student halfway around the world, these activities were in the Zone of Adaptation.
It also happened during the smaller moments of teaching. A mini-lesson on the dangers of a single story, a class discussion about passion vs purpose, an appeal’s day.
The Zone of Adaptation is not about huge exponential learning gains, it is about small 1% experiences that over time add up to powerful learning and growth.
This is what the Universal Design for Learning approach is all about!
UDL forces us as learning designers to envision and prepare experiences for students that provide multiple avenues to that Zone of Adaptation.
Imagine a Project-Based Learning experience where learners have options for:
Interest, curiosity, and why they are learning
Goals and objectives that promote their expectations and beliefs
Language, comprehension, and ways to share their learning
Planning, expression, and communication
This is HOW a Universal Design for Learning approach can take your PBL experience to new heights. Not only does it provide options for learners, but it also designs an experience that is built on getting all students to a place where they are challenged and supported (at the same time).
