Project-Based Learning activities focus on the creation of an end product, quite often a multimedia project such as a web page, presentation, or digital video. Throughout the process of this development, students perform research as well as collaborate with each other and outside experts. These Criteria for Authentic Project-Based Learning are a great place to start to see how project-based learning activities enhance the curriculum.

What Does the Research Say?

The Project-Based Learning Research page summarizes research stating that Project-Based Learning is a very effective teaching strategy. According to several of the studies, students in PBL classrooms performed better on standardized tests than those taught in a traditional setting.

A Review of Research on Project-Based Learning, describes not only the effectiveness of PBL, but also provides a solid definition, student roles, and challenges when implementing PBL. The link above leads to a summary page, however the full report is also available.

Finally, the Department of Education's Technical Research Report gives comprehensive information on how Technology Supports Project-Based Learning.

Project Process

ProjectLearn, created by Tech4Learning, provides lots of free resources to help teachers utilize the project-based approach. ProjectLearn can help teachers through the process of developing project-based activities and assessment.

If you are looking for examples of projects, Edutopia Online's Project-Based Learninghas many case studies detailing the experiences of teachers who have use project-based learning activities successfully in their classrooms. This site also includes extra resources, professional development tools, and many video clips.

In order to assist teachers in creating student guidelines to use on project-based learning lessons go to
PBL Checklists at 4Teachers.org.