Getting Started with Project-Based Learning

Scholarly Resources

For a little more information on the value, applicability, generalizability, and difficulties in the design of controlled experiment, see the following:

Project-Based Learning has also been the subject of significant research. Below are a few articles, and please see the Biography of Researchers for prominent authors in this area.

• Motivating Project-Based Learning: Sustaining the Doing, Supporting the Learning, from Phillis Blumenfeld, Elliot Soloway, Ronald Marx, Joseph Krajcik, Mark Guzdial, and Annemarie Palincsar of the University of Michigan
• Learning History in Middle School by Designing Multimedia in a Project-Based Learning Experience, from Pedro Hernandez-Ramos of Santa Clara University and Susan De La Paz of the University of Maryland
• Managing Project Based Learning: Principles from the Field, by John Mergendoller and John Thomas from the Buck Institute for Education
• Teaching for Meaningful Learning: A Review of research on Inquiry-Based and Cooperative Learning, by Brigid Barron and Linda Darling-Hammond of Stanford University
• When Smart Groups Fail, from Brigid Barron of Stanford University
• Problem-Based Learning Meets Case-Based Reasoning in the Middle-School Science Classroom: Putting Learning by Designâ„¢ Into Practice, from Janet Kolodner, Paul Camp, David Crismond, Barbara Fasse, Jackie Gray, Jennifer Holbrook, Sadhana Puntambekar, and Mike Ryan of Georgia Tech
• Turning Student Groups into Effective Teams, by Barbara Oakley and Imad Elhajj of Oakland University, Richard Felder of North Carolina State University, and Rebecca Brent of Education Designs Inc.
• A Review of Research on Project-Based Learning, by John Thomas
• Project-Based Learning: Inspiring Middle School Students to Engage in Deep and Active Learning, by Joel Klein, Santiago Taveras, Sabrina King, Anna Commitante, Linda Curtis-Bey, and Barbara Stipling of the NYC Department of Education
• Online Professional Development for Project Based Learning: Pathways to Systematic Improvement, by Jason Ravitz, John Mergendoller, and Thom Markham of the Buck Institute for Education, and Carolyn Thorsen, Kerry Rice, Chareen Snelson, and Sherawn Reberry of Boise State University

General Media

These sources would generally not be suitable for use in your assignments, but they may provide a useful general overview of the topic if you find yourself struggling with the more scholarly resources.

Project-Based Learning is a highly researched field, and as such numerous resources are available online. Below are a few, but you are encouraged to find your own as well.

• Project Based Learning: Explained (Video), from the Buck Institute for Education
• Project-based learning, by Heather Coffey
• What is Project Based Learning (PBL)?, from the Buck Institute for Education
• Why Project Based Learning (PBL)?, from the Buck Institute for Education
• Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning, by John Larner and John Mergendoller from the Buck Institute for Education
• What Research Says About … / Project-Based Learning, by Jane David of the Bay Area Research Group
• Powerful Projects, by Tony Vincent
• Project-Based Learning Research Review, from Vanessa Vega of Edutopia
• Project-Based Learning Research Review: Evidence-Based Components of Success, from Vanessa Vega of Edutopia
• Project-Based Learning Research Review: Evidence-Based Components of Success, from Vanessa Vega of Edutopia
• Project-Based Learning Research Review: Avoiding Pitfalls, from Vanessa Vega of Edutopia
• Project-based learning, from Wikipedia
• Project-Based Learning vs. Problem-Based Learning vs. X-BL, by John Larmer of the Buck Institute for Education
• What Project-Based Learning Is â€” and What It Isn’t, by Katrina Schwartz of MindShift
• Project-based learning: the pros and cons, by Keith McHugh of GreatKids
• Project-Based Learning, from The Glossary of Education Reform
• Complete Guide to Project-Based Learning, from StudentGuide