Preface

Popularity, though, has an unavoidable result: variation in quality. Project based learning, like any worthwhile instructional method, requires time, thought, and careful planning to achieve quality. If PBL is not done well, its reputation will suffer. Poorly designed and poorly executed projects can result in wasted time, misdirected student energy, and failure to achieve learning goals. Some projects might be "too loose," with students taking part in a variety of activities that do not add up to much beyond "fun" and a low-quality product or two. On the flip side, some teachers might simply add a group report and presentation to a traditionally structured unit and call that a project—which will fail to yield the promised benefits of PBL. Another threat to the reputation of PBL comes from what we call "dessert projects" (more on that in Chapter 4), which are hands-on activities that are easily completed with little planning, thought, or research. Do we really need to see another classroom stocked with sugar-cube pyramids or Styrofoam solar systems? To ensure that PBL doesn't become another one of yesterday's innovations (remember open classrooms?), we need to make sure that the best PBL practices rise to the top.

In 2010, BIE wrote an article for ASCD's Educational Leadership magazine entitled "7 Essentials for Project Based Learning" to describe what differentiated rigorous PBL from simply "doing projects" that bordered on busywork. Our publications and professional development workshops for teachers were infused by these "Essential Elements"—later increased to 8 with the addition of "Significant Content" as a reminder that PBL was meant to teach content, not just build "soft skills" as some stereotypes had it. Those 8 Essential Elements have served us well in promoting effective classroom practices, but now it's time to step it up a notch with a more comprehensive, research-based model for PBL.

We've written this book to help teachers and school leaders understand and implement the highest-quality project based learning—what we refer to as Gold Standard PBL. As you will see, a number of educational thinkers and researchers have contributed to the development of Gold Standard Project Based Learning, which brings together proven instructional practices and learning strategies. Gold Standard PBL is systematically planned and carefully facilitated, and the work students do is assessed, both formatively and summatively, by teachers, students, and often an external audience.

Gold Standard PBL involves more than students working to complete products; it explicitly includes teachers and the judicious use of traditional instructional practices—what we call project based teaching. PBL requires much more of the teacher than finding or creating a project and then turning it over to the students. Teachers' modeling, explanation, scaffolding, and coaching, among other traditional instructional methods, continue to be important. Teachers also need to help students adjust to the new learning demands of PBL, a process that requires time for students to develop new skills and self-expectations (Schmidt, Boshuizen, & de Vries, 1992).

To develop this new model for Gold Standard PBL, we have ourselves used best PBL practices. We collaborated with our board of directors and as a staff. We engaged in an iterative process of critique and revision, by sharing our work-in-progress at the PBL World gathering in June 2014, in several blog posts, in numerous conference presentations, in meetings of our 60-strong National Faculty, and with a group of representatives of several PBL-savvy organizations. We reflected on what we heard—resulting in 42 draft versions of the Gold Standard language—and are now ready to make our work public.

We believe PBL is vital for preparing young people for the modern world, and we want to help ensure that PBL becomes a regular practice in more and more classrooms. Making this vision a reality will require the combined efforts of teachers and school leaders—and, of course, students—with the support of parents and communities. We've written this book with all these stakeholders in mind.

This book is intended to be practical as well as visionary and inspirational. Our first three chapters make the case for PBL, describe what Gold Standard PBL looks like, and provide an overview of what research says about PBL. The middle chapters explain how teachers can successfully design and manage projects, including notes and examples for teachers in the primary grades through high school. Following this is a chapter for school and district leaders, because their supportive policies, structures, and culture are what will make PBL a systemwide practice. Finally, we discuss the possibilities for PBL in informal education spaces such as after-school clubs, community programs, and summer learning. Appendix A contains sample projects of a variety of types, in a wide range of grade levels and subject areas.

Project based learning is gaining traction around the world. A growing number of educators on every continent recognize the need for new approaches to teaching and learning in the 21st century. Three of the project snapshots you'll read about and that are described in Appendix A attest to PBL's global appeal; they are from Mumbai, India, Manitoba, Canada, and Crestmead, Australia. In recent years we've also gotten to know educators interested in PBL from Canada, Mexico, Korea, England, China, South Africa, Singapore, Costa Rica, Pakistan, Japan, Brazil, Jordan, Taiwan, the Dominican Republic, and many more places. Although we use terminology and descriptions of schooling drawn mainly from the United States' system of education, we think the project design principles and management practices we recommend can be applied anywhere.

We hope this book will bolster the few who are already doing Gold Standard PBL, guide the many who want to improve their practice of PBL, and lead many more to begin using PBL with their students—all of whom need and deserve it.

John Larmer

John Mergendoller

Suzie Boss

February 2015

Novato, California