What are some of the common misconceptions and myths about project-based learning?

In my opinion, PBL is the most rigorous form of learning that exists. Many colleges are beginning to use PBL on an increasing basis. Because the heart of PBL is inquiry and research, students must learn skills that go beyond memorization or even application of knowledge. Students must develop skills in wonder, innovation, and stretching boundaries while they develop a concrete understanding of the content surrounding a PBL.

Project based learning takes students to a different level of engagement and understanding. PBL is built of sustained inquiry. Students tackle authentic, real world problems and work collaboratively to create authentic solutions. In a high-quality PBL, not only is the work authentic, but it strives to engage students on a deep level. PBL can not only align with a variety of standards and skills from multiple content areas, but it can also ignite computational thinking, problem solving and ingenuity. A high quality PBL will provide students opportunities to share their ideas with others, seek feedback and self-reflect on the process and outcomes.

Just as PBL should not be a "one-size-fits-all" solution, all teachers should not be expected to master the art of PBL design. Some teaching styles are a better fit for PBL. The belief in letting students learn for themselves, the ability to create a sense of community in the classroom, and a willingness to be reflective and corrective (in other words, wrong) in their practice are the hallmarks of a strong PBL instructor.

PBLs can benefit all students, as long as it tailored to each student's needs, skills and desired outcomes. It provides opportunities for students who may struggle with more standardized assessments to share knowledge in less traditional ways. PBL can be daunting for many teachers, who are often overwhelmed with the vast demands of an already jam-packed curriculum. Thus, PBLs can be scaffolded. There is not a list of mandated requirements to benefit students. Therefore, teachers can design PBLs to meet the needs of their individual classrooms. There are also supports available from online platforms. These platforms provide key elements teachers can use to introduce PBL into their classroom, but allow teachers to customize the tasks.

PBL is definitely good for all students. It is especially remarkable to follow students who had exposure to PBL earlier in their education and continued it through high school. These students graduate ready to take on any question they have as they continue their lifelong learning process. Students who have not experienced the "productive struggle" required of PBL are often less prepared for the ambiguity of their post-secondary life.

PBL is multi-disciplinary! While STEM/STEAM subjects have clear pathways to effective PBL because students are encouraged to ask questions and explore or experiment to find pathways to solutions to problems. However, this is true for any content area. Students should be encouraged to embrace sustained inquiry in all subject areas. ELA, art, music, PE, social studies and computer science can all be incorporated into PBL. Teachers can choose to do isolated core PBLs or use an interdisciplinary approach. The problem solving, computational and communication skills fostered by high quality PBL are beneficial to students, regardless to the subject or class in which it is presented.

Ever since Socrates asked his students more questions rather than answering their questions, PBL style learning has been at the root of all education. The problems we have seen in traditional education is a dependence on providing the answers to students rather than furthering their questioning. PBL is a solid framework that provides students with guidance rather than answers, and provides teachers with the opportunity to be a facilitator of learning rather than a lecturer. This all harkens back to the origins of formal learning.

Buzz words fade in and out of the educational landscape. They are recycled, often renaming an older concept with a new label. PBL is a fine example of that idea. Project Based Learning has evolved over many centuries, with different names or presentations. This evolution has been driven by strong educational theories tested in a variety of settings over a vast amount of time. PBL approach has been studied, tested, and reformed to improve the educational impact on student learning. While the PBL might be at the top of educational jargon, it should also be at the top of any list of highly effective and engaging educational approaches.

Many educators confuse projects with authentic project based learning. Projects are often a way of having student create an artifact that may, or may not, be a representation of learned information. For example, traditional book report projects can assigned to have students demonstrate their understanding of a story in a fun way. Or students might create a slide show to show knowledge of endangered animals. Project based learning goes beyond the final project. A high quality PBL starts with student inquiry. Students are challenged to examine real life problems or situations that might not have a obvious answer. Project Based Learning evokes the idea that students learn content and skills through the course of the inquiry driven task.

This is the most common myth I have encountered as I have provided professional development for project-based learning. Better described as problem-based, PBL is the whole package, not just the end product. In teaching through PBL, an educator has to consider the entire process from asking important questions, to research and learning, to the design process, and the final product. The bulk of the time in a PBL lesson cycle is spent in research, learning, and design. To put the emphasis on the end product only shortchanges the learners, and is really traditional learning with a project for evidence of mastery rather than an exam.

Many parents - and perhaps educators, too - feel that PBL will provide wonderful experiential learning, but fails to provide the necessary “skills & drills” traditionally associated with learning outcomes. This could not be further from the truth, when PBL and units of inquiry are implemented properly. Foundational skills and practicing those skills are parts of project-based and inquiry-driven units. From this, students become the central part of the unit, allowing their curiosities and interests guide the outcomes. Those well-developed skills play an integral role in producing high-quality, meaningful learning because they’re interlaced with purpose and experience.

After being isolated at home during Covid, I found that all five of my high school literature classes loved learning through PBL. They found it satisfying to work with their small group and create a well-researched project that was meaningful to them as well as digging deeper into the literature and subject matter. Two years in a row niw PBL has been so successful in my classrooms.