Benefits of Project-based Instruction

How does project-based instruction benefit students? This approach motivates children to learn by allowing them to select topics that are interesting and relevant to their lives (Katz & Chard, 1989). Additionally, 20 years of research indicate that engagement and motivation lead to high achievement (Brewster and Fager, 2000). Research on the long-term effects of early childhood curricula supports the rationale for incorporating project-based learning into early childhood education and secondary education (Katz & Chard, 1989).

Teachers are increasingly working with children who have a wide range of abilities, come from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and are English language learners. Schools are seeking ways to respond to the needs of these students. Project-based instruction provides one way to introduce a wider range of learning opportunities into the classroom. It can engage children from diverse cultural backgrounds because children can choose topics that are related to their own experiences, as well as allow them to use cultural or individual learning styles (Katz & Chard, 1989). For example, traditional Native American ways of teaching stress hands-on and cooperative learning experiences (Clark, 1999; Reyes, 1998).

Incorporating projects into the curriculum is neither new nor revolutionary. Open education in the late 1960s and early 1970s strongly emphasized active engagement in projects, firsthand learning experiences, and learning by doing (Katz & Chard, 1989). The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education, recognized and acclaimed as one of the best systems of education in the world, is project-based (Abramson, Robinson, & Ankenman, 1995; Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 1993).

Particular benefits of project-based instruction include:

• Preparing children for the workplace. Children are exposed to a wide range of skills and competencies such as collaboration, project planning, decisionmaking, and time management (Blank, 1997; Dickinson et al., 1998).

• Increasing motivation. Teachers often note improvement in attendance, more class participation, and greater willingness to do homework (Bottoms & Webb, 1998; Moursund, Bielefeldt, & Underwood, 1997).

• Connecting learning at school with reality. Students retain more knowledge and skills when they are engaged in stimulating projects. With projects, kids use higher order thinking skills rather than memorizing facts in an isolated context without a connection to how and where they are used in the real world (Blank, 1997; Bottoms & Webb, 1998; Reyes, 1998).

• Providing collaborative opportunities to construct knowledge. Collaborative learning allows kids to bounce ideas off each other, voice their own opinions, and negotiate solutions, all skills that will be necessary in the workplace (Bryson, 1994; Reyes, 1998).

• Increasing social and communication skills

• Increasing problem-solving skills (Moursund, Bielefeldt, & Underwood, 1997)

• Enabling students to make and see connections between disciplines

• Providing opportunities to contribute to their school or community

• Increasing self-esteem. Children take pride in accomplishing something that has value outside the classroom (Jobs for the Future, n.d.).

• Allowing children to use their individual learning strengths and diverse approaches to learning (Thomas, 1998).

• Providing a practical, real-world way to learn to use technology (Kadel, 1999; Moursund, Bielefeldt, & Underwood, 1997).

A teacher in Washington State who has used project-based instruction in his math and science classes reports that many students who often struggle in most academic settings find meaning and justification for learning by working on projects (Nadelson, 2000). The teacher also notes that by facilitating learning of content knowledge as well as reasoning and problem-solving abilities, project-based instruction can help students prepare for state assessments and meet state standards.