Core Practices for Project-Based Learning: A Guide for Teachers and Leaders

Core Practices for Project-Based Learning offers a framework and essential set of strategies for successfully implementing project-based learning (PBL) in the classroom. Centering on teaching practice, this work moves beyond project planning to focus on the complex instructional demands of the student-centered PBL approach.

Pam Grossman and her colleagues draw on their research with teachers, educational leaders, and curriculum designers to identify the instructional goals, practices, and mindsets that enable educators to effectively facilitate deep learning in PBL environments.

The authors first define the four primary teaching goals of the PBL model: supporting subject-area learning, engaging students in authentic work, encouraging student collaboration and agency, and building an iterative culture where students are always prototyping, reflecting, and trying again. They then equip educators with ten key practices that serve these goals. These practices include methods to elicit higher-order thinking, engage students in disciplinary and interdisciplinary practice, and mentor student decision making. The authors guide educators from a clear starting place through a series of concrete, manageable steps that apply whether they are initiating PBL or working to improve the quality of existing PBL implementation. Extended case studies illustrate the use of the core practices in real-world situations.

Core Practices for Project-Based Learning is an invaluable resource to help educators realize their instructional vision and create meaningful student experiences.