Musings on Project-Based Learning

As a student, I hated projects. As a teacher, I love them. Why did I hate them? We rarely had time to work on them in class – lots of homework never made me happy. There was too much opportunity to procrastinate, which I did all too often, then ended up miserably trying to cram it all into the last minute. I was not always clearly aware of why the project was assigned, nor of what I was expected to produce. And frequently, the project consisted of collecting things/facts/pictures and presenting them in some “fancy” or “artistic” way. Kids with fewer siblings and more competitive parents always ended up with the beautiful posterboards enhanced with store-bought stickers and letters, while mine always had that “not so skillful DIY” look.

Teachers I know hate assigning projects. They are too frequently disappointed in the outcomes, but for some very basic reasons
1. “Their presentation/speaking skills are awful! I just can’t stand to listen to all this drivel” Well…they need to be taught this as well as the content that they’ll be presenting! A walk-through for a mini-audience, a chance to pre-present before the teacher can do wonders for the final product. This is where schools need to spend some time, in my opinion. From little on, kids need to get up and present and be given age-appropriate, gentle feedback on their effectiveness. Sure, it’s hard. It’s school. It’s supposed to be!
2. “Group work is a nightmare. One kid carries the group and the rest skate and goof off” They need to be taught group skills, too. Don’t come to the library, or give class time for project work, and use that time yourself to grade papers or have an extra cup of coffee in the teachers’ room. Your involved presence alone will do a lot to ensure that they stay on task.
3. “But I do circulate…” And ask task-related questions? Ask each student to log his or her activity during the class period? Give feedback on how they are working, what they’re choosing to focus on? Reserve a few minutes at the end of each period for groups to record their progress and share it with you?
4. “I clearly told them what to do, and they just aren’t living up to my high standards” Is there a prototype? Do they know what a successful project looks like? What about a not-so-successful project? Do they understand what they are supposed to be learning, and why you assigned the project? Did they help to develop the rubric for defining success? Did you help them to employ and work through a research-process model?
5. “I’m embarrassed. They made so many mistakes” Hello? School? This is where you make mistakes, so you can learn. If there are no mistakes made, no learning is taking place. That being said, there needs to be a refining process in place that allows for feedback before the “final product” stage. Substantial feedback, multiple times. There is NO final draft – just the best version so far.


At bottom, there is nothing that can salvage a project with which the assigning teacher is bored. Teacher enthusiasm for the subject matter, and clear, obvious interest in student learning and mastery go very far in ensuring a project’s success with students. If you don’t believe these things are valuable, how on earth do you expect your students to value the experience?