3 Questions About Project Based Learning

We here at Guerilla Educators are consistently asked 3 basic questions about the Project Based Learning methodology:

• What is Project Based Learning?

• How can educators use projects to assess mastery of curriculum?

• Where can research data be found to confirm (or deny) the effectiveness of PBL as a successful pedgogical strategy with students?

To answer these questions, we turn to the great online education magazine, "Edutopia", for assistance.  In the article, "Why Teach with Project Learning?" an article by the editorial staff defines PBL like this; Project learning, also known as project-based learning, is a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges, simultaneously developing cross-curriculum skills while working in small collaborative groups. 
To this definition, we would add that the incorporation of a Service component (i.e. Service learning) with Community Partnerships into projects models what good citizenship looks like and is a crucial element in the Project-Based teaching and learning.
For a great start to learn about how projects can be used to assess student academic progress, take a look at Eeva Reeder's students at Mountlake Terrace High School, near Seattle, Washington. 
In our view, a project's success ultimately has value to the extent that it can advance students towards mastery across a range of curricula and that this progress can be assessed.
Finally, a great place to begin investigating the growing body of research that supports the use of projects with students can be found in the Edutopia article, "PBL Research Summary: Studies Validate Project Based Learning".