High Quality Project Based Learning

Why?

All students, no matter where they live or what their background, deserve access to high quality Project Based Learning (HQPBL). This enables students to master academic content and skills, develop skills necessary for future success, and build the personal agency needed to tackle life’s and the world’s challenges. For more on evidence and research supporting PBL, download Defining High Quality PBL- A Look at the Research.

How?

Various models and guidelines for designing PBL have been created by experts and organizations in recent years. These are typically written from the perspective of the teacher. Therefore, effective PBL educators around the world are designing projects using a variety of different tools and frameworks. While ‘how’ PBL educators design and implement PBL in their settings may vary, consistently we all ought to be striving for high quality PBL student experiences.

What?

At the present time, however, there is a lack of agreement about what makes a student PBL experience truly high quality. Without a shared, learner-centered vision of HQPBL, it is difficult for educators to know how to use PBL to improve student experiences, learning and development.

The Framework for High Quality Project Based Learning is based on the accumulated experience, wisdom, and research of hundreds of educators who have graciously shared their ideas and critique. It describes six criteria, each of which must be at least minimally present in a project in order for it to be judged “high quality.” The presence of a criterion, however, is only a beginning. Each criterion can be judged in turn as to the quality of its implementation. Projects that are the most memorable, and that have the greatest impact on student learning and development, will be those with the highest quality implementation of each criterion. The Framework for High Quality Project Based Learning is intended to stimulate reflection and conversation about ways that projects can be improved and deepened.