 a water quality report for the town about a local stream)
- Problem-based learning may use simulation problems or academic problems that are challenging provocations to thinking but may not have real-world use (e.g., design a container with flat surfaces and minimal surface area to hold a set of given objects; describe a fair solution to an ethical dilemma from history)
- Disciplinary versus Interdisciplinary
- Project-based learning is often deeply interdisciplinary; the real-world connection typically involves research, design, creation, and communication
- Problem-based learning may be primarily centered in a single discipline (e.g., inquiry-based math lessons often include problem-based learning)
- A Final Product or Performance
- Project-based learning typically results in a final draft product or performance that is shared with the public (e.g., book, machine, display, blueprint, website, symposium)
- Problem-based learning may culminate in a solution, but is not necessarily brought to a polished product
The Case Study approach--best known from its use in medical schools, law schools, and business schools--is one particular branch of problem-based learning that is highly-defined and sometimes prescribed in its pedagogical steps. That approach has inspired and informed use in undergraduate and K-12 classrooms as well.
All of these models of instruction, when used well, can build student ownership and engagement and push student thinking in ways that are difficult to match with other pedagogical approaches. Some of that power is self-evident when viewing high-quality student projects. If you're interested in seeing examples, I encourage you to visit the Center for Student Work. For the past 25 years, I have been working with my colleagues at Expeditionary Learning and at the Harvard Graduate School of Education to build and curate an archive of exemplary student projects, which are now housed online in this center.
At the center, you can view projects like this one, in which seventh-grade students at Polaris Charter Academy in Chicago created a book to honor heroes in their community who are working as "Peacekeepers" to quell neighborhood violence. The project began with an in-depth study of the U.S. Constitution, which moved into a study of Second Amendment rights. This is a powerful issue for students. Gun violence is so extreme in the neighborhood surrounding the school that 96% of students personally knew someone who was a victim. The students worked with and interviewed local activists and civil servants, wrote compelling profiles of them, photographed them professionally, and published this book. They worked with those activists to create a citywide "Day of Peace"--a cease-fire--that sent a message of what is possible when neighbors work together. You can see that project here.
The full collection in the Center for Student Work is open to the public, with all examples free to view and download. It can be found here.
One of the best ways to understand the power of all three of these overlapping practices is to view a classroom where they are done well. You can view a short video of such a classroom here.
Responses From Readers
John Larmer from the Buck Institute for Education:
I agree with what all your contributors say. In 2012, I wrote a blog post to try to sort it out. Note: Sometimes people who saw just the bottom part of the chart in the post (when it was shared by cutting & pasting without the context) got the impression I was being critical of problem based learning - I'm not. Some problem-based learning folks objected to my saying it was more often single-subject, didn't always have a tangible product, and wasn't always "fully authentic" but a simulation. I think my words are accurate in terms of what is most typical, but yes, there are plenty of examples of problem-based units that are in fact interdisciplinary, with tangible products, and fully authentic.
Thanks to Jeff, Nancy, Derek, Christopher, Heather and Ron, and to readers, for their contributions!
Please feel free to leave a comment your reacti