What is the teachers’ role during project-based learning?
Launch PBL Series
EP1: How can we create an impactful PBL experience?
EP2:What is project-based learning?
EP3: What are the benefits of project-based learning?
EP4: How can we write a quality driving question for a PBL unit?
EP5: How can we foster academic risk-taking during PBL?
EP6: How can we assess students during project-based learning?
EP7: How can we use milestones to track students’ progress during PBL?
EP8: How can we choose an engaging project-based learning topic?
EP9: What is the teachers’ role during project-based learning?
EP10: How can we plan a project showcase without feeling overwhelmed?
EP11: How can we use effective feedback strategies to enhance students’ public products?
EP 12: How can teachers improve their PBL experience through reflection?
EP 13: How can we shift students from presentations to presentations of learning?
When I lead professional development workshops, teachers often ask me questions about their role during project-based instruction.
They wonder:
Can there be too much voice and choice?
How much should students contribute to the project?
How much should teachers contribute to the project?
What does the student and teacher role look like?
Let’s explore the teacher’s role in project-based learning by reflecting on the history of PBL. John Dewey was a proponent of hands-on learning, and many researchers attribute the idea of project-based learning to him based on his views about experiential education. However, William Kilpatrick, a former student of John Dewey, published an article in 1918 called "The Project Method," which explained that students should engage in what he called a "wholehearted, purposeful act" of learning.
Kilpatrick believed that learning should relate to real life and should feel authentic. He thought that students should create a goal, design their own learning experiences and that this form of learning would keep students motivated. Dewey also believed that knowledge was socially constructed and that learning should be organized as real-life experiences. He agreed that this provided context for the information and allowed students to learn at a deeper level. But Dewey and Kilpatrick didn't completely agree on the method of execution.
Kilpatrick's article suggested giving students the majority of control over their learning. At the same time, Dewey agreed that students should learn through real-world experiences but that teachers should play a more prominent role in the learning process. According to Dewey, the teacher's role was to organize the content and facilitate the actual learning experiences so that students could achieve their goals.
As a result, after students complete these planned learning experiences, they will have the ability to apply their learning in other situations. Over the last century, the project-based method has continued to evolve, and educators now have access to research-based practices to guide their instruction.
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The teachers’ role during project-based learning
With all this in mind, there is one specific question I want to tackle:
Should students design the driving question?
The answer to this question is often up for debate within the PBL community, and that's why it's so important to discuss. Some researchers state that students should design their driving questions, and every aspect of the learning process should be student-led. Other researchers say that the teacher should create the driving question but provide opportunities for student voice and choice during the learning process.
Hearing conflicting advice makes it difficult for new project-based educators to determine what to do next. My response to this question is an answer that most people don't like to hear-it depends. It depends on the learning context, environment and people involved. However, when forced to choose a side, my preference is for teachers to create the driving question.
Voice and choice don't mean students should complete the whole project without any guidance. It's essential to understand the role of the teacher. During project-based instruction, teachers are referred to as a coach, a facilitator, or a guide. They make instructional decisions based on the learning goals, what students already know, need to know, and want to know.
Teachers are responsible for creating a classroom culture that supports project-based learning. They create milestones to monitor student progress and help select appropriate learning materials. Ultimately, the teacher designs the learning experience, determines the intended outcomes, and then coaches students through the learning process.
A common misconception is that "creating the driving question" means that teachers introduce the project, and their job is done, which is untrue. While students will have voice and choice during the PBL experience, teachers must continue to monitor the learning process and provide support as needed.
I once spoke with a teacher who tried a completely hands-off approach to PBL. Someone told her to allow students to design and own their learning completely. She had hoped to implement a semester long project-based learning unit with her high schoolers. At the beginning of the semester, she asked the high schoolers: "What do you want to learn about?" Then she said, "Okay, now go learn about those things and create a project."
As you might have guessed, the project did not go well. Students had very little guidance from the start. They didn't know what they were supposed to learn or the project goal because they had no direction.
As an exercise in reflection, I asked that teacher some questions. If you've ever had a failed PBL attempt, these questions might help you to reframe your thinking as well. I asked:
What was the purpose of this class or project?
What were the students supposed to learn or demonstrate?
What was the open-ended question that the students needed to answer?
What learning goals were students striving to reach?
After discussing the answers to the questions, the teacher modified her plan. Well, technically, she created a plan. She was able to help students create learning objectives while guiding them through a purposeful learning experience. Without knowing the answers to these questions, students have minimum guidance, and the project rarely succeeds. The teacher should help design the learning experience and co-select the students' outcomes. Teachers should be prepared to coach and assess throughout the PBL experience.
There is a difference between a novice PBL teacher and a veteran PBL teacher.
Let me explain. The degree of teacher and student autonomy during PBL varies based on the experience and comfort level of the people involved. It's important to realize that there's a difference between a novice project-based teacher and an experienced project-based teacher. There's also a difference between students who are new to project-based learning and those who have spent most of their school life learning this way. When you hear about a teacher who states that their students design an entire PBL experience, inquire about the following:
How long has the teacher been facilitating project-based learning experiences?
What type of professional development, support, and resources does this teacher have at their school?
How long and often have these students been exposed to project-based learning?
Consider a language immersion program where the students learn Spanish as a second language from kindergarten to eighth grade. Their high school Spanish class will look very different from a high school Spanish class for students who are new to the language. Students exposed to Spanish since they were five years old will read novels in the language and take upper-level Spanish classes in high school. In comparison, a student who can barely speak one sentence in Spanish will focus on basic vocabulary in their high school class.
The same goes for project-based learning. Students immersed in project-based instruction longer will be at a different comfort level than students who embark on their first PBL experience. Regardless of their previous experience, students should always have a voice and choice, but the amount or type of voice and choice may look different depending on the group.
With that being said, sometimes teachers fall into the mindset that project-based learning will be too difficult for their students. Often, this is because they assume that their students, who are brand new to PBL, are expected to lead the entire experience themselves, and they doubt their ability to do so.
It's okay to take a gradual release approach and guide students until they are well equipped to take more ownership of their learning. To foster academic risk-taking, start with bite-sized, engaging activities such as design thinking sprints, genius hour, maker space projects, etc. These activities are good ways to expose students to the kind of thinking required for PBL.
Remember, until students become PBL pros (and even after that in many cases), teachers must prepare to lead by creating and guiding the learning process, especially when new to the process. Even veteran project-based teachers often still create their driving questions because they want to guide students to their learning goals.
When teachers make strong driving questions, this helps students stay on track with curriculum and standards while still giving them ample voice and choice. When there is a specified curriculum to cover, as in most classrooms, teachers should be intentional about the learning experiences to ensure students meet their academic goals.
It's common to hear that a teacher's role during project-based learning is similar to that of a coach.
When we hear the word, coach, most people think of sports. A coach is an expert in their sport. They know the rules and the best practices. They know how to be successful. While the players come to them with some skills and talent, the coach's role is to develop the players' skills further. It's also the coach's job to motivate the players and build effective teams to work together to pursue a common goal.
When you consider what we know about a sports coach, you'll see many similarities in the role of an educator. As an educator, you're a content expert. You know your content, and you know what students need to learn. You also know the best teaching practices that will help your students to succeed. Like on a sports team, students come to you with varying skill levels. You, as the teacher, know how to help them develop and grow. And, just like a sports coach, your role as a teacher is also to motivate your students and facilitate collaboration towards a common goal - learning.
I mentioned that educators are content experts. To be called an expert can feel daunting, and sometimes the idea turns teachers away from project-based learning. There's no need to be intimidated. Truthfully, when immersed in a high-quality PBL experience, sometimes students will ask a question that teachers don't know the answer to, and that's okay. It shows students that even teachers continue to research, learn, and expand their thinking and knowledge which promotes the importance of being a lifelong learner.
Research is an essential component of PBL, and that's where students will discover the answers to those random questions. While crafting a PBL unit plan, it's important to consider two types of research questions: guided research and open-ended research.
Guided research questions: These are the questions that every student should research because they are foundational to the learning goals. Every student should be able to answer these questions by the end of the unit.
Open research questions: These questions give students a chance to expand their thinking and pursue their interests. Not every student will tackle the same research questions, so this is an excellent opportunity for students to present their findings to the class. Open research questions allow students to take their learning to the next level.
To be a successful PBL educator, you must believe that students can learn through project-based learning.
If you enter this experience with a fixed mindset, you are less likely to succeed. It's part of your role as a coach to inspire, motivate and believe in your students. Remember that your first few project-based learning experiences won't go exactly as planned, but don't get discouraged. PBL is an ongoing learning experience for teachers and students alike. When you move on to the next unit, take what worked well with that project and do it again. Find out what didn't work well and modify it for the next PBL experience.
I know from experience how intimidating new ideas can be. I was a teacher at low-performing schools for years. I had students who were two and three years academically behind in math. I remember sitting in professional development sessions wondering how my students could do the shared tasks. Over time, I learned to reframe my thoughts. Instead of thinking, "My students could never do this," I had to think, "How can I modify this to make it more accessible to my students?" Reframing my thinking positively impacted student outcomes, and a growth mindset can make a difference in your experience as a project-based educator as well.
Take action:
Reflect on the following: What is one thought you previously had about your role as a project-based teacher that you no longer believe is true?