How does Project Based Learning differ from “doing a project”?

Sure, teachers have been assigning projects to students for years. But Project Based Learning is something completely different. So what exactly is the difference between Project Based Learning and "doing a project"? As J. Larmer and J. Mergendoller say, it’s the main course, not dessert!

If you visit a traditional classroom, you’ll probably find that students have done “dessert” projects in at least one unit during the school year. From shoebox dioramas to hand-built models to poster presentations, students are often tasked with creating something related to the topic of the unit. It’s usually done at the end of a unit – after the main course of content is delivered via traditional lessons, lectures, worksheets, and readings.

A “dessert” project offers a fun or creative challenge for the student, so it seems like a special treat. But what's missing? Without the key ingredients of Project Based Learning, a project like this in and of itself is not enough to deliver deeper learning.

With Project Based Learning, the project is the “main course”. In Project Based Learning, the project itself is used to teach rigorous academic content and success skills. Students work to answer an important question—such as “How can we impact hunger in our community?” By exploring the question over a couple weeks or longer, students become immersed in it, pursuing answers from various angles.

Through this process, they apply what they’re learning in meaningful ways. Instruction is incorporated into the project, which is designed to meet appropriate academic goals and standards. The project work creates a genuine need for students to learn grade-level content and skills, while working collaboratively, thinking critically and engaging in reflection and revision.

At the end of the project, the students' work is shared publicly, beyond their classmates and teacher. Students in a STEM project might create a sustainable redesign for a public space and present it to the city council, rather than simply learning from a textbook and creating a poster for the classroom wall. Or in social studies, students could explore historical and present-day community heroes, and present their findings in a public forum.

By making a "main course" out of Project Based Learning, students become deeply engaged in their work. They understand how what they learn in school applies to the real world. They develop the skills that will set them up for success in college, career, and life.

Below you can find a very clarifying table from the Buck Institute For Education showing the main differences between "doing a project" and Project Based Learning. Also, if you are interested in knowing more about the subject, I recommend you the paper The Main Course, Not Dessert by John Larmer and John R. Mergendoller. You can find the link in bibliography. I hope this post has been useful and interesting, since I believe it's very important to know this difference, as many people confuse PJL with doing a project.

Bibliography

Larmer, J. & Mergendoller, J. R. (2010). The Main Course, Not Dessert. How are students reaching 21st century goals? With 21st century project based learning. Novato, CA: Buck Institute for Education. http://files.ascd.org/pdfs/onlinelearning/webinars/webinar-handout1-10-8-2012.pdf

Miller, Andrew. (2014). Integrated PBL Projects: A Full-Course Meal! Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/integrated-pbl-full-course-meal-andrew-miller