John Larmer and John R. Mergendoller. “Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning.” Educational Leadership 68.1 (2010): 34-37.
This article was easy to read and gave a clear example of what Project-Based Learning looks like in the classroom. It distinguished projects that come across largely as busywork from ones that “involve meaningful inquiry that engages students’ minds.” The article lists the criteria that every good project needs, broken down into seven steps.
The first step is “A Need to Know.” Instead of assigning a topic to students, Larmer and Mergendoller say:
Teachers can powerfully activate students’ need to know content by launching a project with an “entry event” that engages interest and initiates questioning. An entry event can be almost anything: a video, a lively discussion, a guest speaker, a field trip, or a piece of mock correspondence that sets up a scenario. In contrast, announcing a project by distributing a packet of papers is likely to turn students off; it looks like a prelude to busywork.
Having a ‘need to know’ compels students to learn as opposed to finding their work meaningless. A ‘need to know’ creates a challenge and reason to learn material for the project.
The second step is coming up with ‘A Driving Question.’ After the ‘entry event’ and discussion, the teacher can lead the students in brainstorming possible solutions. The article gives a good description of what a driving question should look like:
A good driving question captures the heart of the project in clear, compelling language, which gives students a sense of purpose and challenge. The question should be provocative, open-ended, complex, and linked to the core of what you want students to learn. It could be abstract (When is war justified?); concrete (Is our water safe to drink?); or focused on solving a problem (How can we improve this website so that more young people will use it?).
This ‘driving question’ helps students understand the reason behind their project.
The third step is to give ‘Student Voice and Choice.’ The teacher can give the requirements for the project and students can choose how to meet them and what tools to use. The article states that choice can be limited, allowing learners to select a “topic to study within a general driving question or choose how to design, create, and present products.” Or somewhere between, “teachers might provide a limited menu of options for creative products to prevent students from becoming overwhelmed by choices.” And being liberal with freedom, which the article recommends, “students can decide what products they will create, what resources they will use, and how they will structure their time.”
21st Century Skills is the fourth element in the article. Students should have opportunities to use “collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and … technology…” (NETS Student 2. Communication and Collaboration, 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making). The teacher should teach these skills and provide frequent opportunities for self-assessment by the students. (NETS Teacher 2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments, 3. Model Digital Age Work and Learning).
The fifth essential is Inquiry and Innovation. The teacher may lead the students in compiling a list of more detailed questions based on their ‘driving question.’ As the learners find answers, they may formulate new questions for investigation. They may synthesize the information they collect and use it for their individual and group product. The article states that “students find project work more meaningful if they conduct real inquiry” — which is described as asking their own questions, search and discovery, new questions, testing ideas, and drawing their own conclusions. The article says this often leads to innovation.
In step six, Feedback and Revision, students develop their ideas and products and teams critique one another’s work, “referring to rubrics and exemplars.” This process of review allows students to see that “revision is a frequent feature of real-world work.” The teacher should give direct feedback as well, and may arrange for experts or mentors to provide additional feedback — more meaningfulness.
Finally, the students have ‘A Publicly Presented Product.’ All along, the students should have selected an audience and had them in mind when preparing their products. A presentation may be made to a class, parents, the school, and/or the community. This again adds meaning to the learning process.
This article was relevant to me, because it gave me a good understanding of what it looks like to carry out PBL in a classroom. While researching my Resource Collection for PBL, I found many great examples of units I could use for projects. This article helped me see how I could implement them.
Ellie Sheppy 
Ellie,
Your review gave me a much clear view of what project based learning is. I have not seen the actual steps to the process for project based learning but, to me, they each make a lot of sense. What I like most about project based learning is that it allows students to use their creativity in a real world application. I think when students are engaged in lessons like these that they are more likely to remember the information since it is relevant to them. Your resource list is also very helpful; I made sure to save several of the links from your list. Thanks.
Nice! That sounds like my style of learning. I HATE BUSY WORK! Especially when the idea for the brighter kids is to just give them more of the same type of busy work. I know, you finished your 15 word wordsearch, let’s give you another. This type of teaching makes teaching at all levels so much more possible. Everyone would be able to be challenged and successful. All these cool concepts for teaching, project-based learning, flipped classrooms, etc. are making me jealous and wanting to get out of preschool. I love it very much but it has its limitations. :o)
I really enjoyed this article review. Like the comment above, it’s nice to see the steps all laid out and easy to understand. This approach to teaching is invaluable if done right and so much more meaningful to students. I especially like having outside resources to gain feedback from. It’s work and time consuming but the pay off is huge for student learning and enrichment. These are all skills that they will need for their future careers. Thank you for sharing!
Your article helped me understand the components for project based learning. I see that it is teaching and learning around the process of inquiry. The article outlines the steps for completing a project based learning activity. It is useful and easy to understand. I realize that project based learning helps students become engaged in innovative inquiry as they build information, background knowledge and motivation to discover. This process allows for student interaction, building questioning strategies and thinking skills. I like the part where it lists student choice, and personal response. I feel that students often do not have many choices in their learning. Finally, the point of developing skills for the 21st century is important in the world of digital technologies.
Project based learning would help students achieve the NETs standards.
Ellie, what a great article to review. PBL is prevalent in science instruction, and I have been on the student end for years. However, I lacked the guidelines on how to implement it from the teacher end. I love that these guidelines work for any instruction level. My favorite step is the “entry event”, which naturally makes students think about what is most interesting to them… then they can choose their topic, resources and tools. I think PBL truly puts into action a lot of the NETS standards. Do you have any specific ideas for implementing PBL in a non-science classroom?
Yes, I did PBL as my first Article Review topic and Resource Collection. I found a lot of great resources for using a PBL curriculum. The great thing about PBL is that it incorporates many subject areas, although the projects are often science-based. I read a great article in my research about an elementary school teacher who created a project that focused on nature walks where students created trail guides for the different seasons using technology. There are endless possibilities – check out my resource list if you want!