Strategies for project-based learning: fix 3 common problems

Useful strategies for project-based learning address three common problems: work with no real audience, group tasks that become separate jobs and assessment that only measures the final product. Choose the problem you recognise, then adjust the task, exchange or evidence before running the project again.

A project can begin with energy and still end in disconnected work or a flat presentation. That gives you something to review in its design. The examples below show how a partner class can provide an audience and a reason to think together, while teachers plan how to observe learning.

1. Give the work a real audience

If students only present to the teacher at the end, ask who else would find the work useful. The audience needs a role: a question to answer, feedback to give or findings to use.

PBLWorks includes a public product as an element of its Gold Standard design. Students explain or share their work beyond the classroom. A partner class can be that audience, but agree how it will respond; an international connection alone does not make the task meaningful.

• Choose an audience before students make the product. Ask what that audience needs to know.
• Agree one response from the partner class, such as a question, comparison or useful feedback.
• Leave time for students to use the response and explain what they changed.

In the Women and Girls in STEM project, Jhansi Ravikumar (India), Oksana Zadnipriana (Ukraine), Paola Aguilar-Cruz and Mily Díaz (Colombia) organised a live exchange of student research. Colombia presented NASA engineer Diana Trujillo, Ukraine shared mathematician Maryna Viazovska, and India presented Dr. Tessy Thomas. Students had peers from other countries to listen and reply.

One Colombian student described it as “a beautiful opportunity” after speaking about feeling nervous. This is a reported response to the exchange, not a measure of its learning effect.

Explore Class2Class projects for ideas, then agree the audience and exchange with a partner teacher. The platform supports teacher-led connections; it does not guarantee that every project already has an active partner. Read how international collaborative learning works for the wider approach.

2. Make students use each other's ideas

Dividing jobs can help organise a team, but it is not enough. If students combine independent pieces at the end, nobody may have needed to explain, negotiate or rethink an idea. Build a task where the next step uses someone else's contribution.

Kokotsaki, Menzies and Wiggins' 2016 literature review identifies good group processes, teacher guidance and appropriate support as important to PBL. Plan how students will discuss decisions and use feedback instead of expecting collaboration to happen by itself.

• Use a question that both classes must help answer. Ask each class to gather different or comparable evidence.
• Give students a decision to make together, such as which explanation fits the findings.
• Ask each group to show which partner contribution changed its next step.

Nassim Mia in Bangladesh created K-pop Talk as a four-week collaboration. Students researched songs, exchanged findings with partner classes, performed and discussed music across cultural contexts, then shared recognition. The sequence gave classes reasons to respond to one another's work.

In the My School project, Gisel Crespo (Argentina) organised exchanges with classes in India and Ukraine. During the India session, an Argentine student asked about the bindi and an Indian student explained its cultural and spiritual meaning. Preparing questions and listening to replies gave the exchange a purpose beyond two separate presentations.

With your partner teacher, plan preparation, shared work, reflection and an output both classes can use. Make the exchange part of the task. The COIL guide explains this collaborative approach; the teacher-coordination guide covers the practical agreements.

3. Gather evidence while students work

A rubric for a final poster or presentation may miss the thinking that happened along the way. Decide what you need to observe before the project starts, then ask students to keep a few useful examples.

The 2016 PBL review also stresses assessment aligned with the intended learning. Look for evidence in research choices, discussions, drafts, partner feedback and reflection. A final product is one part of the picture, rather than the only evidence.

• Name the learning goals and tell students what evidence will help show them.
• Use a short check-in during the project, with feedback students can act on.
• Ask students to explain one decision or change, using a draft, message or research note.

In the Global Water Conservation Challenge, Jhansi Ravikumar (India), Vathsala Nayer Vailathan (Malaysia) and Zin Zin Thin (Myanmar) planned presentations, an interactive Quizizz quiz and shared reflection. These activities offered different ways for students to show their understanding of water conservation.

You could use a similar mix of activities to gather evidence: the questions students ask, the sources they choose, their explanations and what they change after feedback. Plan that evidence rather than assuming participation alone shows learning.

Class2Class project work and exchanges can give you material for assessment, including research, presentations and reflections. Decide what to collect and how to discuss it with students. The platform does not replace the teacher's assessment plan or guarantee complete evidence of learning.

The Project Assistant can help prepare a project plan around a topic, age range and available time. Use the plan to check that the audience, collaboration and learning evidence fit your goals. The Class2Class educational framework explains the wider approach.

What the research says about PBL

Chen and Yang's 2019 meta-analysis drew on 46 effect sizes from 30 eligible articles and found a positive average effect on academic achievement. Results varied by factors including subject, location, teaching time and technology support. It does not show that project design was the strongest moderator or that PBL works in every classroom.

Audience, shared thinking and assessment are useful points to review together. A task can have a strong audience but still need more support for group decisions or a clearer way to observe learning.

Class2Class can help you find partners and organise an international exchange. You still choose the learning goals, design the task and check what students learn. A partner class is a useful design option, not a guarantee of better results.

Further evidence

• Chen, C. H., and Yang, Y. C. (2019). Revisiting the effects of project-based learning on students' academic achievement: a meta-analysis investigating moderators. Educational Research Review, 26, 71-81.
• Condliffe and colleagues (2017). Project-Based Learning: A Literature Review. Lucas Education Research / MDRC. The review describes a promising approach with implementation and evidence limits.
• Kokotsaki, D., Menzies, V., and Wiggins, A. (2016). Project-based learning: a review of the literature. Improving Schools, 19(3), 267-277.
• PBLWorks. Gold Standard PBL: Essential Project Design Elements.
• MDRC and PBLWorks offer further guidance on implementation and project design.

MDRC's literature review describes PBL as promising, while noting limits in the evidence and the importance of implementation and teacher support.