Purpose: This practitioner-focused article highlights a collaborative, school-wide project at a PDS that showcased elementary students' strengths and talents. Based on the children's book, The Smart Cookie (John, 2021), teachers and the university professor-in-residence developed professional learning communities, which inspired the creation of a…

Future teachers first come into contact with diversified teaching strategies, such as Project-Based Learning, in initial teacher education programmes. Such strategies contrast with the type of methods that they experienced throughout their own schooling, which are essentially teacher centred. The present research aims to understand how…

Computational thinking is accepted today as a collection of cognitive and social skills required for functioning in the 21st century. The paper presents a conceptual view at computational thinking that encompass concepts, problem-solving skills, application skills, and social skills. To impart those perceptions and skills the paper proposes the…

This design case highlights how two instructional designers initiated, designed, and implemented a K-12 novice teacher training program to address three known challenges teachers face when understanding, designing, and implementing project-based learning (PBL). The design framework comprised three areas: trainees, training program design, and…

School districts choose programs based on limited data, word of mouth, or cost-effectiveness. STEM-based schools often choose project-based learning (PBL) programs to deliver curricula through limited research and word of mouth effectiveness. This study evaluated one PBL program implementation in the context of a suburban Texas middle school by…

Education thought leaders highlight the need to expand access to high-quality STEM learning for students historically underrepresented in STEM fields, and project-based learning (PjBL) is often seen as a key strategy. Introducing PjBL to classrooms typically focuses on building teacher capacity, but principals also play a key role in effective…

This paper explores enabling conditions for scaling high-quality project-based learning (PBL) to understand factors that influence how PBL spreads, whether and how it can be sustained and the extent to which it informs meaningful change in schools. We report on a year-long collaboration across three research projects. Each project team analyzed…

The purpose of this study was to understand how teachers leveraged the components of Project Based Learning (PBL) in a hybrid, remote, or in-person classroom environment to promote cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement. A narrative inquiry was conducted examining three teachers' implementation of PBL with students in Grades 4, 5, and 8…

In 2023, Auckland Council's Sustainable Schools Team (SST) piloted a project called "Mana Ora: Students Decarbonising Schools." The aim was that students, with guidance and support from teachers and SST, would plan and implement climate and sustainability action projects linked to decarbonisation within their schools. Eighteen Mana Ora…

The Mathematics, 3D Printing, and Computational Thinking Through Work-Based Learning (MPACT) program relies on teacher professional development, specialized curriculum and materials, and STEM industry mentors to provide grades 4-7 students with project-based experiences implemented across three learning modules. This technical report presents…

The Mathematics, 3D Printing, and Computational Thinking Through Work-Based Learning (MPACT) program combines teacher professional development, specialized curriculum and materials and STEM industry mentors to provide grade 4-7 students with project-based experiences implemented across three learning modules. This technical report presents…

The problem investigated in this study was the decline in student achievement since the implementation of project-based learning (PBL) by the third- through sixth-grade teachers at the local elementary school. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to investigate teachers' perceptions at the study location about their knowledge of PBL and…

Statistics standards found in the Common Core (CCSSI 2010) and other state standards require considerable instructional time and focus for students to develop the depth and breadth of understanding necessary. In this article, the authors offer an approach to teaching a statistics unit that combines student choice with authentic and sustained…

The contemporary education process frequently emphasises the importance of teaching and learning by focusing teaching activities towards research and collaborative work, the encouragement of critical thinking, the creative and productive application of knowledge, an active approach to the teaching content, and solving specific problems in project…

This article addresses issues connected with project-based integrative teaching of visual arts to primary school students attending after-school activities. It explores the pedagogical outcomes of using contemporary art forms and materials for the promotion of collaborative knowledge construction and researches these processes in the classroom…