An example of project based learning is any classroom project where students investigate a real question, make meaningful decisions, and create something for an audience beyond the teacher. The difference between PBL and a regular assignment is simple: in PBL, the project is the learning—not a reward for finishing the textbook chapter. Below you will find 25 concrete examples organized by subject and grade band, each one built around a real question, a public product, and standards worth teaching.
Key Takeaways
- Project based learning requires a driving question, sustained inquiry, student voice, and a public product—not just a poster or presentation tacked onto the end of a unit.
- A strong PBL example connects students to real audiences, real decisions, and real consequences for their work.
- These 25 projects span English, social studies, science, math, and electives for grades 6–12, and most can be adapted for limited technology or resources.
- Research shows PBL students in secondary schools outperform peers by significant margins on standardized assessments, with the strongest effects at the high school level.
- The easiest way to start is small: pick one project, one class period, and one semester. Do not try to redesign your entire curriculum at once.
What Makes a Project “PBL” Instead of Just a Project?
Before the examples, this distinction matters. A lot of teachers assign projects. That does not mean they are doing project based learning.
According to PBLWorks, Gold Standard PBL includes seven essential design elements: a challenging problem or question, sustained inquiry, authenticity, student voice and choice, reflection, critique and revision, and a public product. If the project is missing most of those—if students are just following directions to build a diorama after the unit test—it is a project, but it is not PBL.
Here is the quick test I use: Who is doing the thinking? If students are making decisions about what to investigate, how to present their findings, and who their audience is, you are in PBL territory. If the teacher made every decision and the students are executing a recipe, that is an assignment with craft supplies.
A 2023 meta-analysis examining 66 empirical studies found that PBL produced a moderate overall effect on student learning (SMD = 0.441), with the strongest results at the high school level (SMD = 0.720). The gains were largest for academic achievement (SMD = 0.650), followed by thinking skills and emotional attitudes toward learning. Those numbers matter because they show that PBL is not just engaging—it produces measurable learning gains when done well.
25 Project Based Learning Examples for Grades 6–12
English Language Arts
1. The Community Oral History Archive (Grades 6–8)
Driving question: Whose stories in our community are not being told?
Students identify community members whose experiences are underrepresented—veterans, immigrants, retired workers, elders—and conduct recorded interviews using oral history protocols. They transcribe, edit, and publish the interviews as an online or physical archive donated to the local library or historical society.
Why this is PBL: Students choose their subjects, conduct sustained research, practice interview and writing skills, revise based on feedback from both their teacher and the interview subjects, and produce a public product with a real audience and lasting value. A book report does not do any of that.
Standards connection: Speaking and listening, narrative and informational writing, primary source analysis, digital literacy.
2. The Op-Ed Campaign (Grades 9–12)
Driving question: What issue in our school or community deserves a public argument?
Students research a local issue—school policy, city budget allocation, environmental concern, public health—draft an opinion editorial, workshop it through peer critique and revision cycles, and submit it to a local newspaper, school publication, or community blog. The goal is actual publication, not a grade.
Why this is PBL: The audience is real. The stakes are real. Students must build an evidence-based argument strong enough to survive an editor’s review. Revision matters because rejection is possible.
Standards connection: Argumentative writing, evidence evaluation, audience awareness, media literacy.
3. The Podcast Series on Student Identity (Grades 7–10)
Driving question: What does it mean to grow up in this place, at this time?
Students plan, script, record, edit, and publish a multi-episode podcast exploring aspects of adolescent identity—culture, language, family expectations, pressure, belonging. Each episode requires research, interviews, narrative structure, and production quality good enough for public release.
Why this is PBL: Students control the content, format, and production decisions. The public product (a published podcast) creates accountability that a classroom presentation cannot replicate.
Standards connection: Narrative techniques, speaking and listening, research, digital media production.
4. The Literary Magazine With an Editorial Board (Grades 6–12)
Driving question: What original writing and art from our school deserves a public audience?
Students run every aspect of a literary magazine: soliciting submissions, forming an editorial board, establishing selection criteria, editing accepted pieces with authors, designing layout, and distributing the finished publication. The teacher advises. The students decide.
Why this is PBL: Editorial decision-making, quality control, collaboration, revision, and publication for a real audience. This is not a creative writing assignment turned in for a grade—it is a functioning publication.
Standards connection: Writing across genres, editing, design, collaboration, project management.
Social Studies and History
5. The Local Policy Investigation (Grades 8–12)
Driving question: How does one local policy affect real people in our community?
Students select a local government policy—zoning, school discipline, curfew laws, water usage regulations—research its history, interview affected community members and officials, analyze data, and present findings and recommendations at a city council meeting, school board session, or community forum.
Why this is PBL: The audience is a decision-making body. Students produce evidence for people who can act on it. That changes how seriously students treat research and revision.
Standards connection: Civic engagement, primary and secondary source analysis, data interpretation, persuasive communication.
6. The Historical Marker Project (Grades 6–9)
Driving question: What happened here that people should know about?
Students research a local site with historical significance—a building, intersection, park, or neighborhood—write the text for an official historical marker, and submit a proposal to the local historical society or city government. The proposal includes a researched essay defending why the site deserves recognition.
Why this is PBL: The product has a real approval process. Students must build an argument backed by primary sources convincing enough for adults outside the school to accept. The stakes are authentic because the marker could actually be installed.
Standards connection: Historical research, primary source analysis, persuasive and informational writing, civic participation.
7. The Immigration Documentary (Grades 9–12)
Driving question: How has immigration shaped our community’s economy, culture, and identity?
Students research immigration patterns in their region, conduct interviews with immigrants and longtime residents, analyze census and economic data, and produce a short documentary screened at a community event or submitted to a student film festival.
Why this is PBL: Students investigate a complex, relevant issue using multiple sources and perspectives. The documentary requires sustained inquiry, revision, and presentation to a public audience. Sensitivity to real people’s stories adds ethical weight the classroom rarely provides.
Standards connection: Historical analysis, geography, economics, media production, ethical research practices.
8. The Election Simulation With Real Data (Grades 7–12)
Driving question: How do campaigns actually persuade voters, and what role does evidence play?
Students research real candidates and ballot measures using primary sources—voting records, financial disclosures, policy statements—develop informed positions, create campaign materials, hold structured debates, and vote. The simulation ends with a published voter guide distributed to school families.
Why this is PBL: The voter guide is a real product for a real audience. Students must evaluate claims critically rather than parrot slogans. The project connects classroom learning to democratic participation.
Standards connection: Government, media literacy, argumentative writing, data analysis, civic responsibility.
Science
9. The Water Quality Investigation (Grades 6–9)
Driving question: Is the water in our community safe, and how do we know?
Students test water from local sources—taps, wells, creeks, fountains—using scientific protocols. They analyze results, compare them to EPA standards, and present their findings to the school board, city water department, or a community meeting. If results are concerning, students draft a formal letter to the appropriate authority.
Why this is PBL: Students collect real data, follow scientific methods, and present findings to an audience that may actually respond. The data is not hypothetical. If the water tests badly, students learn what it means to report uncomfortable truths backed by evidence.
Standards connection: Scientific investigation, data collection and analysis, environmental science, technical writing, civic engagement.
10. The School Energy Audit (Grades 7–12)
Driving question: How much energy does our school waste, and what would it cost to fix?
Students audit the school’s energy consumption—lighting, heating, cooling, electronics—calculate waste, research solutions, estimate costs and savings, and present a formal proposal to the principal or school board. The proposal includes a cost-benefit analysis and implementation timeline.
Why this is PBL: The data is real. The audience has budget authority. Students learn that persuading decision-makers requires more than good intentions—it requires numbers, evidence, and a realistic plan.
Standards connection: Physics (energy), mathematics (data analysis, financial literacy), environmental science, persuasive communication.
11. The Biodiversity Survey (Grades 6–10)
Driving question: What species live in our schoolyard or local park, and what does that tell us about ecosystem health?
Students conduct a systematic biodiversity survey using transects, quadrats, and species identification. They compile data, compare results to historical records or regional databases, and publish findings through a report to the local parks department or a citizen-science platform like iNaturalist.
Why this is PBL: Students contribute real data to real scientific databases. Their work has value beyond the classroom. The survey requires sustained fieldwork, accurate data collection, and scientifically defensible conclusions.
Standards connection: Ecology, data collection, species identification, scientific writing, environmental stewardship.
12. The Public Health Campaign (Grades 9–12)
Driving question: What health issue in our community needs better public information?
Students research a local health concern—teen vaping, nutrition access, mental health stigma, sleep deprivation—analyze data, consult local health professionals, and design and distribute an evidence-based awareness campaign. Products might include infographics, social media content, presentations to younger students, or informational materials for a community health fair.
Why this is PBL: The campaign targets a real audience with real health stakes. Students must verify claims, cite sources, and design communication that actually reaches people—not just earns a grade.
Standards connection: Health science, biology, statistics, graphic design, persuasive communication, media literacy.
Mathematics
13. The Small Business Financial Plan (Grades 9–12)
Driving question: Could our business idea actually survive its first year?
Students develop a business concept, research market conditions, create financial projections using algebra and statistics, and present their business plan to a panel of local business owners or entrepreneurs. The panel provides real feedback on whether the numbers hold up.
Why this is PBL: The math serves a real purpose—convincing skeptical adults that the numbers work. Students cannot hide behind procedures. They must defend their assumptions, explain their models, and revise when challenged.
Standards connection: Algebra, statistics, financial literacy, functions, modeling, oral presentation.
14. The School Redesign Proposal (Grades 7–10)
Driving question: If we could redesign one space in our school, what would the data say we should change?
Students survey peers and staff, collect usage data, measure dimensions, create scale drawings or digital models, calculate material costs, and propose a redesign to the administration. The proposal includes blueprints, a budget, and evidence that the redesign addresses a real need.
Why this is PBL: The math—geometry, measurement, ratio, budgeting—serves a visible purpose. The audience (administration) has the authority to act on the proposal. Students see whether their calculations survive adult scrutiny.
Standards connection: Geometry, measurement, ratio and proportion, data analysis, scale drawing, budgeting.
15. The Statistical Investigation of School Data (Grades 8–12)
Driving question: What does our school’s data actually tell us about fairness, access, or student experience?
Students obtain anonymized school data—attendance patterns, discipline referrals, course enrollment, extracurricular participation—and conduct a statistical analysis looking for patterns, disparities, or trends. They present findings and recommendations to school leadership.
Why this is PBL: The data is real and the findings might be uncomfortable. Students practice statistical reasoning on questions that matter to their own school community. Presenting to administration makes accuracy and honesty non-negotiable.
Standards connection: Statistics and probability, data representation, bias and sampling, ethical data use, persuasive communication.
16. The Community Mapping Project (Grades 6–8)
Driving question: What resources does our neighborhood have—and what is missing?
Students map community assets—parks, clinics, grocery stores, bus stops, libraries—using measurement, coordinate systems, and data collection. They identify gaps in access, calculate distances and travel times, and present their findings to a community organization or neighborhood association.
Why this is PBL: Mathematics becomes a tool for understanding equity and access. The map and analysis serve a real community organization, and students must defend their data collection methods.
Standards connection: Coordinate geometry, measurement, ratios, data analysis, geography, civic awareness.
Cross-Curricular and Elective Projects
17. The School Podcast Network (Grades 6–12)
Driving question: What conversations should our school community be having?
Students pitch, produce, and publish regular podcast episodes covering school news, student perspectives, interviews with staff and community members, and student-reported stories. An editorial team manages content review, scheduling, and quality standards.
Why this is PBL: Students run a real media operation with real deadlines, audience feedback, and editorial standards. They must balance free expression with responsibility and accuracy—skills that no worksheet teaches.
Standards connection: Speaking and listening, research, writing, media production, journalism ethics, project management.
18. The Mentorship Curriculum (Grades 9–12)
Driving question: What do incoming freshmen actually need to know, and how should they learn it?
Older students design and deliver a mentorship program for incoming ninth graders. They research transition challenges, develop lesson plans, create resources, facilitate sessions, collect feedback, and revise the program based on results. The final product is a reusable curriculum guide for future mentors.
Why this is PBL: Students design instruction for a real audience and measure whether it works. The responsibility is genuine—younger students are depending on them. Revision is based on real feedback from real participants, not a teacher’s rubric alone.
Standards connection: Research, instructional design, leadership, communication, data collection, program evaluation.
19. The Community Art Installation (Grades 6–12)
Driving question: What message should our school send to our community through public art?
Students research public art, develop a concept, pitch it to school or city officials, design and create the installation, and manage the project from proposal through completion. The installation is displayed publicly—in the school, a local business, a community center, or a public space.
Why this is PBL: The approval process, budget constraints, material limitations, and public audience make this project authentic in ways classroom art projects rarely are. Students must persuade, plan, execute, and accept public reaction.
Standards connection: Visual arts, research, proposal writing, project management, budgeting, community engagement.
20. The Bilingual Community Resource Guide (Grades 7–12)
Driving question: What essential information in our community is not available in the languages families actually speak?
Students identify critical community resources—health services, legal aid, school enrollment, emergency contacts, transportation—and create a bilingual or multilingual guide. They verify accuracy with service providers, translate carefully, design for clarity, and distribute through schools, churches, clinics, or community organizations.
Why this is PBL: The product fills a real gap. Families who speak languages other than English will actually use this guide. Students must verify information, translate accurately, and design for people who need clear communication—not for a grade.
Standards connection: World languages, research, informational writing, design, community service, cultural competency.
21. The Career Investigation and Job Shadow Report (Grades 8–12)
Driving question: What does this career actually look like on a regular Tuesday?
Students research a career field, arrange a job shadow or informational interview with a professional, observe and document the daily realities of the work, and produce a detailed report comparing their expectations to reality. Reports are compiled into a career resource available to other students.
Why this is PBL: Students interact with real professionals, confront the gap between expectations and reality, and produce a resource other students will actually consult. The job shadow requires initiative, communication, and follow-through outside the classroom.
Standards connection: Research, informational writing, career readiness, professional communication, self-assessment.
22. The School Improvement Proposal (Grades 6–12)
Driving question: What is one thing about our school we could change with evidence and a plan?
Students identify a school problem—cafeteria waste, hallway congestion, library usage, schedule concerns—collect data, research solutions from other schools, calculate costs, and deliver a formal proposal to administration. The proposal follows a standard format with an executive summary, evidence section, implementation plan, and budget.
Why this is PBL: The audience makes real decisions. Students learn that complaining is easy but proposing evidence-based solutions is hard. If the proposal is good enough, the school might actually implement it.
Standards connection: Research, data analysis, persuasive writing, financial literacy, problem-solving, civic participation.
23. The Climate Action Plan (Grades 9–12)
Driving question: What can our school realistically do to reduce its carbon footprint in the next two years?
Students calculate the school’s carbon footprint, research reduction strategies, analyze costs and feasibility, consult with facilities staff, and present a phased action plan to school leadership. The plan includes measurable targets, timelines, responsible parties, and progress indicators.
Why this is PBL: The word “realistically” does a lot of work. Students cannot propose fantasy solutions. They must account for budgets, building codes, contracts, staff capacity, and political will. The constraints are what make it authentic.
Standards connection: Environmental science, chemistry, mathematics, economics, project management, persuasive communication.
24. The Peer Mediation Training Program (Grades 7–12)
Driving question: How can students help resolve conflicts fairly and reduce the need for adult intervention?
Students research conflict resolution, restorative practices, and mediation techniques. They design a training program, pilot it with volunteers, collect data on outcomes, revise based on results, and present the finished program to administration for adoption. Trained mediators then serve the school community.
Why this is PBL: Students create a lasting program that changes how their school handles conflict. The work is sustained over weeks, requires research and revision, and produces a public product that affects real people. Success is measured by whether the program actually works—not by a rubric score.
Standards connection: Psychology, communication, research, program design, leadership, data analysis, social-emotional learning.
25. The Local History Walking Tour (Grades 6–10)
Driving question: What stories does our neighborhood tell if you know where to look?
Students research the history of locations within walking distance of the school—buildings, monuments, former businesses, sites of historical events. They write informative scripts, create a mapped route, design signage or a digital guide, and lead public tours for families, community members, or younger students.
Why this is PBL: The walking tour is a real product for a real audience. Students must verify historical claims using primary sources, write for non-expert audiences, design for clarity, and perform publicly. A bad tour gets noticed. A good tour changes how people see their neighborhood.
Standards connection: Historical research, primary source analysis, informational writing, geography, public speaking, design.
How to Tell Whether a Project Qualifies as PBL
If you are looking at a project and wondering whether it counts, ask these five questions:
- Is there a driving question worth investigating? If the question can be answered with a Google search, it is not driving anything.
- Are students making real decisions? If every step is predetermined, students are following instructions—not learning through inquiry.
- Is the inquiry sustained? A one-day activity is an activity. PBL takes weeks because real investigation takes time.
- Is there a public product? If the only person who sees the work is the teacher, the project lacks the accountability that makes PBL effective.
- Did students revise based on feedback? First drafts are not final products. Critique and revision are where the deepest learning happens.
Research from PBLWorks identifies these as part of seven essential design elements that separate genuine PBL from dressed-up assignments.
What the Research Says About PBL Effectiveness
The examples above are not just engaging—they produce results.
A meta-analysis published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2023 analyzed 66 empirical studies with 190 effect values. The combined effect was a moderate positive impact (SMD = 0.441) on student learning outcomes. High school students showed the strongest gains (SMD = 0.720), outperforming primary, junior high, and university levels. Groups of four to five students produced the highest effects (SMD = 0.909), and projects lasting 9–18 weeks yielded the strongest results.
Lucas Education Research funded four peer-reviewed studies that reinforce these findings. In the Knowledge in Action study led by Anna Saavedra at the University of Southern California, over 3,600 students in project-based AP courses outperformed traditional AP classrooms by 8 percentage points in year one and 10 percentage points in year two. Low-income students showed similar gains as their wealthier peers. A Stanford University study found middle school science students outperformed comparison groups by 11 percentage points on NGSS-aligned assessments, with English language learners showing improved language proficiency as a side benefit.
PBLWorks reported in 2025 that over 66 percent of high school students report being bored daily in school, with 75 percent citing uninteresting material and 39 percent noting lack of relevance. Gold Standard PBL addresses both problems by building authenticity, student voice, and sustained inquiry into the structure of the learning itself.
The MDRC literature review by Barbara Condliffe further confirmed that well-implemented PBL improves content knowledge, problem-solving, and student engagement, particularly when projects include authentic tasks and audiences.
How to Start: A Practical Guide for Your First PBL Project
You do not need to overhaul your entire curriculum to try project based learning. Start with one project in one class.
Step 1: Pick a real question. Look at your standards and ask: what question connected to these standards would a real person actually want answered? That is your driving question.
Step 2: Identify an audience. The school board. A local business. Younger students. A community organization. The audience does not need to be impressive—it needs to be real.
Step 3: Define the product. What will students create that the audience will actually see, read, hear, or use? A proposal? A guide? A presentation? A published piece? Name it clearly.
Step 4: Build in checkpoints. PBL is not “assign the project and see what happens in six weeks.” Plan weekly check-ins, draft deadlines, peer critique sessions, and opportunities for revision.
Step 5: Protect the inquiry. Resist the urge to give students the answers. Your job during the project is to ask better questions, provide resources, and hold students accountable for doing the thinking themselves.
Step 6: Let the audience respond. The power of PBL comes from students hearing honest feedback from someone other than their teacher. An administrator who asks a tough question about their proposal teaches more in one moment than a week of lectures about “real-world relevance.”
Practical Considerations Before You Begin
PBL works, but it works better when you plan for the realities that research papers do not always cover.
Preparation time is front-loaded. Your first PBL project will take more planning time than a traditional unit. You are designing a learning experience, not just a sequence of lessons. That investment pays off—once the project structure exists, you can reuse and refine it for years. But be honest with yourself about the time the first round requires.
Safety and supervision matter for community-based projects. Any project involving student contact with community members—interviews, job shadows, field investigations—requires appropriate parental consent, supervision protocols, and compliance with your district’s policies on off-campus activities and outside visitors. Plan these logistics early, not as an afterthought.
Equity and access must be designed in, not assumed. Not every student has transportation to visit a community partner, technology at home to edit a podcast, or family connections to arrange a job shadow. Design projects so the essential work can happen during school hours, using school resources. Offer alternatives for components that require outside access. A project that only works for students with advantages is not good PBL—it is privilege dressed up as pedagogy.
Communicate with families. Parents who experienced traditional education may be skeptical when their child comes home talking about “a project” instead of tests and textbook chapters. Send a brief explanation home at the start: what students will learn, what standards are being addressed, what the product will be, and how you will assess it. Transparency prevents the assumption that PBL means less rigor.
Differentiation is part of the structure. PBL naturally allows differentiation through student choice—in topic, product format, research depth, and role within a group. Students with IEPs or 504 plans should receive their accommodations within the project structure, not as a separate track. Build in scaffolds like research guides, planning templates, and sentence starters for students who need them, while allowing advanced students to pursue deeper questions.
Be ready for uncomfortable findings. Some of these projects—water quality testing, school data analysis, equity mapping—may produce results that are inconvenient for the school or community. That is a feature, not a bug. Teach students to report findings accurately and respectfully, and prepare administration for the possibility that student research might surface real problems worth addressing.
Conclusion
An example of project based learning is not hard to find—this article gives you 25 of them. The harder part is making sure the project actually qualifies as PBL rather than a dressed-up assignment. Real PBL puts students in charge of investigating questions that matter, making decisions that affect the outcome, creating products for audiences who will respond honestly, and revising until the work is genuinely good.
Start with one project. Choose a real question. Find a real audience. Build in checkpoints and revision. Let students make decisions you would normally make for them. Watch what happens when they realize the work matters to someone other than you.
The research supports it. The students deserve it. And your classroom will not be the same once you try it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is project based learning different from assigning a project at the end of a unit?
In project based learning, the project is the unit—students learn content and skills through the investigation, not before it. A traditional end-of-unit project asks students to demonstrate what they already learned. PBL asks students to learn by doing the work. The driving question, sustained inquiry, and public product are built into the learning from day one, not added at the end.
Do students actually learn content through PBL, or just “soft skills”?
They learn both, and the research is clear. A 2023 meta-analysis of 66 studies found PBL’s largest effect was on academic achievement (SMD = 0.650), followed by thinking skills and emotional attitudes. High school PBL students showed even stronger academic gains (SMD = 0.720). The idea that PBL sacrifices content for engagement is not supported by the evidence.
How do I grade 25 different student projects fairly?
You do not grade 25 different projects—you grade against common criteria. A well-designed PBL rubric assesses content knowledge, quality of inquiry, evidence use, communication, and revision regardless of the specific product. Students can choose different formats and still be evaluated on the same standards. The rubric is the constant; the product varies.
What if I do not have time for long projects in my curriculum?
Start with a shorter project—three to four weeks—on a topic where your required standards align naturally with a real question. You do not need six months. Some of the strongest PBL happens within a single unit when the driving question is focused and the product is well-defined. One genuine project per semester teaches students more about inquiry and responsibility than no projects at all.
What about students who struggle with open-ended work or self-direction?
Scaffolding is essential. PBL does not mean handing students a question and disappearing. Teachers build in checkpoints, model inquiry skills, provide structured templates for research and planning, and check in regularly. Students who struggle with self-direction often need more structure at the beginning and less as the project progresses—not an exemption from the work.
How do I handle group projects when some students do not contribute equally?
Assign clear individual roles with visible deliverables so every student’s contribution is documented. Use individual accountability alongside group assessment. Peer evaluations, individual reflection, and graded individual components within the group project prevent free-riding. If a student is not contributing, the structure should make that visible early enough to intervene—not after the project is turned in.
Can I do PBL without much technology?
Absolutely. Many of the examples in this article—oral histories, community surveys, walking tours, art installations, mentorship programs—require little or no technology. A clipboard, a notebook, and access to the community are enough. Technology can enhance PBL, but the essential elements are a real question, sustained inquiry, student decision-making, and a public product. None of those require a device.
How do I get started if my school has never done PBL before?
Start alone if you have to. Pick one class, one project, one semester. Choose a driving question connected to your existing standards. Find an audience—even one administrator willing to listen to student presentations counts. Run the project, reflect on what worked and what did not, and adjust for next time. You do not need a schoolwide initiative to try project based learning. You need a question worth answering and students willing to do the work.
Sources
- PBLWorks. “Gold Standard PBL: Essential Project Design Elements.” PBLWorks, Buck Institute for Education. https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl/gold-standard-project-design
- Chen, Chunhua, and Yilin Yang. “A Study of the Impact of Project-Based Learning on Student Learning Effects: A Meta-Analysis Study.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 14, 2023. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10411581/
- Lucas Education Research. “The Evidence Is Clear: Rigorous Project-Based Learning Is an Effective Lever for Student Success.” Lucas Education Research Foundation. https://www.lucasedresearch.org/docs/the-evidence-is-clear-rigorous-project-based-learning-is-an-effective-lever-for-student-success/
- Saavedra, Anna, et al. “Knowledge in Action Efficacy Study.” University of Southern California, funded by Lucas Education Research, 2021. Reported in Edutopia: https://www.edutopia.org/article/new-research-makes-powerful-case-pbl
- Wagner, Kristi E. “Want to Boost Student Engagement? Implement Gold Standard PBL.” PBLWorks, 2025. https://www.pblworks.org/sites/default/files/2025-06/Want%20to%20boost%20student%20engagement_%20Implement%20Gold%20Standard%20PBL_2025.pdf
- Condliffe, Barbara. “Project-Based Learning: A Literature Review.” MDRC Working Paper, October 2017. https://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/Project-Based_Learning-LitRev_Final.pdf
About Clay Shumate
Clay Shumate is a certified secondary educator with a B.A. in History, an M.Ed. in Secondary Education, and more than eight years of classroom experience. He writes about project-based learning, student responsibility, respect, and practical ways to hold young people to a higher standard while giving them room to learn from mistakes.