Five Equity-Related Tensions in Project-Based Learning: How Research-Practice Partnerships Can Spread and Sustain Deeper Learning

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Equity, Diversity, and Learning in Classrooms and Schools: Challenges and Potential Solutions

Abstract

This paper explores how research-practice partnerships (RPPs) can address five key tensions in developing and sustaining equitable deeper learning through project-based learning (PBL). In PBL, students engage in purposeful projects and demonstrate learning by creating artifacts that have real-world relevance. PBL necessitates new forms of curricula and professional development, and significant shifts in the infrastructure of schooling. RPPs can help structure decision making to address challenges that limit the rigor and responsiveness of PBL curriculum and pedagogy. RPPs also create supportive contexts for attending to systemic barriers that limit the potential of PBL to meet the needs of all learners.

Authors

• Angela Haydel DeBarger, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

• Marc Chun, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation