Enacting Project-Based Learning Science Instruction the Context of Physical Distancing: Supporting Humanizing Relationships

• In Event: Science Education Across Multiple Contexts

Abstract

This case study follows two elementary science teachers in the same urban school district during the first four weeks of their shift to virtual learning during the global pandemic in 2020. Each teacher leveraged principles of Project-based learning to support student participation. Nine hours of recorded data and six hours of interview were analyzed for themes related to teachers’ individual appropriation of PBL principles and their support for fostering humanizing relationships. Shifts underscore critical aspects of science learning that need to be cultivated in any environment: Equity through authentic connections to community, and teacher motivation to embrace principles that personally resonate.

Authors

• Emily Miller, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Leema G. Berland, University of Wisconsin - Madison