• Instructional Strategies - Overview
• Interactive Lecture
• Flipped Classroom
• Case-Based Learning
• Team-Based Learning
• Problem-Based Learning
• Simulation-Based Learning

Project-based learning (PjBL) involves students working on a project. Depending on the goals of the instructor, the size and scope of the project can vary greatly. Students may complete their project over the course of many weeks, or within a single class period.

The project should engage students in solving a real-world problem or answering a complex question. Typically, PjBL takes students through the following phases or steps:

1. Identifying a problem
2. Proposing a potential solution
3. Designing and developing a prototype
4. Refining the solution based on feedback from experts, instructors, and/or peers. 

Advantages of this approach include:

• Develops critical thinking and creative thinking
• Increased motivation because students are working on authentic tasks 

Some challenges of this approach include:

• Students may get off-task, so having a faculty member who can serve as a facilitator or mentor is beneficial
• It may not be familiar, so students may be hesitant about it

Example 1: As a group, students pick a public health topic. They research the problem and identify one element they would like to focus on. As a team, they develop a public health social media campaign to address the problem. 

Example 2: As a group, students generate a research question and a hypothesis. Over the course of the year they design an experiment to test the hypothesis, conduct and analyze data, and then present their research findings.

Remember that PjBL is more than a final project. The majority of the learning process is occurring as students research their topic, develop solutions, and present their results.  

Use the Google Plug-in below to find articles about educators who have implemented PjBL in your discipline.

Project-based learning (website)

5 Keys to Rigorous PjBL (7 minute video)