1. Summers, E., & Dickinson, G. (2012). A longitudinal investigation of project-based instruction and student achievement in high school social studies, Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 6(1), 82-103.
- In one diverse, rural Texas school district in which the scores on the state's standardized social studies assessment of students in a PBL learning environment were compared to those of students in a traditional environment, students working in a PBL setting performed significantly better than students working in a traditional setting. A higher percentage of PBL students scored at the pass and commended levels for all three years studied than their counterparts in traditional settings. Furthermore, the PBL setting had more positive achievement growth on the state assessment for all sub-populations of students as categorized by the state, including those coded as socioeconomically disadvantaged. Finally, the authors found that students working in PBL settings had higher rates of grade promotion and that PBL better facilitated the realization of College and Career Readiness Standards as measured by the state's accountability system
2. Geier, R., Blumenfeld, P.C., Marx, R.W., Krajcik, J.S., Fishman, B., Soloway, E., & Clay-Chambers, J. (2008). Standardized test outcomes for students engaged in inquiry-based science curricula in the context of urban reform. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 45(8), 922-939.
- These findings demonstrate that standards-based, inquiry science curriculum can lead to standardized achievement test gains in historically under-served urban students, when the curriculum is highly specified, developed, and aligned with professional development and administrative support. Examination of results by gender reveals that the curriculum effort succeeds in reducing the gender gap in achievement experienced by urban African-American boys.
3. Wirkala, C., & Kuhn, D. (2011). Problem-based learning in k-12 education: Is it effective and how does it achieve its effects? American Educational Research Journal, 48, 1157–1186.
- Assessing both long-term comprehension and long-term application, the authors found that PBL facilitated statistically significant higher levels of comprehension and application than did lecture-based direct instruction.
4. Gallagher, S. A., & Stepien, W. J. (1996). Content acquisition in problem-based learning: Depth versus breadth in American studies (Abstract). Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 19(3), 257-275.
- Secondary students using PBL in American studies did as well on multiple-choice tests as students who received a traditional model of instruction and showed a deeper understanding of content.
5. Strobel, J. (2009). When is pbl more effective ? A meta-synthesis of meta-analyses comparing PBL to conventional classrooms, Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 3(1), 44-58.
- Findings indicated that PBL was superior when it comes to long-term retention, skill development and satisfaction of students
6. Gallagher, S.A., Stepien, W.J., Rosenthal, H. (1992) The effects of problem-based learning on problem solving. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36, 195-200
- This study found that participants (n=78) in Science, Society and the Future, a problem-based course for gifted high school students, exhibited significant improvement in problem-solving schemes compared to a group of 42 gifted nonparticipants. The pattern of change was not consistent across problem-solving steps.
7. Mergendoller, J. R., Maxwell, N. L., & Bellisimo, Y. (2006). The effectiveness of problem-based instruction: A comparative study of instructional methods and student characteristics. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 1(2).
- Five veteran teachers at four high schools taught macroeconomics using PBL with one or more classes and traditional lecture format in another class. Results from 246 students in 11 classes who completed a pre- and post-test showed that PBL was more effective than traditional instruction in teaching macroeconomics concepts
8. Lynch, S., Kuipers, JU., Pyke, C., & Szesze, M. (2005). Examining the effects of a highly rated science curriculum unit on diverse students: Results from a planning grant. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 42, 921-946.
- The treatment was introduced to 1500 eighth grade students in five middle schools selected for their ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity. Students were given pre-, post-, and delayed posttests on a Conservation of Matter Assessment and measures of motivation and engagement. This quasi-experiment found statistically significant posttest results for achievement, basic learning engagement, and goal orientation. Analyses of disaggregated data showed that subgroups of students in the treatment condition outscored their comparison group peers (n = 1500) in achievement in all cases, except for students currently enrolled in ESOL. Analysis of video data of a diverse group of four students as the unit was enacted suggests that students entered a learning environment that permitted them to function in different, but consistent ways over time; that is, the frequency of students' manipulation of objects showed a different pattern of engagement for each of the four students compared with patterns of verbal responses such as the use of scientific terms.
9. Halvorsen, A., Duke, N. K., Brugar, K. A., Block, M. K., Strachan, S. L., Berka, M. B., & Brown, J. M. (2012). Narrowing the achievement gap in second-grade social studies and content area literacy: The promise of a project-based approach (PDF). Theory and Research in Social Education, 40, 198-229.
- Two project-based units in content literacy plus three of the five strands of the Michigan second-grade social studies curriculum (economics; civics and government; and public discourse, decision making, and citizen involvement) were taught to second-grade children in low-SES school settings in Michigan. The outcomes on standards-based social studies and content literacy assessments rendered statistically insignificant the achievement gap between second graders in very low-SES and very high-SES school districts.
10. National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform (2004). Putting the Pieces Together: Lessons from Comprehensive School Reform Research. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.centerforcsri.org/PDF/PTPTLessonsfromCSRResearch.pdf.
11. Scales, P., Roehlkepartain, E., Neal, M., Kielsmeier, C., & Benson, P. (2006). Reducing academic achievement gaps: The role of community service and service-learning, Journal of Experiential Education 29(1), 38–60.
- Service learning is linked to reduced gaps between high and low SES students in many indicators of academic success including achievement motivation, school engagement, bonding to school, homework, and reading for pleasure. Low SES students with service integrated into learning had higher or equal levels in measures of the above indicators of academic success when compared to high-SES students without integrated service experiences. Furthermore, low-SES students with service had higher grades and better attendance than low-SES students without service experiences.
12. Gallagher, S. & Gallagher, J. (2013). Using problem-based learning to explore unseen academic potential. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 7(1), 111-131.
- A recent study in North Carolina that showed problem-based learning (PBL) environments can uncover previously unrecognized advanced academic potential in low-income students. Not only did a PBL environment allow low-income students to use higher-order thinking skills previously undetected by fact-based, content knowledge assessments, students for whom PBL revealed advanced academic potential closely resembled traditionally-identified advanced academic students based on measures of student engagement and student product.
13. Kaldi, S., Filippatou, D., & Govaris, C. (2011). Project-based learning in primary schools: Effects on pupils’ learning and attitudes. Education 3-13, 39(1), 35–47. doi:10.1080/03004270903179538
- Primary students in PBL learning environments not only exhibited improved content knowledge and an enhanced view of experiential learning compared to traditional models, they also developed more positive attitudes about working in collaborative environments and toward peers from different ethnic backgrounds.
14. Brush, T., & Saye, J. (2008). The effects of multimedia-supported problem-based inquiry on student engagement, empathy, and assumptions about history, Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-based Learning, 2(1), 21-56.
- This research extends a continuing line of inquiry investigating how multimedia resources might be joined with other support structures to effectively implement problem-based inquiry (PBI) activities in secondary history classrooms. Analysis of data obtained from classroom observations, observations of student presentations, and student and teacher interviews suggests that the multimedia problem-based unit provided an authentic context for encountering historical content, provoked empathetic views of historical dilemmas, and encouraged meaningful encounters with historical issues that promoted engagement and more advanced epistemological beliefs about history.
15. Finkelstein, N., Hanson, T., Huang, C. W., Hirschman, B., & Huang, M. (2010). Effects of problem-based economics on high school economics instruction (NCEE 2010-4110). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory West.
- This randomized-controlled experiment examined the effects of project-based economics curriculum on student learning and problem solving skills in a sample of 7,000 twelfth graders, taught by 76 teachers in 66 high schools. PBL students outscored students who received traditional instruction on the standardized Test of Economic Literacy, and a test of applying economic concepts to solve real-world economic challenges.
16. Parker, W., Mosberg, S., Bransford, J., Vye, N., Wilderson, J., & Abbott, R. (2011). Rethinking advanced high school coursework: Tackling the depth/breadth tension in the AP U.S. Government and Politics course. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 43(4), 533-559.
- Researchers from the University of Washington, the Bellevue Schools Foundation, and The George Lucas Educational Foundation conducted a multi-year study to test a rigorous project-based learning approach to teaching Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. Government and Politics. Three hundred fourteen students from Washington's Bellevue School District were randomly assigned to a traditional course or project-based learning course on AP U.S. Government and Politics (AP+). The PBL students performed as well as or better than traditionally taught students on the AP test and better on a complex scenario test, which measures strategies for realistically monitoring and influencing public policy.
17. Hattie, J. (2008). Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York, NY: Routledge.
- Hattie analyzed a total of about 800 meta-analyses, encompassing 52,637 studies, 146,142 effect sizes, and millions of students (p. 15). According to Hattie, the simplest prescription for improving teaching is to provide "dollops of feedback." Providing students with feedback had the largest effect size on learning of any intervention studied.
18. Hernandez-Ramos, P., & De La Paz, S. (2009). Learning history in middle school by designing multimedia in a project-based learning experience. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 42(2), 151-173.
- Researchers from Santa Clara University and the University of Maryland compared learning outcomes for eighth graders who completed a six-week unit on early 19th-century U.S. history using traditional instructional methods versus project-based learning. In the PBL curriculum, groups of students created mini-documentaries, constructing an interpretation of a historical time period from the 1800s, with state standards as the basic required content guides, and public presentation. Results showed significant gains in content knowledge and historical-thinking skills for students engaged in the PBL curriculum as compared to students who received traditional instruction.
19. Roscoe, R. D., & Chi, M. T. H. (2007). Understanding Tutor Learning: Knowledge-Building and Knowledge-Telling in Peer Tutors’ Explanations and Questions. Review of Educational Research, 77(4), 534–574. doi:10.3102/003465430730992
20. Cohen, P. a., Kulik, J. a., & Kulik, C.-L. C. (1982). Educational Outcomes of Tutoring: A Meta-Analysis of Findings. American Educational Research Journal, 19(2), 237. doi:10.2307/1162567
21. Brush, T., & Saye, J. (2000). Implementation and evaluation of a student-centered learning unit:
A case study. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 79-100. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02319859
22. Gallagher, S. A. (1996, November). The effect of problem-based learning on complex thought.
Presentation at the annual meeting of the National Association for Gifted Children,
Indianapolis, IN.
23. Hmelo, C. E., & Ferrari, M. (1997). The problem-based learning tutorial: Cultivating higher order thinking skills. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 20(4), 401-422.
24. Bottge, B. A., Grant, T. S., Stephens, A. C., & Rueda, E. (2010). Advancing the math skills of middle school students in technology education classrooms. NASSP Bulletin, 94(2), 81-106. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1177/0192636510379902
20. Cohen, P. a., Kulik, J. a., & Kulik, C.-L. C. (1982). Educational Outcomes of Tutoring: A Meta-Analysis of Findings. American Educational Research Journal, 19(2), 237. doi:10.2307/1162567
21. Brush, T., & Saye, J. (2000). Implementation and evaluation of a student-centered learning unit:
A case study. Educational Technology Research and Development, 48(3), 79-100. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02319859
22. Gallagher, S. A. (1996, November). The effect of problem-based learning on complex thought.
Presentation at the annual meeting of the National Association for Gifted Children,
Indianapolis, IN.
23. Hmelo, C. E., & Ferrari, M. (1997). The problem-based learning tutorial: Cultivating higher order thinking skills. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 20(4), 401-422.
24. Bottge, B. A., Grant, T. S., Stephens, A. C., & Rueda, E. (2010). Advancing the math skills of middle school students in technology education classrooms. NASSP Bulletin, 94(2), 81-106. http://
dx.doi.org/10.1177/0192636510379902