Project-Based Learning vs. Problem-Based Learning Vs

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Project-Based Learning vs. Problem-Based Learning Vs

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Abdelbaset Haridy

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Project-Based Learning vs. Problem-Based Learning vs. X-BL | Edutopia http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-vs-pbl-vs-xbl-john-larmer?utm_source...

PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

JANUARY 6, 2014

Image credit: Veer

At the Buck Institute for Education (1) (BIE), we've been keeping a list of the many types of "_____- based
learning" we've run across over the years:

Case-based learning
Challenge-based learning
Community-based learning
Design-based learning
Game-based learning
Inquiry-based learning
Land-based learning
Passion-based learning
Place-based learning
Problem-based learning
Proficiency-based learning
Service-based learning
Studio-based learning
Team-based learning
Work-based learning

. . . and our new fave . . .

Zombie-based learning (look it up!)

Let's Try to Sort This Out

The term "project learning" derives from the work of John Dewey and dates back to William Kilpatrick, who
first used the term in 1918. At BIE, we see project-based learning as a broad category which, as long as
there is an extended "project" at the heart of it, could take several forms or be a combination of:

Designing and/or creating a tangible product, performance or event

Solving a real-world problem (may be simulated or fully authentic)
Investigating a topic or issue to develop an answer to an open-ended question

So according to our "big tent" model of PBL, some of the newer "X-BLs" -- problem-, challenge- and

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Project-Based Learning vs. Problem-Based Learning vs. X-BL | Edutopia http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-vs-pbl-vs-xbl-john-larmer?utm_source...

design-based -- are basically modern versions of the same concept. They feature, to varying degrees, all of
BIE's 8 Essential Elements of PBL (2), although each has its own distinct flavor. (And by the way, each of
these three, along with project-based learning, falls under the general category of inquiry-based learning --
which also includes research papers, scientific investigations, Socratic Seminars or other text-based
discussions, etc. The other X-BLs might involve some inquiry, too, but now we're getting into the weeds . . .)

Other X-BLs are so named because they use a specific context for learning, such as a particular place or
type of activity. They may contain projects within them, or have some of the 8 Essential Elements, but not
necessarily. For example, within a community- or service-based learning experience, students may plan and
conduct a project that improves their local community or helps the people in it, but they may also do other
activities that are not part of a project. Conversely, students may learn content and skills via a game-based or
work-based program that does not involve anything like what we would call a PBL-style project.

Problem-Based Learning vs. Project-Based Learning

Because they have the same acronym, we get a lot of questions about the similarities and differences
between the two PBLs. We even had questions ourselves -- some years ago we created units for high school
economics and government that we called "problem-based." But we later changed the name to
"Project-Based Economics (3)" and "Project-Based Government (4)" to eliminate confusion about which PBL
it was.

We decided to call problem-based learning a subset of project-based learning -- that is, one of the ways a
teacher could frame a project is "to solve a problem." But problem-BL does have its own history and set of
typically-followed procedures, which are more formally observed than in other types of projects. The use of
case studies and simulations as "problems" dates back to medical schools in the 1960s, and problem-BL is
still more often seen in the post-secondary world than in K-12, where project-BL is more common.

Problem-based learning typically follow prescribed steps:

1. Presentation of an "ill-structured" (open-ended, "messy") problem

2. Problem definition or formulation (the problem statement)
3. Generation of a "knowledge inventory" (a list of "what we know about the problem" and "what we need to
know")
4. Generation of possible solutions
5. Formulation of learning issues for self-directed and coached learning
6. Sharing of findings and solutions

If you're a project-BL teacher, this probably looks pretty familiar, even though the process goes by different
names. Other than the framing and the more formalized steps in problem-BL, there's really not much
conceptual difference between the two PBLs -- it’s more a question of style and scope:

A Note on Math and the Two PBLs

Teachers at some K-12 schools that use project-BL as a primary instructional method, such as the New
Technology Network (5) and Envision Schools (6), have begun saying that they use problem-BL for math.
Especially at the secondary level, teaching math primarily through multi-disciplinary projects has proved
challenging. (Not that occasional multi-disciplinary projects including math are a bad idea!) By using
problem-BL, these teachers feel they can design single-subject math projects -- aka "problems" -- that
effectively teach more math content by being more limited in scope than many typical project-BL units.

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Project-Based Learning vs. Problem-Based Learning vs. X-BL | Edutopia http://www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-vs-pbl-vs-xbl-john-larmer?utm_source...

Tackling a "problem," for example, may not involve as much independent student inquiry, nor the creation of
a complex product for presentation to a public audience.

How Does This Tale of Two PBLs End?

One could argue that completing any type of project involves solving a problem. If students are investigating
an issue -- say, immigration policy -- the problem is deciding where they stand on it and how to communicate
their views to a particular audience in a video. Or if students are building a new play structure for a
playground, the problem is how to build it properly, given the users' wants and needs and the various
constraints of safe, approved construction. Or even if they're writing stories for a book to be published about
the Driving Question "How do we grow up?", the problem is how to express a unique, rich answer to the
question.

So the semantics aren't worth worrying about, at least not for very long. The two PBLs are really two sides of
the same coin. What type of PBL you decide to call your, er . . . extended learning experience just depends
on how you frame it. The bottom line is the same: both PBLs can powerfully engage and effectively teach
your students!

Note: This is the first of two parts. In the next post, we'll consider PBL vs. projects.

Source: www.edutopia.org/blog/pbl-vs-pbl-vs-xbl-john-larmer

Links

1 www.bie.org/
2 www.bie.org/tools/freebies/8_essentials_for_project-based_learning
3 www.bie.org/store/units/pbe_curriculum_units
4 www.bie.org/store/units/pbg_curriculum_units
5 www.newtechnetwork.org/
6 www.envisionschools.org/