Project-Based and Problem-Based Instruction in STEM Classroom Environments

Dear Colleagues,

Education Sciences announces a Special Issue entitled “Project-Based and Problem-Based Instruction (PBI) in STEM Classroom Environments”. This issue will focus on research of PBI implementation and effectiveness of PBI approaches in STEM K-20 classroom environments. PBI was popularized in the United States during the progressive era and again in the 1990s. We are now in another wave of this PBI movement in the area of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Project-based instruction provides opportunities for students to address real-world, relevant issues through the use of a driving question, which prompts student-designed investigations of their own related research questions that result in artifacts that show how student-led investigations address the issue at hand. Problem-based instruction presents a case or problem through the use of a written description of the issue, which students then use to identify what is known, what they need to know, and assumptions to be made prior to investigating and proposing a solution. The key features of PBI include: (1) teacher developed driving question/problem (Krajcik & Czerniak, 2014), (2) student developed subdriving question/assumption (Wilhelm, Wilhelm, and Cole, 2019), (3) milestones as a form of assessment (Polman, 2000), (4) benchmark lessons/activities (Marx et al. 2004), (5), experts as collaborators, and (6) project/problem artifacts. Wilhelm, Wilhelm, and Cole (2019) document the design of PBI STEM environments and illustrate the effectiveness of PBI in middle and secondary classrooms, weighing the costs and benefits inherent in the challenge of PBI implementation. This Special Issue will advance the conversation on STEM PBI effectiveness in the 21^st Century at the K-20 level.

We aim to reflect contemporary research trends in the implementation and effectiveness of project-based or problem-based pedagogy in K-20 settings. Possible topics may include teachers’ understandings of problem-based or project-based instruction; implementation studies of problem-based or project-based instruction and learning in the classroom; instructional challenges of PBI implementation; student learning outcomes of problem-based or project-based pedagogy. Submissions on any other topic within the scope of this Special Issue are also welcomed and will be fully considered. The content areas may include a specific STEM field (e.g., chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, biology, engineering, computer science, etc.) or an integrated STEM approach.

Dr. Jennifer Wilhelm
Dr. Rebecca Krall
Dr. Merryn Cole
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.