A study finds promise in project-based learning for young low-income children
“A group of researchers from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University followed students using the same social studies curriculum as the one used in Waterford in 20 high-poverty schools in Michigan. After a year, the researchers found that the kids whose teachers were randomly assigned to instruct through projects posted higher scores on a social studies test created by the researchers than schoolmates who were instructed as usual. (The researchers controlled for academic differences among the kids at the start of the school year.) The project-based kids also had slightly higher reading scores but their writing scores were no different.”