The practices of Project-Based Learning (PjBL) are known to be widespread and effective in both K-12 and higher education settings. There is still little research on how it can provide a community of engagement for middle school learners. This paper reports how engaging middle school learners in PjBL tasks influences the students’ perceptions and self-efficacy. A sequential exploratory mixed-method approach is used in this two-year study. The data collected and analyzed included a self-efficacy scale and interviews with the middle school learners. Findings from Year 1 and Year 2 case studies revealed that PjBL methodologies in the middle school classroom settings resulted in an increase in engagement among the middle school students as they interacted in their own communities of engagement (COE). Overall PjBL allowed for students to engage in a new practice of engagement that supported collaborative learning.
This paper discusses the challenges and lessons learned from conducting observations to measure the quality of classroom practice for a large-scale study of elementary teachers’ mathematics instruction. Specifically, this paper shares our process for obtaining valid data for quality of elementary mathematics instruction; what we learned can inform similar efforts by large, interdisciplinary teams, as well as by instructional coaches and evaluators. Considerations for selecting and testing the viability of a classroom observation instrument, as well as the importance of conducting inter-rater reliability throughout the data collection process, are discussed.
