Can Project-Based Learning Work in AP Courses?

        In this article in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Anna Rosefsky Saavedra (University of Southern California) and seven colleagues report on their study comparing students’ performance on two Advanced Placement exams (U.S. Government and Environmental Science) following traditional and project-based instruction. For teachers trying to implement an innovative project-based learning classroom, say the authors, “the AP context is particularly challenging because of the sheer amount of content covered in the course-specific AP curriculum frameworks and the looming end-of-year, high-stakes examination.” 

        The researchers looked at the exam results of students in five predominantly urban, low-income school districts around the U.S. What did they find? Students who learned through project-based learning did significantly better on AP exams than those with lecture-based instruction. This was true for students from both low- and high-income families. The researchers found that teachers using project-based learning focused their learning objectives on more-sophisticated thinking and communication skills, did less AP test prep and quick-turnaround assignments, and spent more time on student-centered activities like simulations and debates. 

        The authors have several caveats. First, shifting from traditional to project-based pedagogy is a “substantial change for teachers,” requiring high-quality, ongoing, job-embedded PD and coaching support. Second, the teachers using project-based learning in this study chose to participate, indicating that they were “early adopters” who were more motivated than those in the control group to try something new and/or were drawn to, or already knowledgeable about, project-based learning. Third, the schools in the study were philosophically aligned with project-based learning, offered many AP courses, and required open access enrollment in AP courses. Classrooms and schools without these favorable conditions might not get the positive results found in this study.

        Still, say the authors, “The traditional ‘transmission’ model of instruction, in which teachers transmit knowledge to students through lectures and assigned readings, may be suboptimal for supporting students’ ability to think and communicate in sophisticated ways, demonstrate creativity and innovation, and transfer their skills, knowledge, and attitudes to new contexts.” 

 “The Impact of Project-Based Learning on AP Exam Performance” by Anna Rosefsky Saavedra, Kari Lock Morgan, Ying Liu, Marshall Garland, Amie Rapaport, Alyssa Hu, Danial Hoepfner, and Shira Korn Haderlein in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, December 2022 (Vol. 44, # 4, pp. 638-666); Saavedra can be reached at asaavedr@usc.edu.

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #964 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.