Enacting Project-Based Science: Experiences of Four Middle Grade Teachers

Abstract

The case studies in this article demonstrate how 4 middle grade teachers addressed the challenges and dilemmas of enacting project-based science in their classrooms. The teachers attempted to enact several common features of project-based science, including student collaboration and ownership and the use of technology. The 4 teachers faced dilemmas with respect to balancing their use of time and content coverage with granting students autonomy. They also needed to solve the problems of addressing their district's curriculum while engaging their students in project-based science and of maintaining order as they attempted this new approach to teaching science. Project-based science was presented as a way to think about innovative instruction by providing a possible means of enactment and not a method. We found that the potential of project-based science could be realized through teachers' collaborative work with peers, enacting projects in their classrooms, and reflecting on their enactments. We also found that teachers' understanding took the form of practical, not theoretical or propositional, knowledge.