Assessing the Effect of Project-Based Learning on Science Learning in Elementary Schools
We checked this card's citation and the finding we state against the source's own page or record in October 2026.
What it found
Third graders taught four project-based science units, with materials and professional learning for teachers, scored higher on a standardized science test than the control group and reported more self-reflection and collaboration in science.
Effect size, as the source reports it: 0.277 standard deviation on a standardized science test.
What kind of study it is
- Design
- Randomized trial in schools
- Weight
- A trial in schools: it compares groups that got the practice with groups that didn't.
- Sample
- 46 Michigan schools, 2,371 third graders, cluster randomized
- Who
- School-age children (K–12)
Read it
doi.org/10.3102/00028312221129247
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Cited in the Library
Cite this study
Krajcik, J., Schneider, B., Miller, E. A., Chen, I.-C., Bradford, L., Baker, Q., Bartz, K., Miller, C., Li, T., Codere, S., & Peek-Brown, D. (2023). Assessing the effect of project-based learning on science learning in elementary schools. American Educational Research Journal, 60(1), 70–102. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312221129247
Checked against the source in October 2026. All studies · How we rate the evidence · Something wrong? Tell us.