Project-Based Teaching-Learning Model: Seven Educational Principles for Knowledge Building Skills Development

Abstract

This article examines the project-based teaching approach as applied in more than 160 education research projects completed as part of three qualitative methodology courses. Expanding on the application of this teaching approach through statements from students on their learning and through theoretical considerations, the purposes of this article are to present a project-based teaching model by drawing on the grounded theory and to identify the contribution of strategic knowledge in the specific form of phronesis or practical wisdom. The seven educational principles involved in the model deal with: the functions of the educational framework, the connection to prior knowledge, the reflexive journey, confrontation with reality, the crossroads between knowledge and skills, the community of learners, and the forms of supervision. According to the hermeneutic tradition, such practical wisdom would only be developed with the experience lived.