Novice secondary teachers’ developing beliefs on implementing project-based learning

The purpose of this study was to identify novice teachers’ beliefs about their implementation of and instruction with project-based learning (PjBL) in authentic secondary science and mathematics classrooms in their first school placements as teachers of record. PjBL as an inductive instructional method with a specific focus on active learning. Teachers’ beliefs are one of the key determinants in their decision-making for using teaching practices and how to teach. Investigating beliefs contributes to the knowledge base related to the progressive development of PjBL in K-12 classrooms. Despite this focus, little is known about novice secondary teachers’ beliefs on implementing PjBL. Utilizing a qualitative approach, data from two focus group interviews revealed two themes capturing participants’ developing beliefs about project-based instruction: (a) beliefs about how students learn with PjBL implementation and (b) beliefs about instruction with PjBL implementation. Implications include the need to conceptualize a complex perspective of PjBL from school and classroom contexts, and to move away from conceptualizing PjBL as a set of procedures that conform to classroom practices.