(This is an update of a post from a few years ago; good to keep in mind when planning projects for this year!)

“I thought the project was going well… but by the end, I felt that the work my students produced was not as good as I imagined it would be. I was a little embarrassed and almost wanted to dial back the audience’s expectations on the night of the presentations!”

This is a common concern of teachers who are new to Project Based Learning. Things can appear to be going smoothly; students have been engaged by the project, they've been learning content and skills, they've been busy and meeting deadlines… but their thinking is not as in-depth and their final products not as polished as they should be. If this is your experience, ask yourself some questions: