Thus begins Introduction to Project Based Learning, the document that explains the NTN program our district will be implementing at Los Gatos High School.  Reading these paragraphs and the materials that follow provide no indication that constructivism, the educational  system of thought which includes Project Based Learning, has been demonstrated to be less effective than traditional methods of teaching.  Empirical research has overwhelming demonstrated the constructivist view of human learning is incorrect and that constructivist teaching methods are less effective than traditional methods of instruction.  In Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work, the authors explain the real science of human learning.  In Applications and Misapplications, the authors explain how the proponents of constructivism have misunderstood and misconstrued the research about  learning. Direct Instruction: What the Research Says provides an annotated bibliography for further reading. illinoisloop.org has an extensive collection of literature on-line.  The inadequacy of scientific research purporting to demonstrate the effectiveness of project-based learning is revealed by searching the U.S. Dept. of Education’s research clearing house.

Although constructivism wraps itself in the trappings of science, constructivism is not a scientific theory.  It is a system of belief.  See, for example, The Contradictions in the Constructivist Discourse and  Ed Schools in Crisis.  The constructivist system of belief is the foundation of most schools of education in this country.  Regrettably, this system of belief puts most professional educators and professors of education at odds with  research-based education methods and the legal requirements for standards based instruction and accountability.  This conflict is discussed in detail in Ed Schools, Helping or Hindering Potential Teachers; Facing the Classroom Challenge; and What do Teachers Teach?.

By approving the New Tech Networks program for Los Gatos High School, our district has decided to subject our children to an experiment that has repeatedly proven to produce sub-optimal results.