Case Studies for Collaborative, Project-Based Learning

What can faculty and leaders at large research universities learn from those at small liberal arts colleges or community colleges, and vice versa? A lot, it turns out, when it comes to deploying collaborative projects in the classroom to enhance student learning.

Duke University released an open access resource of 17 case studies from a wide range of higher education institutions that have creatively infused collaborative projects into their curricular and co-curricular offerings.

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“With the appropriate scaffolding, complex team-based research projects have proven to be a motivating and effective learning strategy,” said Edward Balleisen, vice provost for interdisciplinary studies. “This approach empowers students, challenges them to navigate ambiguity, and cultivates skills in teamwork and communication.”

And it’s not just students who benefit. Duke sociology professor Jenifer Hamil-Luker revamped her course on inequalities in the U.S. legal system to include collaborative projects. “It was initially intimidating to carve out class time usually spent on content delivery to give students opportunities to build on content in creative ways,” she said. “But once I saw how energized the students were by working on something that mattered, I became a convert. Teaching this way has reinvigorated my own approach to teaching.”

These case studies were developed as a complement to The Future of Higher Education: A Symposium on Collaborative, Project-Based Learning, hosted by Duke in 2023 to mark 10 years of the Bass Connections program at Duke. Bass Connections annually supports interdisciplinary, applied research teams involving more than 1,200 faculty, staff, graduate/professional students and undergraduate students.

The symposium brought together 120 faculty, staff and administrators from 45 institutions to learn from one another. The case study authors have updated their contributions for this open access resource.

Kristin Wobbe, co-director of the Center for Project-Based Learning at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), says she hopes other universities will learn from these cases. “WPI has made projects the cornerstone of our curriculum. It’s such a powerful practice and these cases provide some great practical advice,” she said.

Another case study comes from Georgia Tech’s Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program, which creates opportunities for nearly 4,000 students to participate in project-based research for academic credit. Georgia Tech now hosts a consortium of 50 universities that have adopted the VIP model.

Readers can also explore cases of how project-based learning is being embedded into the curriculum for all learner levels – from the Pratt School of Engineering’s First-Year Design Course for undergraduates to the Fuqua School of Business’ Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum for MBA Students.

“Over the past 12 years of observing the work and outcomes of hundreds of collaborative project teams at Duke, I have seen extraordinary creativity from students and faculty alike. I hope these cases inspire more universities to pick up the torch, adapting the model to their own circumstances and sharing their own lessons along the way,” said Balleisen.

Access the Case Studies

Collaborative Project-Based Learning in Higher Education: Case Studies

Learn More

• Browse our resources for collaborative project course design.

• Check out Chapter 3 of Global Insights into Transdisciplinary Higher Education Initiatives, which outlines best practices for evaluating and scaling interdisciplinary, project-based learning.

• Read “The Impact of Applied Project-Based Learning on Undergraduate Student Development.”

 

Please contact bassconnections@duke.edu for more information.