Alignment analysis of teaching–learning-assessment within the classroom: how teachers implement project-based learning under the curriculum standards

Abstract This multi-case study examined the strengths and weaknesses of aligning teaching–learning-assessment of classroom project-based learning to curriculum standards and offered suggestions for teacher training and instructional improvement. The study constructed an alignment analysis framework for analyzing the cognitive dimension of classroom project-based learning and analyzed the situation of two junior high schools in Zhejiang Province using deductive and inductive content analysis. According to the results, the cognitive demands of classroom instruction activities and classroom assessments were much higher than those of teaching objectives and curriculum standards. Simultaneously, classroom instruction paid insufficient attention to engineering topics, and all instructional implementation elements exhibited content and cognitive deficiencies. The study suggests that teachers' dearth of engineering knowledge and the characteristics of project-based learning in the classroom are the primary reasons for the lack of alignment among three instructional implementation elements with curriculum standards. Similarly, it was discovered that classroom project-based learning has the characteristics of co-development of physical knowledge and engineering content and that future research can focus on developing more effective forms of classroom content organization and time distribution.