Overlapping Opportunities for Social-Emotional and Literacy Learning in Elementary-Grade Project-Based Instruction

Project-based learning (PBL) approaches seek to challenge the grammar of schooling by providing opportunities for students to (a) explore meaningful questions using multiple disciplinary lenses; (b) read, interpret, and produce a wide range of texts as they engage in disciplinary inquiry; and (c) develop and use a range of social-emotional skills as they work together to solve real-world problems. As PBL gains momentum in K–12 classrooms, we need to better understand the ways in which teachers and students take up these opportunities. This case study explored how one third-grade teacher’s enactment of a PBL curriculum provided opportunities for students to learn and use social-emotional skills and literacy in the service of disciplinary learning. Findings revealed that the curriculum and enactment diverged from the grammar of schooling by providing opportunities for students to use literacy as a tool for disciplinary inquiry while simultaneously advancing goals associated with social-emotional learning.