Joseph Krajcik & Barbara Schneider 
Science Education Through Multiple Literacies 
Project-Based Learning in Elementary School

Science Education Through Multiple Literacies explores how the use of project-based learning in elementary science education fosters a lifelong scientific mindset in students. The book provides educators with the teaching practices to help students develop an overall science literacy that aligns with Next Generation Science Standards.



Editors Joseph Krajcik and Barbara Schneider and the book’s contributors offer a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted approach to science learning. Multiple Literacies in Project-Based Learning (ML-PBL) interweaves scientific ideas and practices, language literacy, and mathematical thinking. ML-PBL supports the teaching of science by paralleling what scientists do: it engages students and their teachers in investigating real-world questions, constructing models, and using evidence to evaluate claims.



The book presents compelling case studies of ML-PBL, how teachers use this approach, and how the ML-PBL transforms the classroom into an environment that builds and supports academic and student social-emotional learning. Representing both urban and suburban schools, the case studies include classroom observations, student and teacher interviews, and student artifacts to illustrate how to make science relevant in students’ lives.



Krajcik and Schneider note that application of ML-PBL requires intentional instructional practices and new ways of thinking about what it means to learn. Easing this challenge, the editors equip elementary science teachers with curricular resources including high-quality instructional materials, professional-learning exercises, and formative assessments.




Science Education Through Multiple Literacies provides the necessary elements to transform science teaching and learning so that students learn the skills to navigate with confidence through our complex world.

About the author

Joseph Krajcik serves as director of the CREATE for STEM Institute and is the Lappan-Phillips Professor of Science Education at Michigan State University (MSU). Throughout his career, Krajcik has focused on working with teachers to design and test instructional materials to reform science teaching practices that promote students’ engagement in and learning of science. He is currently working on several funded projects to design, develop, and test instructional materials that engage learners through project-based learning (PBL) and that align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Framework for K–12 Science Education. Krajcik served as lead writer for developing Physical Science Standards for the NGSS and the lead writer for the Physical Science Design team for the Framework for K–12 Science Education. He received the Mc Graw Prize in 2020 for innovation in education, the George G. Mallinson Award from the Michigan Science Teachers’ Association in 2014 for overall excellence of contributions to science education, and the Distinguished Contributions to Science Education Through Research Award in 2010 from NARST. In 2019, he was elected to the National Academy of Education. Prior to receiving his Ph D, Joe taught high school chemistry and physical science.Barbara Schneider is the John A. Hannah University Distinguished Professor in the College of Education and Department of Sociology at MSU. Her research focuses on how the social contexts of schools and families influence adolescents’ academic and social well-being as they move into adulthood. Barbara has played a significant role in developing research methods for the real-time measurement of learning experiences in context. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Academy of Education, and American Educational Research Association. She was recently elected to the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and received an honorary Ph D from the University of Helsinki in 2017. Schneider is the principal investigator of Crafting Engagement in Science Environments, an international study testing the impact of PBL on student academic, social, and emotional factors in high school science classes. She is also the co-principal investigator of a similar initiative at the elementary school level. Schneider has published nineteen books and more than 150 articles and reports on family, the social contexts of schooling, and the sociology of knowledge. Her most recent book is Learning Science: Crafting Engagement in Science Environment, published by Yale University Press, 2020.