For two years the researchers observed, interviewed, and documented. Following this, they presented the teachers certain principles of learning which their observations had reinforced. Students are constructors of knowledge. Understanding occurs not when students are presented with the name of a concept but when they organize, manipulate, and apply the concept's constituent bits of data. The opposite of this, factual recall or demonstration of an already mastered skill, provides little opportunity for cognitive growth.
Students learn best when they produce , perceive , and reflect .
In production the students perform or create. In perceiving they use and hone perceptual skills by studying closely the elements of their works and of others. The first four principles suggest that instruction be based on projects over time, since the construction of knowledge, skills, and processes does not easily fit into a given time period or unit of study. Projects require the application of previously acquired knowledge and skills to achieve the desired result. Domain projects thus were adopted as a teaching vehicle.