This study explored how teachers engage and support students at a project-based STEM high school to identify key elements defining students’ learning experiences in a project-based environment. Interviews and surveys provided students’ and teachers’ perspectives of challenges and supports in the project-based learning process. The teachers’ support was personal and caring, they challenged students and provided responsive guidance and advice, responding directly to students’ interests while retaining high standards and expectations; we saw that teachers’ caring in an environment of high expectations was crucial for student success. Identification of three critical elements of the teachers’ supports and challenges (student-centered projects, a focus on twenty-first century competencies, and strong teacher-student relationships) led to recommendations for teacher preparation such as providing preservice teachers with authentic experiences, celebrating failure as part of learning, explicitly teaching about project-based learning pedagogy, and stressing the importance of caring relationships and twenty-first century competencies.

本研究探讨了教师如何吸引和支持基于项目的 STEM 高中的学生，以确定在基于项目的环境中定义学生学习体验的关键要素。访谈和调查提供了学生和教师对基于项目的学习过程中的挑战和支持的看法。教师的支持是个人的和关怀的，他们挑战学生并提供响应性的指导和建议，直接回应学生的兴趣，同时保持高标准和期望；我们看到教师在高期望环境中的关怀对学生的成功至关重要。确定教师支持和挑战的三个关键要素（以学生为中心的项目，关注 21 世纪的能力，