Project-based learning (PBL) is recognized as an effective, high-impact teaching method, especially in settings involving communities and industries. Although research has shown significant benefits for student motivation, skill acquisition, and the development of professional identity, less attention has been paid to the durability of learning artifacts and the impact on communities after a course ends. Consequently, many PBL projects achieve meaningful short-term learning outcomes but offer limited long-term benefits for external partners.
This work advances teaching and learning scholarship by examining how deliberate course and project design can enhance student learning and ensure sustainability beyond the course. Based on a review of PBL literature and the authors’ previous instructional research, we present SHIELD—a framework grounded in design principles that emphasizes Sustainable, Helpful, Informed, Ethical, Local, and Design-focused values. SHIELD serves as a pedagogical tool to help instructors align learning outcomes, assessment methods, and stakeholder engagement with the long-term success of projects.
The framework was applied and examined in an undergraduate engineering course centred on community-partnered software development. Through student reflections, stakeholder feedback, and instructor observations, we evaluate how the SHIELD principles affected student learning, their sense of authentic responsibility, and the sustainability of project outcomes after the course. We highlight the benefits, limitations, and tensions that arise when balancing teaching objectives with sustainability goals. Finally, we discuss implications for SoTL researchers and educators designing PBL experiences that aim to extend learning beyond the classroom while maintaining pedagogical rigour and ethical integrity.