Project Based Learning (PBL): How Do I Know if I'm Doing it Right?!?

This video seeks to answer the #1 question I get about Project Based Learning, and that is, "Am I Doing This Right?!?" The question speaks to the integrity of my favorite people, educators, and their desire to do the best they can by the students they teach. I hope this video helps you know where to focus your energy when you are trying to shift your teaching practices.Special (and HUGE) thanks to...

Teachers Who Understand Learning...

Teachers who understand learning intentionally plan for student engagement. They realize it's not something that happens without work, but neither is learni...

An Amazing Student A-Ha! Moment: Sometimes You Have to Do Something BEFORE You Understand It

This afternoon, a group of adults, admins and teachers, and I met with a group of 5 students to work together to plan our Day of Code event. One of the young men told a story that I feel compelled to share. It really rocked my world. I'll paraphrase for you . . ."I watched...

CrowdSchool Seeks to Crowdsource PBL Units, Asks for a Start via Indie Go Go

CrowdSchool recently launched an IndieGoGo campaign to help scale its platform for teachers to create, share, and sell project-based Challenges. CrowdSchool seeks to make it easier for teachers to find and use project-based resources in the classroom. All three Co-Founders have teaching experience, and Chief Learning Officer Tim Monreal still teaches middle school Social Studies. Pedagogy is at the...

What Leads to Engagement? These Three Relatively Simple Things . . .

I've been doing a lot of reading lately in preparation for the first upcoming Engage Me Academy. Here's one thing I learned . ....

Who Owns Project Based Learning?

Someone asked me recently if [insert organization name here] owned Project Based Learning. Well, I'd like us to think about that together because I understand the root of the question. There are some organizations, sales people, companies, etc. who seem to own the idea...

4 Other Essential Elements of Project Based Learning

Today I met with a great group of teachers embarking on implementing project based learning together. I shared this seminal article with them and we discussed their ideas. But AFTER I left their meeting, what I REALLY wanted to say hit me. As you plan your projects, consider...

Student Choice Continuum: Version 1

I'm working on the idea of a student choice continuum to help explain Project Based Learning. This continuum is not meant to represent "good" verus "bad" instruction; almost all forms of instruction can be done well or poorly, purposefully or not. For example, I learn well...

Back to School On Campus Staff Development, PBL Style

A couple of smart principals I know (and luckily get to work with frequently) told me that they're going to use Project Based Learning for campus staff development this year. We started brainstorming a Driving Question for this purpose. What do you think? Would you rather...

Scaffold for Writing a Driving Question for Project Based Learning

Need help getting started writing a Driving Question? Try using the scaffold below; however, don't get locked in! This is just an IDEA for a starting point. Feel free to rearrange, get rid of, and add elements as you please. If you have suggestions to make this graphic...

Brief Guide to Vocabulary for Project Based Learning

While I've been using Project Based Learning since my second year as a public school teacher some 14 years ago, I have only recently learned the vocabulary to describe the practices I find so effective.Thanks to BIE.org for standardizing and publicizing this terminology. So here's what we do (and don't) say to describe our practices. A big shout out to a certain nearby Project Based Learning elementary...

What do Students Do When the Teacher's Away?

Yesterday I had Instructional Rounds scheduled with a group of teachers involved in a special project. One of the 7th grade teachers I was scheduled to visit had a family emergency and wasn't able to be at school. I decided to go ahead and see what was going on...

Fried Questions: The Question Slip

Part of transitioning to being the "guide on the side" is helping students become more reliant on each other and themselves than on you (the teacher). The Question Slip is a great option to wean students off your nurturing care and help them become more self and team reliant....

What's the Difference Between Doing Projects and Project Based Learning?

Do you have ideas that should be added to this list or do you notice something that needs to be changed? Please let me know in the comments and you will see the document form of this list change accordingly.Here's the Google Doc version of this fi...