Here are some articles, blog posts, research studies, and other resources I’ve recently run across that connect to Project Based Learning.
Providing Rich Educational Experiences for All Students
Edutopia
Great post, the subtitle says it all: “With proper scaffolds, students with learning differences benefit greatly from challenging opportunities like project-based learning.”
5 Ways to Make Sure PBL PD Works
eSchoolNews
Former Buck Institute staffer Ashely Ellis, now assistant superintendent at Loudoun County Schools, Virginia, shares practical guidance on providing effective professional development for PBL.
Four Emerging Trends in Learning
Forbes
Tom Vander Ark follows his post on four ‘mega trends’ that are reshaping global education with a look at “four emerging trends tied to each of those: a focus on contribution, immersive learning, a focus on success skills, and thoughtful guidance.”
It’s still possible to take action on school segregation. Here’s how.
Chalkbeat
A superintendent from San Antonio, Texas shares strategies he has used to promote school integration, and one caught my eye: “Schools that focus on project-based learning and social-emotional development excite middle-class families and lower-income families alike and can serve them well.”
Starting the School Year on a Creative Note
John Spencer
Here’s a nice list of seven strategies for getting to know students, team-build, and encourage creativity—all part of building a culture for PBL.
It’s 2019. So Why Do 21st-Century Skills Still Matter?
EdSurge
Suzie Boss reports on the state of the 21st-century learning movement, emphasizing the current shift “from movement to methods.”
What Project-Based Learning Looks Like in a High School Classroom (and Middle School and Elementary School)
AJ Juliani
An excellent series of three posts with lots of real-world advice, examples, and stories from teachers.
Does lunch have to be 45 minutes? Rethinking school schedules to support innovation
The Hechinger Report
A good article about a vital issue: how to create time for PBL. In one example, “midday lunch and enrichment classes give teachers in core content areas up to 100 minutes of collaboration time per day.”
So, How Are We Going to Teach This?
Educational Leadership
Great point in this article about teachers’ professional learning communities (PLCs)—they should focus more on the “how” of instruction, not the “what and when” and administrivia.
Direct Instruction is Still Necessary in a PBL Classroom
John Spencer
A hard-won lesson learned early in the author’s career as a PBL teacher, when he thought, “My students would learn everything through exploration and discovery”—then the project “tanked.”
