“Everything begins with an idea.” – Earl Nightengale
When I started on my Project-Based Learning journey, I always wondered what other teachers were already doing with PBL in classrooms around the country and world. I remember joining Ning sites and finding other teachers who were doing PBL, it was like a dream come true to chat and discuss and learn.
With the growth of Twitter, blogging, and conference I was able to meet educators from around the world who have inspired me to go deeper into Project-Based Learning. Their ideas were what got me started documenting projects and step-by-step practices that would enhance any PBL experience.
PBL is growing because it engages and empowers students to learn experientially and share that learning in new and unique ways that go well beyond the classroom. Yet, many teachers are asking: How do we plan and implement PBL? How do we “fit it in” our current curriculum? How do we assess it using our current grading guidelines? How do we manage this type of learning?
These are all real concerns and questions that cannot be dismissed. PBL takes time to plan, implement, manage, and assess. Then it takes time to tweak, improve, and highlight. In my new book, The PBL Playbook, we dive into specific answers to all those questions, and what PBL looks like in each grade level and subject area!
The PBL Playbook is right for you if:
- You are a teacher ready to move towards an authentic learning experience for your students.
- You are a superintendent, district administrator, or principal who is leading a school through project-based learning.
- You are a coach, staff developer, or teacher leader that wants to help guide colleagues into PBL with a game plan that works.
Ideas to Get You Started
Grades K-2
Grades 3-5
Grades 6-8 ELA
Grades 6-8 Social Studies
Grades 6-8 Science
Grades 6-8 Math
Grades 9-12 ELA
Grades 9-12 Math
Grades 9-12 Science
Grades 9-12 Social Studies
The PBL Playbook
I’ve written other education books, but The PBL Playbook is different. This book comes from a place of desperation and frustration. For years I’ve seen the transformative power of project-based learning experiences in my own classroom, in my colleagues’ classrooms, and in countless learning places around the world.
Yet, for many teachers, including myself, it can be almost paralyzing to start the work of moving away from how we’ve always taught. I’ve made the mistake of sometimes writing up in the clouds (theory) instead of in the dirt (practical). While this can help us understand the WHY (which is important) it leaves us wanting to know HOW.
This book is about the HOW.
You’ll get step-by-step ideas and strategies to implement in your role as a teacher, coach, or leader tomorrow. You’ll get ideas from over thirty different educators who were interviewed and share their PBL tactics and best practices. You’ll be able to apply this to your work, and most importantly to help transform the learning experiences our students have on a daily basis.
As a coach, I always believed that a playbook opened up the possibilities instead of limiting them. In The PBL Playbook, I hope to hit on that balance of providing enough guidance, support, and practical steps—while also allowing for the creativity and innovation inside each of you to shine through when designing, building, and running a project-based learning experience.
Are you ready to hit the ground running? Let’s get started!
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What if I’m a parent who wants a feee epub?
Hey Bill, the PBL Playbook is currently free, you just have to pay shipping!
I am a passionate PBL educator who works closely with our PreK-8th grade teachers. How can I join your team???
We’ll be in touch Joan, thanks for your interest!
Do you have any PBL things for a high school Spanish class?
Not right now, but have you checked out Summit Learning? They have PBL units for Spanish class.
I love your ideas and have been doing the genius project for three years. Would like to keep innovating!
Let’s do it! What are you working on now?
Most of your 101 PBL ideas seem to be little more than catchy titles. Did I miss something? For example what is a “Lit Circles Reality TV Project” or a “Time Machine” project all about? One of the biggest struggles for teachers seems to be finding PBL ideas that are authentic real-world projects that have value that outweighs the time it takes to do PBL. The educational ROI is the bottom line.
Yes, these are just “ideas” – however, the PBL Playbook has 47 real teachers share their projects and is as practical as you can get. I hope you check it out Rich!
Each of these ideas is being fleshed out into a real project that is authentic and connects to standards/skills. Can’t wait to share more in the coming months 🙂
What if I don’t live in the US?? Can you ship to México?
Yes of course!
I always find your blog very interesting. Thanks for the share.
How do I order the playbook? Can’t wait to dig deeper for my students to be given new opportunities to pursue learnkng.
A great way to support students ‘learning.