“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.
If you asked any teacher, administrator, parent, school board member, student, or community member to list their top goals for an academic program, you would see achievement, 21st-century competencies, equity, and motivation all at the top.
Project-based learning is shown to work in all kinds of schools, in all different grade levels, with students of varying backgrounds and abilities.
So, if this is what the research says about PBL, then why do we still have so many schools falling into the test prep trap? Why do some many teachers feel like they cannot make the jump into PBL? Why haven’t we seen a nationwide movement towards PBL as a best and effective practice for all students?
It comes back to HOW to do PBL in the midst of standards and curriculum. I’ve put together a free workshop to show you the 5-step process to do just that.
I’m holding three workshops this week (for K-5, 6-12, and school leaders):
- For Elementary Teachers (K-5 Workshop)
- For Middle School and High School Teachers (6-12 Workshop)
- For School Leaders (Admin and Central Office Workshop)
You can sign-up to be a part of the training right here! If you can’t make the time, please sign-up so you can get the recording.
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
Next Steps
It comes back to HOW to do PBL in the midst of standards and curriculum. I’ve put together a free workshop to show you the 5-step process to do just that. You don’t need to start from scratch, instead, you can get a jumpstart on the process.
I’m holding three workshops this week (for K-5, 6-12, and school leaders):
- For Elementary Teachers (K-5 Workshop)
- For Middle School and High School Teachers (6-12 Workshop)
- For School Leaders (Admin and Central Office Workshop)
You can sign-up to be a part of the training right here! If you can’t make the time, please sign-up so you can get the recording.
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.