Project-Based Learning
(PBL) is an instructional approach where traditional, direct classroom instruction and tests are replaced by authentic, often interdisciplinary projects, usually designed by the student with guidance from instructors/coaches, addressing real-world problems as the assessment instead of a test. It also is closely related to deeper learning, challenge-based learning, interest-based learning and more.
Napa Junction: Deeper Learning for All
South of the vineyards in Napa is a school that serves a diverse body of K-5 learners. They are a prime example of how a committed staff and effective leaders can work with like-minded schools to create powerful learning for all students.
The Power of the Performing Arts: Music’s Message of Hope
Music can help change the world for the simple fact that it can help change people. It can also show students that they can make meaning, make change, make history, and much, much more.
Moonshot Project Pays Big Dividends
Massachusetts middle-school students made national news earlier this year when they reached a moonshot goal of $1 million to fund research for a classmate’s rare medical condition, and they did it through high quality PBL--here's how.
3 Ways To Model Collaboration and Partnership in Schools and Classrooms
Our challenge as educators is whether we walk the walk. We ask our students to collaborate, or partner, but do we truly do it ourselves? How can educators model true collaboration and partnering to our students?
How to Give Students Future-Ready Skills Through Community Service
With community-engaged projects, students learn to solve problems, think creatively, manage uncertainty, and most importantly, how to coordinate and work with others. According to The World Economic Forum, these are the same top 5 future skills needed for 2020.
4 Ways to Build a Better Schedule
By: Erin Werra. Dr. Ashanti Bryant Foster once said, “A master schedule must be built with the same level of care and attention as a new home where a family will spend the next 20 years growing together.” No pressure, right?
The Future of Education Includes Learning Outside of the Classroom
If students work tirelessly on academics in high school and college, they may experience shock when they try to find their way in the working world. We can make this transition easier by fostering these work skills outside of the classroom as early as possible.
George Saunders On Learning to Write–and Writing to Learn
George Saunders might be the most critically acclaimed contemporary American author. He has inspired thousands of young writers with his writing and teaching. Tom recently caught up with him to learn more about his approach to teaching and writing.
Collaboration: Key to Successful Teams and Projects
By Tom Vander Ark and Emily Liebtag. Collaboration is key to successful teams and projects. It is sometimes thought of as a “soft skill” but in high-performance organizations, collaboration is the result of the intentional design of culture, structure, and tools, and the cultivation of individual mindsets and skill sets.
Cybersecurity: A Promising Approach to Integrating CompSci and PBL
To maximize the benefits of computer science education, we should be looking for ways to bring it into authentic PBL--but that is an undeniably tall order. One way is through data science. Another, it turns out, is through cybersecurity.