July 17-21, 2017

Each Friday we post a list of articles, blog posts, research studies, and other resources we’ve run across that relate to Project Based Learning.

Here’s what we liked this week:

Teaching to the Edges Using Project-Based Learning
T.H.E. Journal
Two secondary teachers explain how PBL allows them to differentiate for both special education and gifted students and “showcase their students’ creativity and strengths.”

From Souvenir to STEM Learning
ASCD Express
A middle school teacher describes a cool project in which students create a tourist mug for their local community (like her “cable car-shaped mug from San Francisco”). Students ask and research complex questions about materials, durability, cost, mathematical specifications, packaging, etc. and present their designs to local businesses and the Chamber of Commerce.

4 Tech-Free Ways to Personalize Learning in Your Classroom
EdSurge
I love this 4th grade teacher’s advice for personalizing instruction without (as most people assume these days) having to use computer-based lessons: “create community first, allow for flexible seating, provide individualized support based on data, and focus on project-based learning.”

The Search for Real-World STEM Problems
Education Week Teacher
This is a very helpful article for PBL teachers; author Ann Jolly provides criteria for selecting real-world problems, advice for generating problems (including “encourage students to come up with the problem”) and a great list of online resources.

Margate discovers the art of increasing pupils’ confidence
The Guardian
Here’s a wonderful story from the United Kingdom about a project in which primary-grades children worked with a local art gallery to design attractions to draw tourists to neglected parts of downtown Margate. The project met its goal to “boost the thinking skills, self-esteem and aspirations of the children” including low-income pupils and some with special needs.

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