Here are some articles, blog posts, research studies, and other resources I’ve recently run across that relate to Project Based Learning.

Why We Can’t Have Social and Emotional Learning Without Equity
Education Week
Great article by Robert Jagers, head of research for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). Love seeing this: “We are especially encouraged by the promise of project-based learning, which provides fertile ground for further developing social and emotional competencies with an equity frame. Projects are guided by youth, based on their own experiences, with the teacher as a facilitator and co-learner. As a result, students are more engaged and collaborative. And issues of identity, justice, and fairness inevitably come up.”

5 steps to guarantee your PD for PBL is on point
eSchoolNews
I wrote this post about what kind of professional development is needed in order for PBL to be done well, spread throughout a school, and stick.

What Neuroscience Teaches Us About Fostering Creativity
T.H.E. Journal
Part of the coverage of the 2018 ISTE conference, this article about a session there helps make the case for PBL. Speaker and author David Eagleman noted that “Technology is changing how students' brains are wired… The digital generation carries out tasks differently. Kids need interactive, multisensory learning.”

Deeper Learning and the Future of High School
Education Week
A report from the XQ Institute about innovative high schools around the U.S.  that leverage local communities, promote civic engagement, and use PBL.

When Students Design Their Education
Edutopia
Author, blogger, and BIE National Faculty member Suzie Boss reports on a school in Gujarat, India that sounds wonderful, with its emphasis on community, real-world learning/PBL, and students as change agents.

PBL: A Success Story
Educator on Fire!
Teacher Scott Holland-Wilson blogs enthusiastically about his PBL journey, which included the Buck Institute’s PBL 101 workshop. He helped teachers at his school design math projects in piloting K-6 classrooms, and they saw test scores rise compared to traditionally taught math.

The face of diversity: New Tech project pictures a welcoming community
The Republic
Nice story from the local press in Indiana about a high school art project in which students created large portraits of fellow students as messages of diversity and personal identity. After considering community locations for the portraits, the students decided to place them on the exterior front wall of their school.

Summer Planning for PBL
Edutopia
Blogger (and BIE National Faculty member) Andrew Miller offers good advice for reflecting on past projects, identifying opportunities for new ones, and finding resources to help with planning.

Rejecting AP Courses
Inside Higher Ed
Eight elite private schools in the Washington D.C. area are announcing they will stop offering Advanced Placement courses, in favor of more “collaborative, experiential, and interdisciplinary learning.” The article makes persuasive arguments for why AP is no longer as valued in college admissions, and debunks myths about AP, noting that it is not an effective way to teach and does not prepare students for college.

Purdue is trying to upend the traditional high school model. Here’s what it looks like
Chalkbeat
Purdue Polytechnic High School in Indiana uses PBL and personalized learning to “prepare more students for degrees in science, technology, math, and engineering — particularly students of color and those from low-income families.”

Implementation of Inquiry and Project-Based Learning in a High School Chemistry Classroom: An Action Research Project
The Journal of Teacher Action Research
Michele Vanhalla in her thesis for the University of Michigan describes her use of PBL in her chemistry classroom, comparing test results from the previous year which she taught traditionally. Test results and student engagement, especially for formerly lower-achieving students, went up.

Top 5 Takeaways from BIE’s PBL 201 Workshop
Nick Weiss’ blog
A Texas teacher explains what he learned in our workshop about protocols and equity, scaffolding critical thinking based on BIE’s rubric, and the value of being among fellow passionate, experienced PBL practitioners.

Modern Classrooms Energize Students and Teachers
EdTech Magazine
Here’s a short article on how flexible physical spaces in classrooms promote creativity, collaboration, and exploration—and it notes that getting rid of the typically massive teacher’s desk spaces allows them to interact more with students.

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