Aug. 7-11, 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:

Staying Ahead of the Robots: What Grads Should Know and Be Able To Do
Getting Smart
Tom Vander Ark, noting that the “automation economy is changing the employment landscape,” reviews outcome frameworks such as MyWays, from Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC), and Deeper Learning that emphasize the kinds of skills PBL teaches so well.

Unrealized Impact: The Case for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Promise 54
From a brand-new startup, this is a powerful “groundbreaking study of staff experience, workplace practices, and demographics across the education sector,” clearly explained on a nicely-designed website.

The Education Market Needs EdTech Innovation, Not Digitization
MindRocket Media Group
This one’s not about PBL per se, but it makes a great point: ed tech that merely replicates traditional instructional methodologies is not truly innovative. “Instead of digitizing worksheets, think of ways that allow students to engage with the content in new ways that haven’t been done before.”

Skype a Scientist
Skypeascientist.com
Here’s a great resource for PBL teachers looking for real-world connections to experts; scientists on their roster will do 30-60 minute Skype calls with students.

Hey, Higher Ed, Why Not Focus on Teaching?
National Public Radio
Eric Westervelt highlights the Nobel Prize-winning Stanford physics and education professor Carl Wieman, a critic of the still-dominant-yet-ineffective lecture approach who advocates instead for “active learning.” (Go Carl!)

GameChangers: Buck Institute for Education
North Bay Biz
And, in the toot your own horn department, here’s an article in our local press about a nonprofit organization that promotes PBL which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. It features BIE’s work with the Marin County Office of Education, Novato Unified School District, and our friends Dr. Michael McDowell, superintendent of the Ross School District and Janet Watson of the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, who recently wrote a blog post for us.

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