Project Based Learning

Full Disclosure: Mara loves this approach to teaching! She has taught PBL in the form of a class-wide project- everyone working from the same prompt to students choosing their own content. Core in her practice is that students were expected to present their projects to others, preferably beyond the classroom learners and to others from the community or experts within the given field. In addition PBL was always interdisciplinary in the content it covered whether working as a team of teachers delivering a project or herself within her own class subject. Her past learners would always come back to her and describe the projects they did in class as their favorite parts of the year. These projects make life-long impacts.

This page will include many of her tools and strategies for approaching PBL. Key is that the material shared here is taken and revised to meet YOUR and YOUR learners needs. Personalizing the learning experience will improve the outcomes.

When designing a PBL starting with Design Thinking is essential mixed with Backwards Design.

Below is a list of resources and ideas, Each band includes links so click away!

Antonio Miller

Backwards Design Resources: 1) Article with how a teacher approached it. It compares traditional lesson planning with a backwards design approach by Wiggins.
2) Defining the key terms.
Design Thinking Resources: 1) Basic description
2) Article with resources embedded for building it in one’s practice
3) Design thinking is a mindset: IDEO is the grandfather of this process. Here is their resource.
4) Amazing toolbox used for Schools 2030 competition.
Here is an example of how one educator wove together PBL and Design Thinking…
Mara’s steps to project based learning using design thinking…
1) Identify what you hope to achieve with this project. Consider learning and skills students will demonstrate achievement in.
2) Write the problem statement.
3) Design a rubric for marking. Here is an example from PBL Works a fabulous organization for ideas around PBL..
4) Design a proposal template for students to complete. Here is an example. By having students engage in writing their proposal it helps them clarify and narrow what their project will entail. On the proposal template include links to resources and the marking criteria. This document becomes a living document that moves back and forth between the students and the teacher with ongoing feedback. Think of it like a building blueprint.
5) Here is a slide deck combining Design Thinking and Backwards Design Planning in order to create projects for students.
ENGAGE- Have fun with launching your projects and making an impact on your students’ lives!

An example of materials collected for a project around the theme of safety and security for CTL Academy, Abuja, Nigeria

The big question is:

How can we help our community and nation feel (or be) more secure?

Resources to tap to use and share with students:

CTL Team- Here is a link to everyone’s pitches and the slide deck capturing the structure of the first week. Use this information to help inform you design of the details. Remember the VUCA model and the need to be Visionary, Understanding, Clear, Agile while we are in the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous state. Here is the link to the PBL Works website for more ideas and tools. Check out the resources and examples.

Here is an example of a project my daughter did in response to her Global Social Challenge of engaging in some kind of action around the UN Sustainable Goals for the month of August. This challenge was set through her participation in the Future Foundation Young Leaders program. After a bit of brainstorming of what to do particularly in her unique school environment she decided to create a website that would set challenges for each of her school hubs to engage in and then ask them to submit a form to collect information to measure the impact. Here is what she created: https://mybravestep.mystrikingly.com/ Time will tell as to the greater impact.

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