A Blueprint for PBL
A Guide to Project-Based Learning
Driving Question
How can I, as a New Tech facilitator, create an authentic
project that will engage students in deeper learning?
Authenticity
“ ‘Fully authentic’ means students are doing work that is
real to them—it is authentic to their lives— or the work has
a direct impact on or use in the real world.”
--John Larmer
--Riley Johnson
EARTH SCIENCE
FOR THE
BEAUTY OF
THE EARTH
How can I share information about
Michigan’s natural wonders in a way
that’s useful for visitors?
Business Partner: Signal Travel and Tours
EARTH SCIENCE
AIR ON THE
SIDE OF
CAUTION
How does air quality change for
different demographics (and what can
we do about it)?
Business Partner: South Carolina Department of
Natural Resources; Burke High School, SC; Beacon
Medical
EARTH SCIENCE
AT THE SPEED
OF DARK
Why does it matter that light pollution
interferes with our view of
the night sky?
Potential Business Partners:
Dark Sky Society, Niles Community Schools
CHEMISTRY
KEEP IT
CLEAN
How can we make a profit by making
and selling soap?
Potential Business Partner:
Forever Clean Soap Works, Inc.
CHEMISTRY
SO-DALICIOUS!
How can we use solution chemistry
and gas laws to create a tasty
beverage?
Business Partner: Red Star Gas and Welding
Main Course, Not Dessert
Life Cycle of a Project
Here’s another key to successful PBL--realizing that PBL is
a process not a thing. You don’t do “a PBL.” You teach
through the process of PBL. So what’s the process? Here’s
an overview: PBL Life Cycle
Time to put your ideas in writing. . .
The project blueprint helps you plan project details from
beginning to end. Consider project planning as an organic
process--sometimes the project grows in unexpected
directions, and ideas need transplanting or pruning! Keep
in mind that the students will take control at some point,
and your project plan may need to be revised along the way.
. .but without a destination, they won’t even know where to
begin!
So what does PBL look like
in the classroom?
The agenda tells the story.
Agency
“Working on the work does not assume that students know
better than their teachers what they need to know. Rather,
it assumes that students do know, sometimes better than
their teachers, what they are willing to do.”
--Phillip Schlechty
Spotting Agency Skills
Promoting Agency with Feedback