Seek and ye shall find

Reaching the iGeneration requires a shift in teacher thinking!

Amazing site!  If you are interested in using project based learning effectively, but have little or no experience with PBL, you need to check out Project Based Learning online. This site has an excellent set of resources to help teachers plan their PBL units.  There are also videos with great examples of schools using PBL effectively.

Maybe I've been around too long, but  when I read statements about things that can go wrong, I get it. Been there, done that! I definitely know about things going wrong!

I also know first-hand how much more time and effort goes into constructing really effective PBL than is needed for a more traditional approach.  Our team is well aware that we will be putting in many, many extra hours this year.  Sites like the Project Based Learning are so valuable in helping us to think about all of the details of planning and carrying off this approach successfully.  Not only do I find myself nodding in agreement as I read their web site, but I also can tell that these people get it - they know what they are talking about.

The planning process the PBL-online site describes echoes instructional design principles I learned in the Education Media Design Technology masters program through Full Sail University.  The site also offers an opportunity for collaboration, as teachers can share their own PBL plans and outcomes with other educators.

Like anything else, PBL can be implemented well or poorly.  The research I've been reading, including articles posted on the BIE site, confirm again the value of learning to effectively use PBL with our high school students.  But there is the caveat - effectively implement - that makes a great deal of difference between having the ideal outcomes PBL is capable of, and creating a big project with no particular positive impact on learning.

I think most people who've been in education for a few years have seen the monster improperly designed attempts at PBL can create.  That is why I keep going back and looking again at resources and research to help guide my practice.  It helps keep me on the right track.  The many videos and reports of success also are very encouraging.  They let me know that, if our team keeps working on using PBL, we will refine and improve our use of this approach with the effect of creating a dynamic, engaging learning environment for our students.