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So many great examples and tips! Well worth the 45 min. watch!

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Dr. Fredricka Stoller - Project-based Learning - KOTESOL 2012

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Creating Community through Task-based and Project-based Activities

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Creating Community through Task-based and Project-based Activities

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Creating a Community of Learning through Task and Project-based activities

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Inspiring 21st Century Learners - A fan favorite! You won't be disappointed. The future is bright!

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Inspiring 21st Century Learners - A fan favorite! You won't be disappointed. The future is bright!

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Teaching Methods for Inspiring the Students of the Future | Joe Ruhl | TEDxLafayette

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Five Keys to Rigorous Project-Based Learning

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Do you need innovative ideas for projects that have creative end products to demonstrate learning? Sometimes we just need something to reference for final project ideas.

This blog post is a laundry list of interesting and creative project final product ideas that students and teachers can browse for inspiration.

I have seen students produce some pretty outstanding final products in my 15 years as a project-based educator. Many of those outcomes were produced by experienced project-based learners.

There is a learning curve with project-based learnin g , and it requires breaking some pretty strong habits that have formed from prior training in more traditional learning environments.

The biggest challenge for me has been getting students to think more creatively and authentically about how to demonstrate and share learning.

​Based on habit and ease, students naturally gravitate toward copy-and-paste poster boards and slideshow presentations.

There are many avenues for student choice in project-based learning, and one of those is choice in end product.

There are plenty of options to choose from, it's just a matter of getting students in the habit of thinking outside of the box.

Scroll down for a list of 100+ alternatives to copy-and-paste poster boards and slideshows! This list applies to all ages, just adjust your expectations.​

Interested in getting text messages from Experiential Learning Depot with exclusive deals, upcoming webinars, challenges, and more? Just text "Experiential" to (651) 390-9890 to opt in!

Poster Board Alternatives:

1) Create a magazine
2) Write trivia ( is a great online trivia game program)
3) Make an interactive exhibit
4) Make a board game
5) Engineer a moving model (ex: demonstrating synaptic transmission)
6) Write a song on a project topic
7) Write a poetry book
8) Create a photo journal
9) Make a scrapbook
10) Write and illustrate a comic
11) Paint a mural

If you are looking for a platform where you can organize personalized learning experiences, check out

12) Create a gallery (ex: photography, paintings, drawings, sculptures) 15) Make a video tutorial
13) Hand-make a craft/artifact
14) Design a lesson plan

​16) Start a Vlog

My students thrive off of anything video related. They love vlogging, making documentaries, creating video promotions and music videos. Truly anything that can get these 21st-century kiddos on video, they'll take it.

17) Write a blog 25) Make a calendar27) Make a 3D model42) Create a spreadsheet portfolio (appropriate for event planning for example)
18) Make a website
19) Produce a podcast
20) Write a screenplay
21) Create a storyboard
22) Choreograph an interpretive dance
23) Organize a debate
24) Work with local legislators to write a bill

29) Write a newsletter
30) Write a news article

26) Organize a mock trial 31) Write a lab report

​28) Make a documentary 32) Artistically perform (dance, song, etc.)
33) Craft Showcase (Ex: handmade bags, scarves, DIY projects, woodworking)
34) Make a video promotion
35) Put together a career portfolio (resume, work experience, reference letters, evidence pages)
36) Create a piece of artwork that illustrates the project topic
37) Slideshow about an experience (works well for volunteer experiences, field trips, school travel, etc.)
38) Make a quiz
39) Write a book (biography, short story, novel, etc.)
40) Create an awareness campaign poster
41) Create a Facebook page (works well for characters in books, business page, or group)

44) Design a t-shirt (school shirt, shirt that raises awareness on an issue, etc.)
45) Make a "Bloom Ball" (check out this fun example and ​ bloom ball template)
​46) Make a physical or digital map
43) Make charts and graphs (to illustrate survey results for example)

If you're looking for mapping inspiration, check out my blog post on Using Google Maps for Project Based Learning Final Products . Students can use Google Maps for a variety of angles including demographics, storytelling, timelines, and more.

47) Make a puzzle 49) Design a travel brochure 52) Write a journal or diary (on a personal experience such as a health plan) Write an instruction manual
48) Design an escape room

50) Make a business card (Ex: for a character in a book, for a business, for volunteering, etc.) 51) Make a flier

53) 56) Write a petition
54) Create a theme poster
55) Make a blueprint (floor plan for the setting in a book, one's dream school, interior design)

​Click here for project-based learning teacher tools and secondary resources . They make learning more engaging for students, teaching more exciting for you, and will save you a ton of time. You can also click the images below for those specific resources.

Text "eldfreebies" to get text alerts about all things experiential. And when you sign up you get access to my free resource library (Note: You will receive no more than 2 texts per month from me, and those texts will be worth it!)

57) Write a persuasive speech
58) Write a business plan
59) Record an interview and publish it
60) Create an online portfolio (for showcasing creative and/or professional work)
61) Create a billboard-style advertisement
62) Write and illustrate a children's book
63) Make a concept map
64) Write and perform a monologue
65) Make a simulation (digital, written, performance)
66) Make an animation
67) Create a timeline
​68) Make a diorama
69) Make a diagram
70) Write an informative speech
71) Make a fortune teller (a hand-made origami game - one of my students added information about her topic to each square on the game).

72) Make a graphic organizer 73) Make a postcard 82) Organize an event in the community

74) Compile a book of interviews
75) Organize and host a game show
76) Produce a news segment
77) Put together a time capsule
78) Make a collage
79) Put together learning stations
80) Design a set and give visitors a "tour" (great for a book project, ecosystems project, etc.)
81) Demonstration

83) Create a professional quality infographic
84) Make a music video
85) Put together a handbook
86) Claymation
87) Learning activity
88) Child-friendly translation of a convoluted concept
89) Design and make a usable product - Ex: If the topic is on natural disasters, the student might design and build a life-saving device. ​

Have you gotten your free PBL mini tool kit yet?! Go ahead and grab it!

You'll get a planner, implementation spreadsheet, and portfolio for showcasing experiences!

90) Write a jingle
91) Make a puzzle
92) Design an art installation
93) Create a brand
94) Write a proposal
95) Host a school event
96) Organize a speaker series
97) A "_____ week/month" program/schedule (Ex: theme book club schedule)
98) Host a fundraiser event
99) Create a Pinterest profile and add boards and pins directly related to your topic.
​100) Write an editorial
101) Create a memory book
102) Create a memory box (great for experiences - students build a box with visuals that highlight themes of the experience, then they fill the box with relevant information and artifacts from the experience).
103) Make a virtual museum
104) Create a learning activity
105) Design and create a greeting card
106) Write and record a kids show or movie
107) Make a moving model or diorama
108) Make a commercial
109) Host a conversation on Clubhouse
110) Create a Facebook group
​111) Create an interactive "tour" using Google Maps.
112) Scavenger hunt

Before you head out, consider innovative final products and widening the scope of the experience for your students.

Non-poster board final products are one of many elements that make project-based learning what it is. But just because you have your students create innovative final products, doesn't make the experience project-based.

I urge you to think about making the experience even more innovative and authentic by making it self-directed project-based learning.

​Grab the freebies above if you have not already. Then add my project-based learning tool kit to help you and your students get started on endless PBL possibilities. Check out the video below for details.

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to share your stories of project-based learning successes. I'd love to hear about some final products your students have used that weren't listed here! My eyes and ears are always open for new and exciting ideas. Thanks for reading!
PBL Resources for Student-Led Secondary Students:
Relevant Blog Posts:

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100 End Product Ideas to Demonstrate Learning

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How does one find project ideas for students? Even more so, how do you find project-based learning end products that are innovative, creative, and interesting? This catalog of final product ideas is a great tool for exploring final project ideas to demons

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Don't let the outdated look scare you away. There's lots to mine here! Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, it's off to work we go!

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Actively seek out alternative information

ADA - assessment and action project

Alternative Energy Sources and Conservation

Attendance Improvement Campaign

Benjamin Franklin Extraordinary

Biodiversity Exploration Investigation ms/hs

Birds - examine status of local species

Bird Species List for FeederWatch - make one

Biomes - learn about biomes as you select a new home

Bloggez- vous? Should you build a blog?

Bonus Army treatment and veterans today

Bridges or earmarks what is the national priority?

Cars - Event recording device - privacy, safety & justice

Charity begins at Home

Civil Rights - What are yours?

Clean Coal Technology fact or fiction

Club or School Presentation Project

Collaboration Online and Social Networking - Web 2.0

Collaboration online and Social Networking - using it to do work

Colonial American PowerPoint project ppt download

Community's History through its names

Community Green Infrastructure Project

Competition of Birds on Wade Island - updated 3/2013

Computer Time and You

Concussion & Head Injury Action Project

Consumer Protection Project ms/hs

Country trip - Explore countries by making a fact hunt

County Government project

Crude Oil is more than gasoline

Data Mining and Citizen Privacy

Deciding on a Date for the General Election

Develop a Personal, Family or School Creed

ickens of a Resumé project Who would you hire?

Diminishing Consumer Waste - Make a trash Video

Diversity project

Drought Presentation

Eagles - how are they doing your state?

Earnings in 2007

eGovernment - expectations & evaluation

Emancipation Proclamations

Energy Issue Digital Video Project

Energy Light bulbs compare/contrast Activity

Energy Plans and their impact on you

Energy Saving Survey - Chart - Action

Environmentalist Award - select a person or group from your state.

Environment Issues Game - myo

Environmental Fundraiser Project

Evaluate Heart Health in a group

Evaluate your Senator or Representative

Evaluate a Digital Video Project

Examine a community development project

Math of Fresh Water video project

Food + Activity = Weight

Fourth of July Celebration Plan

Community Garden Plan

Fundamental Beliefs and Values in Pennsylvania Government

Gas and Diesel Taxes

GeoWeb - Be a cyber cartographer

Global Warming and Climate Change

Government, Statistics and the Media

Government Reform - Term Limits

Government - Earmarks

Government Grants - Homeland Security

Government Integrity - Pensions for Criminal Officials

Government Integrity - The Power of facts from the Web

Government Integrity - Travel and Staffers

Great Outdoors Month event

Growing Greener - Environmental/Energy Issue Video Project

Habitat Digital Science Journal

Healthy Community Video

Health Care Reform

History Facts and Fictions - investigate

Highway Safety and You - examine a report - evaluate an issue - action

How to be Healthy Campaign

Home Ownership - the positives and the negatives

How do you spend your time?

How are the funding decisions made?

Images as Messages

Insect Mascot for school or town

IPM and the Mystery Caterpillar

Iraq's Reconstruction Story the costs

Lead Pb Environmental and Health issues

Lincoln Bicentennial event

Lunch Menu Calories tracking project

McCormick Island use

Mystery Bird Challenge

Mystery Butterfly Challenge

Mystery Disk History Challenge

Mystery Ring History Challenge

Native American Issues - the challenges of the First People

Native Plants at School Landscape Project

Natural Resources Wars - who will be the winner?

A Note for Freedom project

Oceans - a cause for concern - How can your community help?

Observation Science Skills Builders: 40+ activities

Oil leases - who has the oil?

Oil & Gas - What should be done about the gas and oil royalties?

Pennsylvania, Energy and Global Warming look into it

Pennsylvania city - which to visit? 4th up

PA Open Records Law 2008

Photography Art Mystery - Investigate the story

Precipitation and Population

Privacy of Personal Information at School

Product Packaging Conundrum

Prominent Person Award - who is deserving in your community?

Public's Right to Know

Reading for Fun Campaigns - evaluate the issues

Reading - eBook or paper book?

Redistricting - Should it be biased for subgroups?

Running for Public Office - how to

School Test Scores Campaign

Should level of education or occupation be factors in car insurance rates?

Smart Meter Plan to save on electricity

Song of State Facts

Spring Outdoor Mystery

State facts - Explore a state by making a fact hunt 4th up

State of the Union or State of the State - Fact Check

Student Handbook Presentation - How cool can you be?

Sunshine Law - the right to know government

Surveying - Why?

Tax Study Commission utd 6/07

Tell the story of Polly Cooper at Valley Forge

Theodore Roosevelt reforms

Time Capsule - Study Unit Assessment

Transportation, Your Community and You

Trees Map and Inventory Project

US Capitol State Statues - Who should represent your state?

Winter Scene Variables Project

Youth Voter Campaign

Water and Air Pollution Activity

Web site Evaluation exercise

What are the nation's Priorities?

What are Our Nation's Priorities regarding Hunger?

What are the US priorities regarding health care spending?

What should be America's Mood? What is yours?

William Penn Day event

Winter Song Photo Story

Web Book - Pennsylvania Facts Alphabet project

Who should get the money from fines or civil penalties?

Winter Outdoor Mystery Challenges

Writing Positive Weather Reports

Women's Suffrage Project

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Problem based Learning and project based learning Activities

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Actively seek out alternative information ADA - assessment and action project Alternative Energy Sources and Conservation Attendance Improvement Campaign Benjamin Franklin Extraordinary Biodiversity Exploration Investigation ms/hs Birds - examine status of local species Bird Species List for FeederWatch - make one Biomes - learn about biomes as you select a new home Bloggez- vous?

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CPD Principles and Practices - Teacher Agency

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CPD Principles and Practices - Teacher Agency

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Excellent blog post including the 'Teachers Choice Framework' along with many useful links for exploration.

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-Choose from a variety of PBL resources.

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-Choose from a variety of PBL resources.

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Project Based Teaching Practices: Design & Plan

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INSPIRE - Professional Learning Characteristics

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INSPIRE - Professional Learning Characteristics

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Díaz Maggioli, G. (2018) - The characteristics of inspired professional learning.

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More about INSPIRE Best Practices in CPD

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More about INSPIRE Best Practices in CPD

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Sign up for free access to a wide range of inquiry-based materials

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The Zinn Education Project is my compass in a sea of corporate textbooks, packaged common core curriculum and standardized testing. My entire curriculum is based on lessons that can be found on the Zinn Education Project.

High School Social Studies Teacher, Portland, Ore.

Your support is needed to help more students learn people's history. 100% of Zinn Education Project funding comes from individuals like you. Donate today.

By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca

From voter ID laws to voter-roll purges, gerrymandering to poll closures to the deadly in-person voting conditions during a pandemic, the right to vote is under attack and the stakes are high. It is critical that students learn about the fight for voting rights, past and present.

Nov. 30, 1924: Shirley Chisholm Born...

Teaching About the Violence in Palestine and Israel...

I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence, just enough to give HOPE, because for hope we don't need certainty, only POSSIBILITY.

-Howard Zinn

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Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

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The Zinn Education Project promotes and supports the teaching of people's history in middle and high school classrooms across the country. Based on the lens of history highlighted in Howard Zinn's best-selling book A People's History of the United States, the website offers free, downloadable lessons and articles organized by theme, time period, and reading level.

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Explore materials based on sustainability themes

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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website.

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Project-Based Learning through the Eyes of Teachers and Learner

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Project Based Learning: Start Here | Cult of Pedagogy

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Maybe you’ve always wanted to try PBL, but you just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Here’s a set of beginner-level resources to get you started.

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What Is Project-Based Learning?

Project-based learning (PBL) or project-based instruction is an instructional approach designed to give students the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills through engaging projects set around challenges and problems they may face in the real world.

Project-based learning is more than just "doing a project," in the way you might remember from your own school days. As the Buck Institute for Education (BIE) explains, with PBL, students "investigate and respond to an authentic, engaging, and complex problem or challenge" with deep and sustained attention. ¹ ArchForKids, an organization that provides STEAM programs for young learners, puts it even more succinctly: PBL is "learning by doing." ²

Why Project-Based Learning? We Live in a Project-Based World

The truth is, many in education recognize that our modern world is sustained and advanced through the successful completion of projects. Or, as the Swiss psychologist, Jean Piaget, put it, "knowledge is a consequence of experience." ³

It's true! Your weekend chores, an upcoming presentation, or organizing a fundraising event-they're all projects. This is the spirit behind PBL, and we see evidence of its increasing popularity in things like the growth of the maker movement. ⁴ When we help students have authentic experiences, we prepare them for the real world. In its purest form, PBL prepares students to be self-sufficient, creative, and critical thinkers that can take on any challenge.

For most modern workers, their careers will be marked by a series of projects rather than years of service to a specific organization. "Solving real-world issues that matter is important to us as adults-and it's important to our students," explain Lathram, Lenz, and Vander Ark in their ebook, Preparing Students for a Project-Based World. ⁵

In short, if we are to prepare students for success in life, we need to prepare them for a project-based world. Therefore, when relating project-based learning benefits to students, we must always include examples of real-world application. This will reinforce for students the notion that they can break down future problems into their component parts, assemble and lead a diverse team of stakeholders to process the problem, and implement a solution.

What Are the Essential Elements of Project-Based Learning?

Although definitions and project parameters may vary from school to school, and PBL is sometimes used interchangeably with "experiential learning" or "discovery learning," the characteristics of project-based learning are clear, constant, and share the spirit of John Dewey's instrumentalism.

In essence, the PBL model consists of these seven characteristics ⁶:

Focuses on a big and open-ended question, challenge, or problem for the student to research and respond to and/or solve

Brings what students should academically know, understand, and be able to do into the equation

Is inquiry-based, stimulates intrinsic curiosity, and generates questions as it helps students seek answers

Uses 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity, among others.⁷

Builds student choice into the process

Provides opportunities for feedback and revision of the plan and the project, just like in real life

Requires students to present their problems, research process, methods, and results, just as scientific research or real-world projects must stand before peer review and constructive criticism

Following fifteen years of literature review and distilled educational experience, the Buck Institute for Education identified seven essential elements for PBL that focus on project design. Collectively these elements are called Gold Standard PBL. ⁸ According to the BIE, the key elements to project design include:

A challenging problem or question

Sustained inquiry

Authenticity

Student voice and choice

Reflection

Critique and revision

Public product

All of these elements, if combined well, result in students learning key knowledge, understanding, and skills for success.

An example where all these elements come together is in the Business Incubator class at Illinois' Palatine High School. ⁹ Teams of students propose and design a product based upon a challenging need or intricate problem. These young entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to business and community leaders in an effort to gain support for launching their product. It's like Shark Tank for teens, and it's awesome!

One team of students designed a mobile app providing real-time air quality readings at locations around the world. Raising awareness about air pollution, supporting health-conscious travelers, and making global connections were galvanizing real-world catalysts for their project.

It's worth noting that while project-based learning may seem like some specific or isolated instructional practice, the lists above should look familiar. They are simply the elements of great learning experiences. You don't have to subscribe to project-based learning to incorporate elements of it in your classrooms. Having said that, there are benefits that true project-based learning provides. Let's dig into a few of the benefits of PBL now.

Benefits of Project-Based Learning

Too often, traditional learning never ventures beyond the realm of the purely academic. Project-based learning connects students to the world beyond the classroom and prepares them to accept and meet challenges in the real world in a way that mirrors what professionals do every day.

Instead of short-term memorization and summative regurgitation, project-based learning provides an opportunity for students to engage deeply with the target content, bringing about a focus on long-term retention. PBL also improves student attitudes toward education ¹⁰, thanks to its ability to keep students engaged. ¹¹ The PBL structure lends itself to building intrinsic motivation because it centers student learning around a central question or problem and a meaningful outcome. Students end up wanting to understand the answer or solution as much or more than the teacher wants to know what they know, understand, and are able to do!

Daniel Pink, in his TEDTalk and influential book, Drive ¹², says people are intrinsically motivated by three things-autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Popular terms like grit and rigor become embedded dispositions when learners sink their teeth into meaningful endeavors, like those provided during project-based instruction.

A recent collaborative study conducted by the University and Michigan and Michigan State University suggests the implementation of project-based learning correlated positively with student achievement, particularly in schools serving high-poverty communities. ¹³ This research emphasizes the importance of projects being standards-aligned and supported with research-proven instructional strategies.

Because of its focus on 21st-century skills, the PBL model also enhances students' technology abilities. Project-based learning helps students develop teamwork and problem-solving skills ¹⁴, along with the ability to communicate effectively with others. The collaborative nature of projects also reinforces the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs being implemented at progressive schools around the world.

These interpersonal aspects of PBL dovetail perfectly with the use of technology in the classroom. Technology-based projects are interdisciplinary, collaborative, inquiry-based, self-directed, motivating, and address the full range of student needs and learning styles. ¹⁵ Additionally, digital literacies and digital citizenship objectives become ingrained in tech-based projects, especially when the PBL opportunity is conducted seamlessly within the friendly confines of your school's learning management system.

A quick review of ISTE's recently revised standards for students will disclose the relevance of PBL to modern learning. ¹⁶ By highlighting standards including empowered learner, innovative designer, creative communicator, and global collaborator, you would think these standards were tailor-made with PBL in mind. International standards for technology skills and project-based learning objectives absolutely go hand in hand.

Challenges of Project-Based Learning

The Intel Corporation identified several reasons why project-based learning can represent such a radical departure from what we are used to in education: PBL requires you to coach more and instruct less, to embrace interdisciplinary learning instead of remaining locked in single-subject silos, and to be more comfortable with uncertainty and discovery during the learning process. ¹⁷

For many instructors, PBL is a stark contrast to the traditional education they experienced. Change takes time and is seldom without apprehension and challenges. However, when we consider the types of educational experiences we value for our modern learners, it becomes apparent the traditional "sage on the stage" instructional model falls significantly short.

The truth is, though, you can overcome these PBL challenges. Good problems or ideas can come from your students, parents, or community members. Instead of lectures and book learning, teachers can think through the steps required to solve a problem and use those steps as project-learning activities. Instead of planning a massive project, the learning process can be made more manageable by chunking the project into smaller parts, with frequent checkpoints built into the timeline. Instead of a traditional summative exam, authentic assessments can be developed by communicating with professionals in the field regarding what a presentation would look like related to a particular project. As challenging as PBL may appear at first, it can ultimately be so freeing for educators!

Project-Based Learning Examples

In one science-based project, students begin with a visit to a zoo, learning about animal habitats and forming opinions on which habitats best suit a selected animal. ¹⁸ For this example, the project component included teams of students collaborating to develop a research-supported habitat plan that they would then present to professional and student zoologists.

While the sciences fit neatly into the PBL environment, the instructional strategy lends itself naturally to interdisciplinary learning.

In another example, one that blends English language arts and social studies, students answer the question, "What role does censorship play in society?" ¹⁹ Following introductory instruction, students select a banned book, read it, compose a persuasive essay, and take part in a censorship-related mock trial experience conducted in the presence of experts. That last part-the mock trial in front of a group of experts-is what really drives PBL. The learning is not just experiential but also frequently contains a public, real-world component.

Want a break from "drill-and-kill" math lessons? Consider developing an "escape room" activity in which students assume the role of a code breaker for the National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or another federal agency. ²⁰ The outcome could be anything from decoding a message that could potentially reveal the location of a planned terror attack on the United States, ferreting out an organized crime syndicate, or any number of scenarios. As a follow-up to the initial activity, students could present their solutions on the day a professional in a related field (e.g., FBI agent) visits the class to connect the activity to a real-world experience and potential career path. In such cases, you are limited only by your professional imagination ²¹ The outcome could be anything from decoding a message that could potentially reveal the location of a planned terror attack on the United States, ferreting out an organized crime syndicate, or any number of scenarios. As a follow-up to the initial activity, students could present their solutions on the day a professional in a related field (e.g., FBI agent) visits the class to connect the activity to a real-world experience and potential career path. In such cases, you are limited only by your professional imagination.

Are you looking for more examples of PBL schools? John Larmer, Editor and Chief for the Buck Institute for Education PBL Blog, shares several shining examples of schools making a commitment to deeper learning through PBL instruction. Larmer suggests investigating schools belonging to the Deeper Learning Network . These innovative schools include the essential elements frequently mentioned in BIE's Gold Standard PBL.

Project-Based Learning Lesson Plans

The Buck Institute also provides a hub for PBL lesson plans that align to Common Core standards. They make it easy to search their database by the source of the lesson plan, the subject, and the course.

A few quick examples of the more than 100 PBL lessons include:

The Ultimate Design Challenge -Students design solutions to a current problem using mathematical models.

Lending a Helping Hand -Students become financial advisors and are challenged to make the best use of $25 in a way that impacts their community most.

-In this project, students are isolated somewhere in the world and must design a civilization that stands the test of time.

It's important to note that some of the lesson plans in this resource library are free, while others come at a cost. Many of the lesson plans that require payment do provide sample pages, so you can get an idea of how to recreate it in your own way. Additionally, the above examples and lesson plans are fully customizable and can work in either the online or in-person classroom. So whether you return to full-time in-person instruction in the fall or maintain a cadre of online or hybrid learners in your district, you'll be ready.

Now that you know what PBL is, what it looks like in the classroom, and where to find lesson plans, let's look at how you can actually get started.

Getting Started With Project-Based Learning

Every journey may begin with a single step, but sometimes that step can seem daunting. Carol Ann Tomlinson, writing about differentiation in the classroom, advised teachers to start with "small, well-orchestrated changes." They should select a few targeted goals each year and focus on doing those things well while concentrating on growth. ²²

The same concept applies to project-based learning. Dream big, but start small. Writing for Edutopia, Andrew Miller advised teachers to keep things simple by limiting the scope and duration of a project, using or renovating an existing project, and taking the time to get meaningful feedback and engage in professional reflection. ²³

You can also approach project-based learning from your students' perspectives. Begin by giving them the resources they need to understand PBL as a concept, then introduce them to the practical steps once they're engaged in the process. This is a powerful, metacognitive way to approach your first foray into project-based instruction.

Tom Vander Ark and Emily Liebtag have shared a helpful introductory framework for high-quality PBL. ²⁴ This framework includes six criteria meant to support students, parents, and educators as they embark on their PBL journeys. These criteria include authenticity, challenge, collaboration, and reflection, which are all powerful 21st-century skills.

Project-based learning is easier than you may think and well within your grasp. Still, coming up with project ideas can sometimes present an initial stalemate for students. This post from TeachThought includes resources for teachers as well as project ideas for students. How would you like for your students so they can design their own projects? You can start small, think practically, and change the way you and your students view content learning and mastery. Project-based learning benefits are for everyone.

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Project-Based Learning: Benefits, Examples, and Resources

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Project-based learning is an instructional approach designed to give students the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills through engaging projects set around challenges and problems they may face in the real world.

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-Discuss and share with your communities of practice.

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-Discuss and share with your communities of practice.

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-Thank you for engaging with this professional learning adventure!

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-Thank you for engaging with this professional learning adventure!

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PBL from our Colleagues at Lewis & Clark!

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PBL from our Colleagues at Lewis & Clark!

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Our colleagues at L&C are doing it! Maybe we can, too!

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Part 2: Shark Tank: Developing and Delivering a Business Pitch ( See Part 1 for Project-Based Curriculum)

By Julie Vorholt & Erica Harris

This blog post shares our experiences co-teaching a high-intermediate communications course, in which we developed an engaging project-based learning experience connected to our textbook. Both of our classes used the same textbook, Four Point Listening & Speaking 1 Intermediate by Folse and Lockwood (2010). In addition to using the textbook, we wanted to do add a project that would appeal to our prospective undergraduate and graduate students from Japan, Korea, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. After deciding to develop a project-based lesson, we began to brainstorm topics by reviewing our textbook. We focused on Unit 3, Business: The World of Entrepreneurship , which includes 3 parts: Characteristics of an Entrepreneur, Developing a Company, and Analyzing a New Business (p. 79-117).

The topics in this unit would allow us to support students in teaching the objectives outlined on our syllabus:

use communication skills to give formal and informal presentations on academic topics;

take notes and summarize lectures on academic topics;

practice and improve note-taking strategies;

practice and improve discussion and interview skills with classmates and native speakers;

use clear and comprehensible pronunciation.

A project-based unit on entrepreneurship would be ideal because many students have a great deal of interest in the topic. Some of our students will study business in the future and many other students want to learn about it as consumers and/or as relatives of business owners. In addition, learning about entrepreneurship is popular on our campus. Lewis & Clark has now opened the Bates Center for Entrepreneurship and Leadership , a center which supports undergraduates interested in connecting their interests in their fields of study to creating business or non-profit solutions to today's challenges. Thus, studying entrepreneurship was a great way for the AES curriculum to connect with the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and contribute to the ongoing goal of greater integration between the CAS and our Academic English Studies Program .

In our planning discussions, Julie commented that the textbook's topics reminded her of the reality television show , in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas and try to convince investors to fund them. Using that as our inspiration, we created a unit on business that included some of our innovative, supplemental activities and also some tasks from the textbook. We developed nine steps that students followed to complete the unit:

Feedback from our students was very positive. Almost everyone liked studying entrepreneurship, and some students expressed that the unit increased their interest in business or would be helpful for their future plans. Students benefited from the authentic experience of participating in this project. They completed this project in teams, just like students in a business course or employees at a company. They may find themselves in this situation one day, designing a company or developing a product or service. Certainly everyone benefits from using persuasive skills in their speaking and learning to work with diverse group members, no matter what their future aspirations may be.

Have you used projects in your classes successfully? Share your ideas in the comments!
Reference
Folse, K., & Lockwood, R. (2010). Four Point Listening & Speaking 1 Intermediate. Ann

Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press

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This blog entry is adapted from "Entrepreneurship and Student Motivation" , an article that we wrote for English Teaching Forum , a publication by the United States Department of State. The article describes an innovative three-week unit that inspires students to think and communicate like businesspeople.

Interested in more details? Read the full-length article here .

Erica Harris and Julie Vorholt are core instructors in the Academic English Studies Program at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon.

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Part 2: Shark Tank: Developing and Delivering a Business Pitch (See Part 1 for Project-Based Curriculum) By Julie Vorholt & Erica Harris This blog post shares our experiences co-teaching a high-intermediate communications course, in which we developed an engaging project-based learning experience connected to our textbook.

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A great article of what PBL can look like in an IEP context. Truly inspiring!

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For ESL Students, Project-Based Learning Builds Up Confidence, Breaks Down Inhibitions

When Ladya Cheryl, a native Indonesian speaker, was assigned to go out into the city and talk to strangers in English, she was a little apprehensive.

"I have problems with self-confidence, especially when I communicate in English, so it was very difficult for me at first," Cheryl, a former English as a Second Language (ESL) student, recalls of an assignment for Tamara Kirson's Listening-Speaking class.

However, after tackling the assignment - designing a guide to farm-to-table restaurants and leading a video-recorded discussion on it with members of the New School and New York City communities - she felt empowered to speak up.

"I'm glad I could finally overcome my fears," says Cheryl, who has since enrolled as a film studies student.

Cheryl is one of the many ESL students who have participated in Project-Based Learning (PBL) in The New School's Intensive English Program . A reflection of the university's collaborative, real-world educational approach, PBL gives ESL students the opportunity to practice their English language skills in the creation of multimedia explorations of culture, social customs, and more - an experience that builds up their confidence and breaks down their inhibitions.

"As language learners engage in PBL, they gain autonomy and lower the emotional barrier to learning," says Tamara Kirson, project development advisor for the Intensive English Program. "PBL enables our students to build their research capabilities; enhance their skills in collaboration, creativity, and communication; and self-direct as they explore their roles in the academic community and the community at large."

In the most recent series of PBL assignments, students in The New School's ESL classes created a variety of projects - restaurant guides, podcasts, plays, magazines, music, and art pieces - exploring food studies, relationships, and literature. In Open Sesame, Cheryl and her classmates designed a guide to farm-to-table restaurants and led a video-recorded discussion on it with members of the New School community. The project not only helped Cheryl hone her English-language skills but also exposed her to the culinary community and culture.

"This experience gave me the chance to learn more about food and the people who work in the environment and to expand my food vocabulary," she says. "Through this experience, my English improved unexpectedly."

Other PBL video projects included The Game Gathering, in which students from Kirson's Listening-Speaking class enlisted audience members to play food-inspired board games they designed, and Crossroads and Crosswords, in which students from the same class presented maquettes of food trucks they visited and invited audience members to try their hand at related crossword puzzles.

The projects also encompassed podcasts, playwriting, and magazines. In their "R Wave FM" podcasts, high-intermediate students in Michelle Kaplan's Listening-Speaking class researched and shared their views on human relationships, while students in Jessica Coyle's advanced Listening-Speaking class wrote and performed a play, Untitled Symphony, in which they explored conflicts and conflict resolution. Students in Jessica Duke's Listening-Speaking class created online magazines relating Alice in Wonderland to their lives, while students in Roshii Jolly's Listening-Speaking class presented their designs for food trucks.

PBL assignments differ greatly in medium and content. However, they all share requisite elements: focus on a question or problem, sustained inquiry, authenticity, student voice and choice, reflection, critique and revision, and a public product. What's more, they all help prepare students for the next stage of their academic and professional careers.

"In film study, I need the courage to stand up in front of my new classmates and share my experiences," Cheryl says. "This is my first time studying abroad. I never knew that learning could be so compelling."

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For ESL Students, Project-Based Learning Builds Up Confidence, Breaks Down Inhibitions

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When Ladya Cheryl, a native Indonesian speaker, was assigned to go out into the city and talk to strangers in English, she was a little apprehensive. "I have problems with self-confidence, especially when I communicate in English, so it was very difficult for me at first," Cheryl, a former English as a Second Language (ESL) student, recalls of an assignment for Tamara Kirson's Listening-Speaking class.