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Get your free Project-based Learning Planning Guide! - Performing in Education

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Subscribe to get your free guide!Please use your personal e-mail address. School spam filters make it difficult for me to send over your free stuff! Email* First Name* Engage Your Students Project-based learning helps you engage your students in more authentic learning experiences.

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When implementing project based learning, I can't imagine a project without the use of technology. Whether you are using mobile devices, laptops, or desktops, there are so many applications and websites that can be resources and tools for the project based units. That's why today's post is all about blending technology and project based learning.

I'm going to share a few ways technology can enhance PBL: introducing the project, research, collaboration, presentation, and evaluation. Achieving in depth knowledge of a subject and making learning more effective often requires technology tools and applications. And, technology offers more opportunities for project based instruction. Which means that blending technology and project based learning is not only possible, it's encouraged!

"We need to embrace technology to make learning more engaging. Because, when students are engaged and they are interested, that's where learning takes place." ~ Unknown

According to the Buck Institute for Education, Essential Project Design Elements include:

Key Knowledge, Understanding, and Success Skills - The project is focused on student learning goals, including standards-based content and skills such as critical thinking/problem solving, collaboration, and self-management.

Today's students are 21st Century learners and technology integration gives opportunities to focus on 21st Century skills and state standards. As an instructional technology specialist, I would use PBL in teaching technology skills. As students learned the application, they would also understand how it is used as a tool.

Challenging Problem or Question - The project is framed by a meaningful problem to solve or a question to answer, at the appropriate level of challenge.

Try introducing a TED Talk or information videos to spark curiosity or questions students may have in developing the Driving Question of the project. This video is excellent in creating a question of How to Save the Monarch Butterfly? I have also created PowerPoints with thought-provoking images that promote engagement and enthusiasm.

Sustained Inquiry - Students engage in a rigorous, extended process of asking questions, finding resources, and apply information.

This is a great time to use mind mapping or graphic organizer apps for students to extend their questions.

I believe in providing resources for student research, especially at the elementary level. Google Sites and Google Drive are great vehicles for adding websites, sharing documents and books. You can continue to add more as the project develops. Schools also subscribe to paid online databases which are excellent for research. The information is there within the database so students do not have to search the web. Just click on the image below to see an example.

As a way to collect and apply knowledge learned through research, students can use the following apps. Teachers can also provide students with digital journals with Book Creator as they work through the inquiry process.

My friend Julie with The Techie Teacher uses Google Slides for student writing journals and research. She provides the backgrounds for the slides and her students add images and their information within the text boxes. They can even continue their research by going under the Tools menu. Teachers can add comments on each slide so her students get feedback on their work.

Jennifer with Tech With Jen uses Interactive Reading Notebooks for teaching informational text. Her Google Slides contain graphic organizers, planning sheets, self-reflection, rubrics and a choice board with apps. These are excellent for PBL.

Another way to use digital notebooks is with editable PowerPoints. Students can learn how to read informational text as they are involved in PBL.

Authenticity - The project features real-world context, tasks and tools, quality standards, or impact - or speaks to students' personal concerns, interests, and issues in their lives.

Interview experts, contact organizations, or owners of businesses. If students are unable to visit these locations or representatives are unable to come to the school, use Skype or Google Hangout. These experts are more than willing to communicate with students. Anything you can do to present the challenge or problem as a real world situation is so important in PBL.

Student Voice and Choice - Students make some decisions about the project, including how they work and what they create.

Public Product - Students make their project work public by explaining, displaying and/or presenting it to people beyond the classroom

This is when student creativity takes place. Students have an opportunity to decide how they want to present their findings or suggestions in solving the problem. There are so many choices of apps that students can use. These are just a few that I highly recommend.

Reflection - Students and teachers reflect on learning, the effectiveness of their inquiry and project activities, the quality of student work, obstacles and how to overcome them.

Critique and Revision - Students give, receive, and use feedback to improve their process and products.

Rubrics are excellent assessment tools to use during PBL. This app is called Rubrics.

Now that you have more ideas for blending technology and project based learning, check out the PBL ideas by clicking below.

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Blending Technology and Project Based Learning

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When implementing project based learning, I can't imagine a project without the use of technology. Whether you are using mobile devices, laptops, or desktops, there are so many applications and websites that can be resources and tools for the project based units. That's why today's post is all about blending technology and project based learning.

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Do you want to get started with project based learning, but you're not sure how? Maybe project based learning sounds too complicated, in-depth, and overwhelming to you? That's how I felt when I first delved into PBL. But now I know there is nothing to be afraid of! In this post, I will give a quick explanation of project-based learning and then give you some tips and ideas to begin to implement it in your own classroom.
What is Project Based Learning?
Project based learning, simply stated, is an authentic learning experience in which your students collaborate to solve a problem in the real-world. It incorporates standards across content areas, and takes place over an extended period of time. In contrast, a project (not to be confused with PBL), may only take a day or two, only incorporate one subject area, and may not require your students to collaborate. Projects have value, but they are not the same as project based learning.
How to Plan for Project Based Learning
When planning a PBL unit, it is key to think of something that is relevant and meaningful to your students. Are they currently into a certain XYZ (toy, author, genre, game)? Is there a real problem you are encountering in your classroom that you can turn into a project and work to solve? Sometimes, the idea for the end project might come first. Others, you will simply begin with the standards you need to cover. In either case, it's important to map out the standards and processes you want to cover across the content areas right from the start. You'll want to map out the following:

Topic - What are your students interested in? What science/Social studies units are coming up? What problem are you encountering in your classroom?

Content - What standards connect well to the unit? What knowledge and skills do you want your students to gain through this experience?

Driving Question - This will guide your unit. The final product should do something to answer this question.

Product/Audience - What might your students create to showcase what they learned, communicate to the audience, and answer the driving question?

I've created a simple PBL planning guide which you can download for free by clicking HERE or clicking on the image.
An Example of Project Based Learning
In my classroom, we use a science program that sends creatures by mail. When our goldfish arrived unexpectedly one day, I had no choice but to quickly set up a tank from a plastic bin and put the fish inside. The next day, the fish were dead. My students were devastated. We hadn't even had the chance to observe the fish, let alone name them. From this experience, I saw the perfect opportunity to begin a PBL unit. We had a driving question- How can we set up a habitat for goldfish in which they will thrive? (By the way, this is a great driving question to ask if you are planning on getting a class pet-don't wait until something dies first). I then mapped out the standards that I knew we were working on and that we could work on through the project. Finally, I jotted down some possible products/audiences that my students might choose from.

Once you have this lined out, your day to day lessons will come much easier. We read many nonfiction books and took to the internet for information on proper goldfish care. We wrote down our new learning on anchor charts which we revisited often. In math, we did a survey to decide on the "theme" we would use to decorate our aquarium. We also did a survey to determine what we would name our goldfish. I incorporated goldfish problems that would help us into our daily problem-solving (There are 10 gallons in a tank, each goldfish needs 5 gallons of water. How many goldfish can be in our tank?)

Ideas to Get you Started - take a look at some of these driving questions, products, and audiences that you might use with your kinders. You don't have to set out to change the world with every PBL unit you do. It's fine to research something to share with others in your building. Sharing with older students is a favorite!
Possible Driving Questions

How can we plan for and throw a class celebration?

How can we teach others in our building how to reduce, reuse, recycle?

How can we prepare for a class pet?

How can we create an escape plan in our homes in case of emergency?

How can we teach others what we've learned about ___?

How can we create a cookbook to showcase our favorite recipes?

What is the best kind of seed to plant that will be ready for Mother's Day?

Possible Products

A poster

A play

A book (written or published on writereader.com)

A pamphlet

A blog post (if you use kidblog or something similar)

Possible Audiences

Older students in your building (we partner with a 4th grade class and they are our "reading buddies"-I milk this one a lot)

Another class (invite another kindergarten class over!)

Parents (you can invite them in on your own or plan PBL units around open house, back-to-school night, etc. so they will already be there)

Other teachers

The internet (think class twitter or Instagram account, school Facebook page, etc.)

Community members

Local businesses

A Note About Project Based Learning
I feel that it is worth mentioning that project based learning is, to a point, messy. Careful planning and organization is key, but this is still a teaching style that will require some adjustment for many of us. The constraints of lesson planning in a given format that is often required of teachers may need to be addressed. Talk with your administration about your plans for project based learning and what this will look like in your classroom. In real life, subject areas are not divided into isolated boxes; therefore, they should not be encountered only in isolation in our classrooms. In project based learning, you be comfortable veering off the path that you had initially envisioned from time to time. Your students are taking the lead, and that is a beautiful thing!

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Project Based Learning in Kindergarten - KTeacherTiff

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Do you want to get started with project based learning, but you're not sure how? Maybe project based learning sounds too complicated, in-depth, and overwhelming to you? That's how I felt when I first delved into PBL. But now I know there is nothing to be afraid of!

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Digital Destinations in History - PBL - The Project Wall

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PBL - Exceptional Entry Events, Tantalizing Titles and Dynamic Driving Questions

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As we head into spring, there's a bit of "lightness" ahead. We're more willing to try some new things and launch ourselves toward the final quarter of the school year. One way people do this is through project-based learning. When our team at EdCloset advocates for Project-Based Learning in and through the arts, some people look at us funny. They say things like

"isn't project-based learning the same thing as what you do in the arts all the time anyway?"

Yes and no. Sometimes, we're using project-based learning and sometimes, we're just doing projects.

Our resident PBL expert and director of eLearning, Brianne Gidcumb, shares a handy chart to identify whether or not what you're doing is really project-based learning:

There's nothing wrong, of course, with using a project in your classroom! But if you're looking for a way to go deeper and to integrate that project authentically in and through the arts, project-based learning is your next step.

This chart helps to clarify some ways that we can integrate true PBL into what we're already doing! If you're interested in learning more about how to do that, be sure to check out our online course Project Based Learning in the Arts.

There are so many varieties of PBL out there: project-based, problem-based, and even process-based learning. In the end, I think it's all about learning what will work for you, your students and your classroom.

With any project, the key always lies in how you got to the finished presentation. No matter what it is - a project for your class, a new craft you're working on, or even a project to spruce up your home - the intention and the journey are what sets it apart.

Learn more about project-based learning with these resources online:

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Are You Using Projects or Project-Based Learning?

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As we head into spring, there's a bit of "lightness" ahead. We're more willing to try some new things and launch ourselves toward the final quarter of the school year. One way people do this is through project-based learning.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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March 21, 2014
Today while I was browsing through my Twitter feeds I came across this fabulous Bloom's Taxonomy wheel of apps shared by Anthony. If you still recall, some previous versions of this wheel have already been featured here in Bloom's Taxonomy for Teachers section .

As you can see, the wheel outlines a wide variety of verbs and activities related to each thinking level of Blooms taxonomy coupled with iPad apps that go with it. These apps are supposed to help teachers and students better cultivate these different thinking levels in their use of iPad apps. And because the the visual is not hyperlinked, I went ahead and provided the links for each of these apps in the lists below. Enjoy

Create

Evaluate

Annalyse

Apply

Remember/understand

This wheel is originally discovered on the website of Paul Hopkin's education consultancy site mmiweb.org.uk adopted by Allan Carrington.

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A New Fantastic Bloom's Taxonomy Wheel for iPad Apps

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March 21, 2014 Today while I was browsing through my Twitter feeds I came across this fabulous Bloom's Taxonomy wheel of apps shared by Anthony. If you still recall, some previous versions of this wheel have already been featured here in Bloom's Taxonomy for Teachers section .

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Do you wonder how to go about assessing students during project based learning? One big reason teachers shy away from implementing the unit is not knowing how to assess students. Because a project based learning unit spans several weeks or even months, it's important to assess students throughout the unit. Assessment can be formal like we typically use during a regular classroom environment. But, for the most part, it can be informal.

Assessment can be helpful during a project based learning unit by letting us know if students are learning the skills and if they understand the purpose of the unit. We also want to make sure the unit isn't straying in a non-productive direction. In this post, I'll provide different ways we can assess our students during a project based learning unit.

I begin assessing students during project based learning before I introduce the project. There may be skills I need to teach to lay the foundation for the unit. I really emphasize questioning for guided inquiry and deeper learning. This helps students in developing a driving question, essential questions, and supporting questions.

Higher Level Thinking

Because project based learning involves higher level thinking skills, it can sometimes be difficult to assess students effectively. Project based learning focuses on 21st Century Learning along with academic content.

As students dig deeply to solve the problem or challenge, keep these questions in mind:

Are the students problem-solving? Do they depend on you for answers or do they initiate digging deeper in their research to answer their questions?

Are your students collaborating with others? Do your students work independently? Do they collaborate with their team or whole group?

Are your students able to work in a cooperative environment? Are they able to solve conflicts, make decisions, and accept suggestions? Do your students encourage others?

How well do your students communicate? Do your students have "aha" moments and communicate their findings with you and with their classmates? If your students interview adults, are they able to communicate in a mature way?

High Student Engagement = High Student Achievement

Many teachers worry about assessing standards. Believe it or not, many of these skills are embedded in the unit. Project based learning involves active engagement where it's perfect for authentic assessment. Through hands-on activities, students learn faster and achievement is higher than than they would in a regular classroom environment. And, students want to continue learning about the problem or challenge. "Rather than testing for recall of information, projects are better suited to performance-based assessments that ask students to demonstrate, apply and reflect on what they have learned." - Suzie Boss, District Administration

Reflection

Assessment can be different for a pbl unit than a traditional classroom setting. In a project based learning unit, the emphasis is on deeper understanding and problem-solving. So, we use more reflection during a project based environment.

At the end of the day, students may write personal reflections in their journals, discuss their feelings and discoveries in small groups, or answer open-ended questions during the project. I've even videoed my students so they could see how much they've improved in their higher leveled thinking.

Technology Skills

There are so many apps and websites available for project based learning. And, as students research/investigate, create their products, and communicate, they are learning how to use technology as an important tool.

Teachers can work closely with the librarian in assessing students with multimedia skills, evaluating websites, and using the most appropriate tools in presenting their information. Websites such and have assessments embedded within the application with comprehension questions, writing prompts, as well as reading current events. Edpuzzle is interactive by allowing teachers to record during the video and customize questions.

Rubrics

Rubrics can be used for assessment by the teacher, self-assessment, peer-assessment, and self- reflections. I attended a session at iPadpalooza on project based learning and the presenters didn't recommend rubrics for their projects because they thought the students would not be motivated to go beyond the requirements. I have to disagree. If students are engaged in the project, I believe they will be motivated to do more.

With project based learning being student-centered, rubrics can give students individual feedback on the quality of their work and understand the expectations of the assignment or elements of the project. Rubristar is a popular rubric generator that many teachers use. They can create their own accounts and design their own customized rubric. There are even categories that help teachers in creating their rubrics.

I recently came across another rubric generator that I really like.For All Rubrics can be used by individual teachers for free and districts can purchase accounts with more options. I love the format of this site. I think the color coding helps students understand the rubric. Student accounts are available with a class code. Teachers can use advanced settings to assign weight to different areas and get an analysis of the student results. Plus, students can earn badges for their work!

Here's a list of other suggested rubrics for different topics on the TeAchnology website.

For more information on rubrics for project based learning, visit my friend April at Performing in Education.

Final product - Presenting to a Public Audience

The best feedback during a project based learning unit is presenting a product or findings to a public audience. Students are so proud of their work and want to inform the parents and school about the project. I'm always amazed at how much the students learn during a pbl unit. This is a great time for parents, other faculty members, and classmates to leave feedback for the different teams and students.

"Let's focus on an enriching curriculum and project-based learning opportunities, and put an end to testing fixation..." - Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President

I hope you take advantage of all the opportunities for assessing students during project based learning. Try assessing your students' critical thinking and understanding through their performance. By knowing how to access our students during a project based learning unit, the learning experience can be enjoyed by all.

Other blog posts which can help with pbl assessement are:

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Assessing Students During Project Based Learning

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Do you wonder how to go about assessing students during project based learning? One big reason teachers shy away from implementing the unit is not knowing how to assess students. Because a project based learning unit spans several weeks or even months, it's important to assess students throughout the unit.

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These rubrics will help with the assessment of a Project Based Learning experience.

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A project based learning method is a comprehensive approach to instruction. Your students participate in projects and practice an interdisciplinary array of skills from math, language arts, fine arts, geography, science, and technology.

"The collaborative nature of the investigation enhances all of these valuable experiences ... as well as promotes a greater appreciation for social responsibility (Scott, 1994)."

Building Motivation
Using Multiple Intelligences

To help you start using PBL, we've created age-appropriate, customizable project checklists for written reports, multimedia projects, oral presentations, and science projects. The use of these checklists keeps students on track and allows them to take responsibility for their own learning through peer- and self-evaluation.

PBL Project Checklists in English
PBL Project Checklists en Español

We now have customizable rubrics for multimedia projects, work skills, experiments, oral projects, and many more -- all available at RubiStar!

If you have questions, check out the FAQs.

K-1 2-4 5-8 9-12

K-4 5-8 9-12

2-4 5-8 9-12

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Age-appropriate, customizable project checklists for written reports, multimedia projects, oral presentations, and science projects.

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Tools for Project-Based Learning | Common Sense Education

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Top PBL tools for helping students plan and carry out complex work. Explore this Tools for Project-Based Learning Top Picks list of 24 tools curated by Common Sense Education editors to find relevant and engaging edtech solutions for your classroom.

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Here are some ideas for how to resolve these difficulties and craft a strong question for your project.

Driving or Essential?

I've had teachers ask, "What is the difference between driving questions and essential questions?" It comes down to intent. In my discussions with Jay McTighe, co-author of Understanding by Design -the book that developed the idea of the essential question-he and I came to the conclusion that a driving question might fall in Stage 1 (Desired Outcomes) or Stage 3 (Learning Plan) of the Understanding by Design framework. The desired outcomes are focused on learning, and thus include skills and knowledge we want students to learn, as well as questions directly connected to that learning. An essential question is always in Stage 1, as it aligns to desired learning results.

However, when you dig into the use and intent of a driving question, it is intended to be a tool to engage students. It's part of the learning plan and a hook to engage students. An essential question, while provocative and intended to lead to inquiry, does not need to be the hook-a teacher may or may not use every essential question with their students, but the driving question is always used with students during instruction throughout the project.

Teachers use driving questions in learning activities to direct the students' inquiry and increase their engagement. In fact, the driving question operationalizes the challenge, which is part of the learning plan. A driving question may have many essential questions connected to it or that come out of the inquiry process.

Great Options

The best-though sometimes frustrating-part of driving questions is that there are so many options. Here are some of the most popular types of driving questions.

Philosophical or Debatable: These types of questions are honestly debatable and have complex possible answers. All driving questions should be open-ended, but philosophical or debatable questions by nature require rigorous thought and corresponding student products. Example: Should we build a new highway in the proposed area?

Product-Oriented: This is a great type of driving question to use if you have a specific student product in mind. It isn't just about the product, but the purpose as well. Examples: How do we create a podcast to debunk myths and stereotypes of world religions? How do I create a marketing plan for a local business?

Role-Oriented: Students, even in high school, love to take on roles and pretend to be things they're not. In this type of driving question, you give students an authentic or real-world role with a problem to solve or project to accomplish. Example: How do I as a scientist design an experiment to debunk a common scientific myth?

Generating Powerful Driving Questions

Focus on Action: As I wrote in a previous article, verbs can be powerful tools for student engagement when it comes to questions. While tell might be appropriate, maybe convince or advocate are better actions to take. Think about using powerful, action-oriented verbs.

Remember Age Appropriateness: One refinement consideration is the age and maturity of your students. A product-oriented question might be too wordy for younger students. And we don't want the driving question to be too academic for students. For older students, we might be able to be more provocative with the questions. Consider what your students will understand and find engaging.

Try a Round Robin: Sometimes the best help is right next to us-our colleagues. One powerful strategy that helps us generate new ideas is a Round Robin, where we pass ideas around a table or large group. Write a driving question for your project and pass it to a colleague. That colleague writes another possible question. The paper is passed to another colleague, and the process continues until the paper is filled with driving questions. You can use the many ideas to affirm your thinking, adjust your question, or create a brand-new one.

Give the Question to a Student: We spend time crafting and refining driving questions for students, so test out the driving question you've created on students and see how they react. Take a small group of students aside for a focus group or just share it in a casual conversation. Will every student jump up and down about it? No, but we can at least have students say, "I guess that sounds cool."

Create the Question With Students: If you and your students are up for it, take time to create the question in class. You might use a method like the Question Formulation Technique to have students generate many questions on a topic or focus statement, and then help to narrow that list to one overarching driving question. Or have students create questions, narrow them down to a short list yourself, and then have students vote on the one they should investigate as a class. It's perfectly fine to give students a driving question, but consider challenging them to be agents in creating it in the first place.

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Coming up with the driving question in project-based learning is often the hard part, so we've got some ideas to help you craft a great one.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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April 21, 2015
Gold Standard PBL: Project Based Teaching Practices

Adapted from Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous Classroom Instruction, by John Larmer, John Mergendoller, Suzie Boss (ASCD 2015). This post is also available as a downloadable article.

Teachers who make Project Based Learning a regular part of their teaching enjoy their new role, although for some it might take time to adjust from traditional practice. It's fun to get creative when designing a project, instead of just using "off the shelf" curriculum materials. Most teachers like working collaboratively with their colleagues when planning and implementing projects, and interacting with other adults from the community or the wider world. And PBL teachers find it rewarding to work closely alongside students, tackling a real-world challenge or exploring a meaningful question.

When transitioning to PBL, one of the biggest hurdles for many teachers is the need to give up some degree of control over the classroom, and trust in their students. But even though they are more often the "guide on the side" than the "sage on the stage," this most certainly does not mean that teachers don't "teach" in a PBL classroom. Many traditional practices remain, but are reframed in the context of a project.

Design & Plan
Teachers create or adapt a project for their context and students, and plan its implementation from launch to culmination while allowing for some degree of student voice and choice.

Align to Standards
Teachers use standards to plan the project and make sure it addresses key knowledge and understanding from subject areas to be included.

Build the Culture
Teachers explicitly and implicitly promote student independence and growth, open-ended inquiry, team spirit, and attention to quality.

Manage Activities
Teachers work with students to organize tasks and schedules, set checkpoints and deadlines, find and use resources, create products and make them public.

Scaffold Student Learning
Teachers employ a variety of lessons, tools, and instructional strategies to support all students in reaching project goals.

Assess Student Learning
Teachers use formative and summative assessments of knowledge, understanding, and success skills, and include self and peer assessment of team and individual work.

Engage & Coach
Teachers engage in learning and creating alongside students, and identify when they need skill-building, redirection, encouragement, and celebration.

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Adapted from Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning: A Proven Approach to Rigorous Classroom Instruction, by John Larmer, John Mergendoller, Suzie Boss (ASCD 2015). This post is also available as a downloadable article. Teachers who make Project Based Learning a regular part of their teaching enjoy their new role, although for some it might take time to adjust from traditional practice.

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Do you teach with Depth and Complexity?

As teachers, one of our most important goals is to teach our students to think critically. This life-long skill really transcends all programs, standards, and curriculums. If we can teach students to think critically, success will follow. It sounds so simple, yet we know it can be a daunting task.

One of the most effective ways I have found to accomplish this goal is by incorporating 11 powerful elements of Depth and Complexity into my instruction. These "thinking tools" were developed for the U.S. Department of Education by Dr. Sandra Kaplan in the early 1990s and they really stand the test of time. They are powerful and enduring tools that we can not only use to design lessons, but that can also be directly taught to students.

I created a handy cheat sheet of these 11 "Thinking Tools" that you can download for free {HERE}.

The information can be a bit overwhelming, but I promise you incorporating this into your instruction is WELL worth it.

Here are a few pointers for you to get started:

1. Print the Critical Thinking at a Glance "cheat sheet" and keep it near you when lesson planning and when having class discussions. It can really help you elicit student responses for each of the "Thinking Tools".

2. Start off with incorporating just a few of these "Thinking Tools" at a time. Don't even look at the rest, and really just focus on learning and teaching 2-3 at a time. This is especially important if you teach younger students or students who are completely unfamiliar with these "Thinking Tools".

3. Teach one "Thinking Tool" at a time using something the students are already very familiar with, like a picture book that they have read multiple times. I use fairytales for this, but you could also use familiar fables and myths too.

4. These are not just for gifted or high-achieving students. Make sure you are using these with your English language learners, special needs students, and on-grade level students as well. They will benefit greatly from these and will really rise to the occasion.

5. Don't try to hit the ground running. It's okay to really take your time with implementing these. The benefits will not be lost, I promise you!

6. You can also download these FREE Critical Thinking Bookmarks for a quick and easy tool to use in your classroom.

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Do you teach with Depth and Complexity? As teachers, one of our most important goals is to teach our students to think critically. This life-long skill really transcends all programs, standards, and curriculums. If we can teach students to think critically, success will follow.

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Project Based Learning for all. We build the capacity of teachers and school leaders to design and facilitate quality Project Based Learning.

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Driving Question Tubric 2.0 | Project Based Learning | BIE

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Why do we like it? The Tubric is a fun, hands-on way to practice the often-challenging task of writing a Driving Question for a project.

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Project Based Learning for all. We build the capacity of teachers and school leaders to design and facilitate quality Project Based Learning.

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Project Based Learning for all. We build the capacity of teachers and school leaders to design and facilitate quality Project Based Learning.