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ACTFL and European Framework Correlations

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ACTFL and European Framework Correlations

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Article on Edutopia about Student Voice and Choice

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Article on Edutopia about Student Voice and Choice

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click here

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From Getting Smart - A Framework for High Quality PBL 

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From Getting Smart - A Framework for High Quality PBL 

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A growing number of educators around the world believe that project based learning (PBL) is an important instructional approach that enables students to master academic skills and content knowledge, develop skills necessary for future success, and build the personal agency needed to tackle life's and the world's challenges.

Projects are an easy way to engage students in authentic challenges, but delivering all of the possible benefits requires well-constructed, sustained and supported experiences. A new Framework for High Quality Project Based Learning ( ) was developed to help teachers better prepare young people to contribute in the innovation economy.

This post provides a brief rationale for project based learning, outlines the new HQPBL framework, and provides tips on using the framework effectively.

Why Projects?

"Artificial intelligence and machine learning are taking over jobs that don't require as much creativity," said Joi Ito , who directs the MIT Media Lab. That's why he advocates for the 4Ps: projects, peers, passion and play. "We know project-based learning is more effective than textbook-based learning," said Ito.

He added that interest-driven learning is more motivating and better retained. Ito reflected that "school is almost the opposite of these four," noting that peer learning is often called cheating and play is relegated to recess.

The work of the Media Lab is interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary. Ito thinks that (like New Tech Network ) interdisciplinary projects would be a good way to organize school.

"Artificial intelligence and machine learning is changing every year," added Ito. "We need an education system that is dynamic, that changes every year-and it's got to be lifelong learning."

There are four important reasons that project based learning should be at least a periodic component of every student's experience:

1. Project management is one of the most important career skills (see a longer discussion in our report Preparing Students for a Project Based World ).

2. Projects are the best way to build transferable career-ready skills including self-direction and management, critical thinking and problem solving, media literacy and technology skills.

3. Team projects build social awareness and collaboration skills.

4. Using design thinking skills to attacking new situations and constructing projects prepares young people for a life full of novelty and complexity.

Building all of these deeper learning benefits into a project and ensuring that students experiences are high quality requires a comprehensive approach.

Until now, there has not been a common guidepost and language for describing what high quality PBL student experiences look like. Many organizations have project tools and resources available for educators looking to plan for PBL, but these do not articulate criteria for what the resulting PBL experience ought to include and look like.

Top experts in project based learning came together to create a framework for high quality project based learning to help more students reach deeper learning outcomes. The new framework is based on best practice research and went through several rounds of feedback and critique from hundreds of leading educators.

The includes six criteria that are meant to serve as a baseline for educators, organizations, parents and students:
Intellectual Challenge and Accomplishment Students learn deeply, think critically, and strive for excellence.
To what extent do students:

investigate challenging problems, questions, and issues over an extended period of time?

focus on concepts, knowledge, and skills central to subject areas and intellectual disciplines?

experience research-based instruction and support as needed for learning and project success?

commit themselves to completing work of the highest quality?

Authenticity Students work on projects that are meaningful and relevant to their culture, their lives, and their future.
To what extent do students:
Public Products Students' work is publicly displayed, discussed, and critiqued.
To what extent do students:
Collaboration Students collaborate with other students in person or online and/or receive guidance from adult mentors and experts.
To what extent do students:
Project Management Students use a project management process that enables them to proceed effectively from project initiation to completion.
To what extent do students:
Reflection Students reflect on their work and their learning throughout the project.
To what extent do students:

Using the HQPBL Framework

Who developed the HQPBL framework? With support from Project Management Institute Educational Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation , the Buck Institute for Education , with help from Getting Smart , convened a 27-member steering committee and a 90 member advisory board.

The design process focused on describing, from a student's perspective, what a high quality PBL experience should include. The steering committee and advisors were supported by a research review and comments from hundreds of educators who graciously shared their perspectives and ideas after reviewing the draft framework at professional meetings or by visiting .

How can I use the Framework? The Framework provides an essential starting point for educators, students, parents, and community members as they consider how to make classrooms and schools productive and innovative environments preparing students for adult success. Anyone who is seeking to provide students with high quality PBL experiences can use the Framework to reflect on a PBL experience or as a conversation starter. Additional Framework resources and tools are currently being developed.

Does HQPBL replace our project design approach? The Framework does not replace a project design framework like Buck's Gold Standard Design Elements. The steps an educator uses to plan for PBL and/or the content in their plan may be impacted after reflecting on the Framework for HQPBL, but the intent of the Framework is to focus on the student experience as a result of PBL - not to critique PBL planning or design. The Framework can be used to reflect on student PBL experiences and how they can improve to be even higher quality.

What about other criteria for high quality PBL that aren't on this list? The HQPBL Framework is comprehensive but not complete. Other factors such as classroom and school culture, quality instructional materials and practices, adequate time for teachers to learn and plan, and adaptable policies for curriculum delivery and assessment are equally important for the effectiveness of PBL. Also imperative is the fundamental belief that all students can learn, and that their voices should be heard in their own education.

to find supports and the official partner list. You can also email Where can I learn more? Visit hqpbl.org@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to learn more.
This blog is a part of the HQPBL Campaign Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update . This post includes mentions of a Getting Smart partner. For a full list of partners, affiliate organizations and all other disclosures, please see our Partner page supported by the Buck Institute for Education and sponsored by the Project Management Institute Educational Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation. For more, visit hqpbl.org and follow @hqpbl and #hqpbl on Twitter and Instagram.
For more, see:

Tom Vander Ark is author of Better Together, Smart Parents, Smart Cities, Getting Smart and The Power of Place. He is co-founder of Getting Smart and Learn Capital and serves on the boards of Education Board Partners, 4.0 Schools, Digital Learning Institute, Latinx Education Collaborative, Mastery Transcript Consortium and eduInnovation. Follow Tom on Twitter, @tvanderark.

Emily is the CEO of Boundless. Follow Emily on Twitter at @EmilyLiebtag.

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Introducing a Framework for High Quality Project Based Learning

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A growing number of educators around the world believe that project based learning (PBL) is an important instructional approach that enables students to master academic skills and content knowledge, develop skills necessary for future success, and build the personal agency needed to tackle life's and the world's challenges.

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What about those introverts? Tips for ensuring they are included in group and teams

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What about those introverts? Tips for ensuring they are included in group and teams

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Reading Susan Cain's excellent book, , made me rethink many of the strategies we use in Project Based Learning when it comes to the introverts in our classrooms. Are PBL practices bringing out the best in introverts and allowing them to demonstrate their deeper gifts? Certainly, elements of PBL like reflection and choice support the needs of introverts. But many of the dynamics and practices of PBL seem to have been designed with extroverts in mind, and can end up feeding into old educational and social norms, requiring what Warren Susman called a "performing self" whether or not it's in the student's nature.

Following are a few elements of student-centered learning in general, and PBL in particular, which I believe need some rethinking when we consider that up to half of our learners are introverts:

We need to rethink group work so that introverts also thrive.

While group work is the heart of collaborative, student-centered learning, it doesn't always bring out the best in every student. Whereas an extroverted student will thrive in groups of 4-5, even when students talk over each other constantly, the din will be too much for most introverts. Many introverts dread group work, as they rarely feel heard or able to make a constructive contribution in groups over 2-3 maximum. These students may, in fact, thrive most when allowed to work alone or when paired with other introverts.

We need to rethink the traditional participation grade.

I used a participation grade for most of my career, but I'm no longer convinced it was a measure which effectively captured the effort, engagement, or growth of every student. Many teachers complain of individual students dominating classroom and small-group conversations, but few have the strategies in place to safely draw introverts into the conversation. What I learned over time was that participation comes in many forms, and in my last years of teaching I varied more consistently the kinds of participation I acknowledged and encouraged. I used journaling before every deep class discussion, both for the writing/thinking practice and the way it brought my quietest students into the mix (we used to make agreements, my introverts and I, that I would call on them early so that their insights wouldn't be shared first by the more extroverted students). But even my way of handling this was geared toward getting the introverts to speak in class, which is a very traditional way of thinking about participation. What if we include written or other forms of communication in our assessment of participation? How else might we measure engagement? Or is it possible that "participation" is about growth, engagement and intention, not the number of times a student speaks during class?

We need to create alternative spaces for self expression and be open to alternative expressions of learning.

Most introverts need alternative spaces for sharing their thinking. Smaller group discussions and opportunities to write in silence are gifts to most introverts, who shut down during rowdy discussions because they find them overstimulating and overwhelming. Everyone needs a chance to reflect, but introverts need it like humans need air, so giving students opportunities to think through writing often brings out their best ideas. Online contexts, Cain found, increased the willingness of introverts to engage openly, as they provided a less intimidating platform than face-to-face classroom discussion. I tried this in my classes toward the end of my career, and I found that quieter students were often the most participatory online. As teachers, we also need to be open to more artistic forms of self expression - including the products in PBL projects - that don't necessarily include live presentations, such as film making or artistic exhibitions. Remembering that introverts are often our deepest thinkers, you can be sure that amazing things will happen when you provide true choice of product.

We need our schools to include "restorative niches" where introverts can recuperate.

Susan Cain's exploration of restorative niches, or spaces for solitude, left me thinking a lot about both the students and teachers who might need to step away from their peers occasionally to recharge. PBL schools need such spaces even more, since the demands of group work can leave both young people and adults exhausted and spent.

We need our extroverts to learn some of the skills of our introverts.

Most introverts spend their lives apologizing for who they are, having to explain constantly that they aren't lonely simply because they choose to spend more time alone or have only a handful of friends. What might happen if we insisted on a better balance between extroversion and introversion, which honored the different ways all of us live and make friends? The assumption that introverts need to adjust to the world around them isn't new. Rarely, however, do we ask that extroverts make similar adjustments. What might extroverts learn if they were asked to work alone, slow down, or reflect more? Knowing oneself as a learner and person relies on a level of reflection that requires slowing down and listening differently, both to oneself and others. Because achievement in student-centered environments tends to focus more on self-motivation and self-management, the quiet diligence achieved through mindfulness and reflection can help all students be more successful as learners and thinkers.

We need to ask our introverts what they need and listen to their answers.

Introverts are totally capable of expressing what they need from teachers and peers if they're asked in one-on-one settings-and you don't suggest you believe their introversion is a deficit. Remind them to stretch throughout your course, and hold them to a few public expectations so they learn to articulate their ideas in different ways. But tell them you want to honor who they are, too, and ask them how they'd like to express their learning, what conditions would allow them to feel more comfortable with group work. And remember that it's not just about asking; it's also about implementing the kinds of modifications your introverts say would help. After all, student voice means nothing if we don't listen and act on what students share.

As Cain points out repeatedly, many of quiet thinkers are the future inventors, artists and creators who will contribute to human progress, just as introverts have contributed throughout human history, and it would be a shame to miss out on what they might contribute inside our learning environments.

Here's another blog post about introverts in PBL by Kristyn Kamps. Jennifer D. Klein is author of "The Global Education Guidebook" and Head of School at Gimnasio Los Caobos, a PreK-12 project-based school in Bogotá, Colombia.

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PBL & Introverts: 6 Modifications to Bring out the Best in All Students

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Reading Susan Cain's excellent book, , made me rethink many of the strategies we use in Project Based Learning when it comes to the introverts in our classrooms. Are PBL practices bringing out the best in introverts and allowing them to demonstrate their deeper gifts?

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Project Based Learning Unit Planning Doc

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Project Based Learning Unit Planning Doc