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E-guide to Keep it Real Planning Process

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E-guide to Keep it Real Planning Process

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With school closures in March of 2020 schools were faced with some incredible challenges. As articles have been sprinkling across our feeds with predictions about what school will look like in the fall, it is becoming increasingly evident that school WILL be different in August. As we move toward this new era of "hybrid learning," this guide will help you leverage project-based learning (PBL) as a framework for teaching and learning in this new space.

The password for opening the document is the first word of the first paragraph in Chapter 4.

online_pbl_guide.pdf

This is the book PBL educators have been waiting for! Whether you are starting out on your PBL journey or have been at it for years, this book is full of helpful ideas, tactics, and exemplars-the kind of book that never even makes it to the shelf because you are constantly using it. Jennifer Pieratt knows how to help educators realize their own potential to facilitate powerful PBL experiences for all students. This book is a window into her years of expertise and experiences.
Emily Liebtag, Vice President, Advocacy, Getting Smart

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Keep It Real With PBL, Elementary: A Practical Guide for Planning Project-Based Learning

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With school closures in March of 2020 schools were faced with some incredible challenges. As articles have been sprinkling across our feeds with predictions about what school will look like in the fall, it is becoming increasingly evident that school WILL be different in August.

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Research & Publications As an expert in the field of Project Based Learning, Jenny Pieratt, PhD has been published by leading practitioner-based sources across the country.

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12 Ideas to engage students in the final weeks of school {with bonus ways to sneak in content} If you are a parent or teacher [...]

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PBL Lite for Parents: Making the most of COVID-19

I have really struggled to write this post for the past 2 weeks, but the question keeps coming: "Can't people just do PBL lite?". Part of me loves this question when it comes from my friends because it means that as parents they follow my work and like what they see and want it for their children; but the practitioner in me really struggles with the notion of a distilled version of because I have built a career on designing authentic, but also rigorous project-based experiences that are grounded in standards and best practices of assessment. But if there is one thing we are all learning in this COVID-19 crisis, it's that not much as before has stayed the same. AND that there is a real need to rethink how things have traditionally been done if we want to make it through these tough times ahead. Not to mention #realtalk alert: I still haven't had many of my questions answered about how students are currently being assessed and provided feedback, tracked for "seat time" or adequately prepared for the academic skills of the grade ahead; which makes standards a moot point at this given moment. So here goes...I'm giving PBL lite a go for all my parent-friends... or heck, that teacher who keeps sending home worksheets and "requiring" children to be on a screen for hours on end.
Start here: Talk to your child. Ask more questions.
I know this sounds oddly simple, but our current homeschool/home-office setups don't really allow for this. When children are asked to sit behind a screen for a time allotment that is beyond what our longitudinal research can prove is not harmful (last I heard from my pediatrician, it's 30 minutes a day), there isn't much time for them to conversate and just be curious. Similarly, for those of us working parents who are trying to salvage business that has just been dumped upside down, taking time out of the day to just sit and chat falls to the bottom of our to-do list. But kids and adults need time to wonder, and a good project really does start with a good question.
So ask your child: "what have you always wondered?" or "what have you always wanted to learn about and never had the chance?"
On day 1 of quarantine, here is what my kids answered : "I always wondered how those machines are able to track the speed of a pitcher" and "how do you explain how when I kick a soccer ball in a certain spot or in a certain way it changes the outcome so much?"

If the remainder of this post feels aggressive and overwhelming, just start with this first step. Something I see missing in school in general, but especially now is inquiry, which is kids asking questions. Remember when they were three and asked "why" all the time? Well that stopped because we schooled them out of it. Now is the opportunity to undo that! Just taking a break from technology and committing to having questions with your child that speaks to their interests and wonders is a great first step to PBL!
Rethink "research"
Once your child comes up with a good question then set out to answer it-depending on their age you will likely need to help them, or if you are like me you may too just be curious and enjoy the Coronavirus distraction. This could mean a simple Google search, printing up some articles (check out Newsela for this), watching some cool videos and documentaries, or it could mean rethinking traditional research entirely. A best practice of PBL is field-work, which just means using the real world to answer your questions. So think about if you have a friend who is an expert in that area- maybe your child could write some interview questions and hit them up for a call. Pull up your laptop and take a virtual field trip with Google Earth or a live webcam (the San DIego Zoo has an incredible one!); Or maybe even a quick road trip (of course honoring the "stay home order" and not leaving your car-but hey new scenery is welcome at this point AND this isn't technically breaking any rules) to view a particular place and make some observations together.
Show what you know
A big part of PBL is creating a final product that applies the content and skills a student learned to a new context and also showcases this knowledge. So brainstorm with your child some ways that they could show what they learned from researching to answer their question, so that others can learn from them (more on that next). Here are some ideas:

An infographic -using Canva or Piktochart preloaded templates

A blog, creative writing story or website

A pamphlet in Pages

A social media campaign

An art piece

A photo slideshow

Start a business on Etsy
Teach time management
Parents, you got this step! This is simply taking what your child wants to create and breaking it down into smaller steps and checkpoints for you to be sure they are on the right track. This could look like an outline, a brianstorm, a draft, or a sketch. The idea here is that they are thinking through their plans and managing their time accordingly. THis also may be a cool moment for you to share with them how you manage projects in your industry. I recommend writing out the steps together and allocating when they will work on each part. In our house that's just me drawing out a week schedule (table) on a piece of lined paper-nothing fancy. You can also use this " passion project proposal" that I created.
Share with the world
Finally, in PBL there is always an authentic audience who could benefit from hearing what students learned about in their project (beyond just their class- although they could likely benefit too!). Have you seen the social media campaign from Nike : " Play for the world"? Well this part of PBL is a lot like that, except it's "Learn for the world": Stay home but keep doing what you are passionate about! While this step is a little tricky under home quarantine, with the help of technology it's totally possible! Here are some ideas with the final products listed above:

Again, if you are a working parent this may feel like more work for you. However, what I'm finding is that homeschool in general is more work for me! SO I would way rather spend the time working on something that feels meaningful for my child than plopping them in front of a screen or printing out yet another worksheet, watching the engagement and passion drain from them by the day. My hope is that by offering up "PBL lite" maybe you can learn along with your kids and you both can find some passion in learning together. You don't need to be a teacher to do this version of PBL-this is just life skills and curiosity, within the context that you live in every day- you got this! Let me know how it goes and tag #craftEDcares!
Need more parent resources? I got you covered!

A more structured project the sports questions my own kids came up with:

A built out project (it's more like PBL SUPER UNLEADED, but hey give it a go!)

If you are looking for something to send your teachers, is a great post by a well-respected leader in education that can help make a case for less screen time and more time available for PBL lite at home 😉

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PBL Lite for Parents: Making the most of COVID-19

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PBL Lite for Parents: Making the most of COVID-19 I have really struggled to write this post for the past 2 weeks, but the question keeps coming: "Can't people just do PBL lite?". Part of me loves this question when it comes from my friends because it means that as

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As a parent I have been pretty concerned by the amount of screen time my kids have had in the past few weeks due to distance learning. I have stared going rogue with them a bit and doing more activities "off line" to decrease the amount of time they are on their school iPads and also increase their creativity and interaction with others. I was inspired by this post by Catlin Tucker and I too wanted to share some of the activities we have been doing at home. Check out below for my no-tech matrix and click here to access this as a Google Doc that you can make your own; also included is a BONUS matrix for teachers that shows what content areas these activities align to in your standards.

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As a parent I have been pretty concerned by the amount of screen time my kids have had in the past few weeks due to distance learning.

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In the wake of COVID-19 schools are looking for ways to move professional and student learning to virtual spaces. Educators are asking important questions like ' How do we continue to create engaging and rigorous learning experiences online?' and 'Can Project Based Learning be done virtually?'; School Leaders are asking 'How do we continue to develop our teachers when we can't be together?'; and parents are asking "How can I best help my child learn from home?". As an expert in innovative teaching and learning, CraftED is here to work alongside schools, parents and organizations to continue to develop deeper learning, together.

With an expert by your side, e-learning is possible!

An Expert in Online Learning:

Virtual School Development Coach

As a former School Development Coach for New Tech Network, Dr. Jenny Pieratt has several years of experience creating and facilitating virtual learning for teachers and instructional leaders across the U.S. From developing "badges" and learning paths for the Train the Trainer program, to creating self-paced PBL and leadership learning modules, to running meaningful and engaging meetings and trainings fully online; Jenny is well-versed in innovative technology tools and protocols to create interactive and collaborative virtual learning experiences that truly 'model the model of PBL'. To learn more about the Experts of CraftED click HERE.

Experience taking PBL courses fully online for schools

With a rich background in curriculum design, in 2019 CraftED was sought out by K12 Schools to "white-label" the creation of seven PBL courses to move from "brick and mortar" schools to fully online learning experiences. To read case studies of custom curriculum design by CraftED click HERE.

Pre-existing (and successful!) PBL e-courses and virtual coaching

In 2018 CraftED was the first company to provide an online PBL Certification course. Since this launch CraftED built out an entire library of PBL e-courses (asynchronous) and virtual project coaching (synchronous). To read testimonials of these courses click HERE and to access the guide for school leaders on how to use these courses click HERE.

How CraftED can help:

Curriculum Development for online implementation of learning~ Click HERE to see how

Custom virtual Professional Development design and/or facilitation~ See below for workshop descriptions

Asynchronous Teacher training for project-based learning (PBL 101)~ See how schools are doing this HERE

Virtual project coaching for ongoing teacher support related to PBL

Creation and curation of trusted parent and teaching resources and curricula

Consultation services for districts and organizations

CraftED Classroom~ distance homeschooling office hours to help parents ensure their child is learning

Get Started Tomorrow!

To get started as early as tomorrow, email jenny@craftedcurriculum.com to set up a consultation.

New Virtual PD Workshops

CraftED offers live workshops on the topics below for faculty looking to improve their craft during COVID-19. These are practical workshops with specific resources and strategies for teachers to use, designed by an Expert in PBL and virtual learning. Teachers do not need to be familiar with PBL to gain knowledge and tools from these workshops, but it will prepare them with some small shifts should they be interested in pursuing PBL in the future. All workshops can be tailored to specific grade levels, district curricular requirements and community needs.

Teaching 21st century skills in a virtual classroom (1-2 hours)

If you liked this article by Dr. Jenny Pieratt feature by Teaching Channel you are going to LOVE this workshop. We will do a deep dive on how we can continue to develop students in the areas of the 4Cs (collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking) in a virtual setting. Topics in this workshop include:

How to design meaningful tasks that elicit the 4Cs in a virtual classroom

Tech tools to support these tasks

How to scaffold and assess 21st century skills in a virtual classroom

*This workshop pairs with Keep it Real with PBL workbook and Dr. Jenny Pieratt's NEW! On Your Feet Guide for Assessing PBL: A companion guide to "Keep it real with PBL"

Differentiating virtual learning (1-2 hours)

Meeting the needs of all students is challenging in a classroom setting, but it is especially challenging in a virtual classroom. This workshop is designed to help teachers think about how they might plan their week to address different learners interests and needs. Topics in this workshop include:

How to create open-ended tasks

How to transfer best practices of formative assessment to e-learning

How to set up a weekly schedule for differentiation

How to work with support staff

Systems and structures for supporting diverse student needs

Ideas for engaging high students

Collaboration best practices in a virtual space

*This workshop pairs with CraftED's e-course "Differentiating PBL".

PBL lite: Developing meaningful learning in a distance classroom (2-4 hours)

Creating engaging tasks is difficult in a virtual setting, which is why this workshop is so important. During this workshop we will discuss PBL-lite as a manageable framework for designing weekly learning in a virtual classroom. This workshop will explore:

How to integrate science and social studies as Driving Standards

How to leverage real-world issues for student learning

How to create, schedule, manage dynamic learning cycles (including assessment and feedback)

How to exhibit student products for an audience

How to leverage home and community as a resource for learning

Includes access to 4 free virtual learning mini-projects for teachers to adapt and run as early as next week!

*This workshop pairs with "PBL Certification" e-course and aligned workbook

Additional Resources

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Taking Professional and Student Learning Virtual In the wake of COVID-19 schools are looking for ways to move professional and student learning to virtual spaces. Educators are asking important questions like 'How do we continue to create engaging and rigorous learning experiences online?' and 'Can

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e-guide to virtual PD-PBL implementation 

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e-guide to virtual PD-PBL implementation 

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Designed to meet the needs of teachers working with limited time and resources, CraftED offers the first virtual PBL teacher learning hub: PBL on Demand! Each course has been carefully designed by international PBL expert Dr. Jenny Pieratt to help teachers develop their own expertise in PBL, gaining strategies and tactics to add the best practices of PBL to your professional development. Move through these bite-sized courses at your own pace and be armed and ready to implement what you learn the next day!

Our information-rich, practical and engaging workshops are designed to inspire teachers and ignite new experiences in the classroom.

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Master PBL at your own pace! Designed to meet the needs of teachers working with limited time and resources, CraftED offers the first virtual PBL teacher learning hub: PBL on Demand! Each course has been carefully designed by international PBL expert Dr. Jenny

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Are you looking to go deeper in your personal PBL learning? Well then rally your colleagues to engage in the #KeepitrealwithPBL book club. Here is how you can participate:

1. Order your copy of "Keep it real with PBL" TODAY!

2. Knock out a chapter of reading every few days, or have your PLC make a reading schedule.

3. Chat with your colleagues at your site about the questions.

It's that easy! And be sure to share with the CraftED Community on social media.

What is your why for Project-based Learning?

How do YOU define PBL?

What does being a PBL facilitator mean to you?

What, if any, shifts will you need to make to become a PBL facilitator?

What will be your project brainstorming process? How might this process push your thinking?

What project "red flags" resonated with you?

What does "voice and choice" mean to you?

What's worth assessing, to you?

How was your thinking about assessment challenged in this chapter?

How will you engage students in the process of assessment?

What does assessments for learning (rather than of learning) in PBL mean to you?

How will you manage the PBL process?

What is the value of the Project Launch?

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Keep It Real With PBL Book Club Are you looking to go deeper in your personal PBL learning? Well then rally your colleagues to engage in the #KeepitrealwithPBL book club. Here is how you can participate: Order your copy of "Keep

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In this self-paced project students will research and write about 2 athletes that go "head to head" in a battle, similar to the model of a "who would win" story. Students will go through the entire writing process, including design and publication using technology. This project is great for homeschool, distance learning, passion projects, and can easily be modified for an in-class ELA project. This project was run with 3rd and 4th graders but could easily be run all the way up through middle school grades. Included: steps for student research and writing, links for independent research, graphic organizers and outlines. Note: teacher moves are not included.

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In this self-paced project students will research and write about 2 athletes that go "head to head" in a battle, similar to the model of a "who would win" story. Students will go through the entire writing process, including design and publication using technology. This project is great for homesch...

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In this fully self-paced project students will write a "Who is" book about a member of the US National Softball team. Students will work through the entire writing process, including production and publishing. All steps, links and graphic organizer/outline for writing is included.

This project is great for homeschool, virtual learning, passion projects, and can easily be adapted to in-class learning, as well. A 4th grader completed this project but this could easily be used all the way up through 6th grade.

Note: teacher moves are not included as this project is intended or students to compete independently.

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In this fully self-paced project students will write a "Who is" book about a member of the US National Softball team. Students will work through the entire writing process, including production and publishing. All steps, links and graphic organizer/outline for writing is included. This project is g...

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In this project students design their dream stadium that is environmentally friendly. Content addressed includes: geometry, renewable energy, engineering, research, informational reading and writing. This student-facing project is great for homeschool, virtual learning or passion projects. This was used for a 3rd grader but could be used all the way up to middle school or even high school, with more in-depth content and scaffolding. All student instructions (note: no teacher moves) are included for a fully self-paced PBL experience, including sequence and steps, graphic organizer, links for research and learning.

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In this project students design their dream stadium that is environmentally friendly. Content addressed includes: geometry, renewable energy, engineering, research, informational reading and writing. This student-facing project is great for homeschool, virtual learning or passion projects. This was used for a 3rd grader but could be used all the way up to middle school or even high school, with more in-depth content and scaffolding.

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In this project students will prepare and ultimately compete in a LIVE! Chopped Jr. Challenge (can be done in a classroom or virtually using Zoom!). This 3 week project overview provides the framing for a project-based learning experience. Included: student overview sheet, scoring for guest judges, grocery list, and teacher overview (steps for teaching). The teacher overview includes a proposed schedule, suggested content (vocab-fruits and vegetables, grammar- "to like" and plurals), resources for links and suggested activities. This project was taught in a fully virtual classroom-it would work well for homeschool, distance or hybrid classrooms; and can be easily adapted for an in-person/brick and mortar classroom.

*Note: this is a framing for a project, it does not include HOW to teach the vocabulary or grammar, rather it provides a sequence for applying such content and skills in a final learning experience as a performance-based task. The teacher can take all existing/previously used lessons for teaching said vocabulary and grammar and use in this project.

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In this project students will prepare and ultimately compete in a LIVE! Chopped Jr. Challenge (can be done in a classroom or virtually using Zoom!). This 3 week project overview provides the framing for a project-based learning experience. Included: student overview sheet, scoring for guest judges, ...

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A collection of 71 project-based learning ideas, learning activities, interactive prompts for your sports fans. All ideas are leveled (level 1 appropriate for k-3 with parent support; level 2 appropriate for grades 4-12), and divided by the following categories (STEM, ELA, Social Studies). Links to learn more and research support, and access additional lesson plans are included for each idea. Topics include: The NFL and the history of the draft (9), NBA and the playoffs (14), MLB and Babe Ruth (14), NHL (19), Nascar (15). This packet as-is, is ideal for summer learning, homeschool, genius hour or passion projects at school. This packet could also be used by a teacher trained in PBL to build each idea out into standards-based projects, as each topic lends itself to CCSS and NGSS connections.

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A collection of 71 project-based learning ideas, learning activities, interactive prompts for your sports fans. All ideas are leveled (level 1 appropriate for k-3 with parent support; level 2 appropriate for grades 4-12), and divided by the following categories (STEM, ELA, Social Studies). Links to ...

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Looking for projects that students can do entirely independently? Maybe you are a parent looking for something productive for your child to do this summer? A homeschool parent looking for resources? A teacher in need of structure for passion projects or genius hour? Quick ideas for moving to a virtu

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Looking for projects that students can do entirely independently? Maybe you are a parent looking for something productive for your child to do this summer? A homeschool parent looking for resources? A teacher in need of structure for passion projects or genius hour? Quick ideas for moving to a virtu

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This project can be modified for grades 4-9. During this project students will reimagine an event that was cancelled due to COVID-19. Students will answer the Driving Question:​ ​ How might we reimagine an important event that has been cancelled due to COVID19 ? And create a Final product: ​proposal and advertising campaign for a recently cancelled event. With 4 benchmarks, this project is expected to cover 1-2 weeks of time. Student handouts are provided for each benchmark, along with suggested resources

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This project can be modified for grades 4-9. During this project students will reimagine an event that was cancelled due to COVID-19. Students will answer the Driving Question:​ ​How might we reimagine an important event that has been cancelled due to COVID19 ? And create a Final product: ​proposal...

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As time went on after school closures in mid-March it became increasingly clear that things weren't going back to "normal" for a long time. I, like many of us, held on to "what used to be" for likely far too long-some of my ideals about teaching and learning I wasn't willing to let go of, namely what constituted quality project-based learning (PBL). In response to low engagement and rote learning tasks of virtual learning, Parents (turned homeschool teachers) spent weeks asking me as an expert in PBL, "can't we just do PBL-lite?", "isn't there an easier way to do PBL?". My reply was always "No, PBL needs to be held to a standard of fidelity, one that can't be easily whipped up overnight".

Fast forward another few weeks into distance learning and I changed my tune about PBL-lite. I decided that a modified version of what I believe makes for quality PBL was worth revisiting, as a starting place for PBL rather than an end point, so that in the immediate future we could:

1) better engage students

2) continue to develop students' 21st century skill

3) Leverage the real-world learning opportunities around us.

As a result, I came up with a new definition of PBL-lite for parents, in hopes that if teachers weren't able to wrap their minds around it at the time, perhaps parents could.

And that is where the idea of PBL-lite lived for me for two months-mostly with an audience and thought partners who were parents. That was until May 28th. On May 28th I led a session at the New Way Forward Summit titled "PBL-lite to move us forward". To my surprise and joy, a large number of educators showed up to be a part of the conversation. These participants helped me to see that teachers were ready to talk about this modified version of PBL, and so using the Innovators Compass Protocol we explored "How might we collectively consider PBL-lite as a way to move us forward? What might it look like to modify PBL for the unknown ahead (virtual or hybrid setting)?

For the many more who weren't a part of our conversation, I want to offer up the following definition of PBL-lite, as a starting point to PBL in the fall. In PBL-lite there are some key differences and important reminders that will make it feel like an easier lift for teachers:

All learning doesn't have to be collaborative. Keep projects general enough that they can be individualized to students, but don't worry about frequent collaboration if that overwhelms you.

Projects don't have to last for an extended amount of time-keep it short and manageable for everyone; two weeks seems to be the sweet spot for our family.
Create a rich context as you brainstorm and plan.
Feeling like you can't provide feedback to students on project work? The teacher doesn't have to be the only one giving feedback-think about how you can close the feedback loop by leaning on experts, adults at home and peers.

Not all learning has to relate to the project. If connecting math to social studies feels like a reach, then it probably is. Consider keeping some of those basic learning activities included in your schedule (maybe as self-paced activities, or morning assignments with "PBL" in the afternoon) if that helps ease your fears of students not getting exposure to important content.
Planning with the end in mind
The planning process for PBL-lite is condensed from my typical 10 step process, because the learning cycle is shortened to account for a virtual or hybrid learning environment. In PBL-lite there are only five steps to planning:
Prepare to launch
→Continue to look around your world for project ideas! What is relevant right NOW? The world is ripe with problems for students to solve
Decide on learning and feedback options
→Consider how the "community" has evolved now that we are in virtual learning and how we are connected in new ways; This will help shift your thinking about an authentic issue AND an authentic audience.

→Final products will likely shift due to lack of materials and the need to be able to virtually share products for showcase and also assess; however we can still exhibit student learning if we plan for it from the beginning.
Leverage golden opportunities
→The launch is an experience that can happen synchronously in a virtual classroom. Teachers can share any form of media using the "share screen" feature, invite a guest speaker to a Zoom meeting, or ask students to conduct field work in their neighborhood or at home.

→This remains a best practice in PBL in a virtual setting. Scaffolding will now require design both synchronous and asynchronous learning experiences to provide students with the opportunity to learn important project content and skills.

→"closing the feedback loop" looks different in a virtual setting. Feedback can be provided using tech tools such as Flipgrid, Peardeck, Nearpod, Google Classroom tools.

→field work and exhibition are now easier than ever without the restrictions of
Jenny Pieratt, Ph.D. is a Progressive Educator, Author, and Speaker. She is also the Founder and President of CraftED Curriculum. You can find Jenny on Twitter at @crafted_jennyp. Stay in-the-know with innovations in learning by signing up for the weekly We know that educators and leaders have spent the last couple of months scrambling to meet the immediate needs of learners in their community. Thank you to each and every one of you for everything you've done to make the best out of this challenging situation. Now that the end of the school year is here, we're shifting our Getting Through series from stories and advice to support remote learning or long term closures, to getting ready for the complex work of reopening schools this fall. Interested in contributing to this campaign? Email your stories and ideas to Editor@GettingSmart.com or tweet using #gettingthrough to participate! Smart Update.
Logistics and planning. Here are some ideas for field work that supports project learning:

For whatever scenario lies ahead, this next school year is ripe for change and is a great time to lay a foundation of PBL that can be built upon in the years to come.

For more, see:

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As time went on after school closures in mid-March it became increasingly clear that things weren't going back to "normal" for a long time. I, like many of us, held on to "what used to be" for likely far too long-some of my ideals about teaching and learning I wasn't willing to let go of, namely what constituted quality project-based learning (PBL).

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The Virtual Learning Lesson Plan Template

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The Virtual Learning Lesson Plan Template

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The Virtual Lesson Planning Template

As states continue to announce that many schools are returning to a fully virtual model, and others will return with the capacity to quickly revert back to virtual learning, it feels important to be prepared for adapting lesson plans for distance learning. For this reason I have put together a lesson planning template that reflects best practices of teaching and learning and also sets teachers up for PBL-lite learning experiences.

I call this virtual lesson plan template the synchronous sandwich because it starts and ends with LIVE interaction between the teacher and students, to increase intentional connectivity and help develop an online learning community. Below I will walk you through each step of lesson planning.

Live Launch-10 minutes

In PBL The Launch is an important nuance that not only sets the state for student engagement and inquiry, but also establishes important systems and structures for management. While you may not be looking to commit to PBL this fall, it is still a best practice to have a modified launch. The "Hook" is your opportunity to excite students about the learning ahead. It is ideal if the "anticipatory set" or hook can happen synchronously; however if you can't swing it then lean on video to record what would have otherwise happened together. Teachers can share any form of media using the "share screen" feature, invite a guest speaker to a Zoom meeting, or ask students to conduct field work in their neighborhood or at home. This is also the time to provide an overview of the lesson and success criteria with students.

Active Exploration - 20 minutes

This section of the virtual lesson plan template is the introduction to the content of your lesson. Students are working independently/ asynchronously on this step. Perhaps they are conducting guided research, watching a video, reading a Newsela article, or engaging in a design sprint and creating a quick prototype. Turn them loose to explore with clear instructions for 20 minutes before you ask them to apply what they have learned.

Application- 20 minutes

Building on the previous step of your virtual lesson plans, students will apply what they have learned in the exploration phase to a specific task that you present. If we think about Blooms Taxonomy, we are striving for the upper sections of the triangle, while also acknowledging that this is a modified lesson plan template with time constraints.

Reflection-10 minutes

For the final 10 minutes of your virtual lesson, you will bring the students back together to reflect quickly and synchronously. Students can do a quick share-out, utilize the chat feature or breakout rooms in Zoom, or you can use tech tools such as Padlet [here is a sample speed reflection I facilitated using Padlet] or Mentimeter to have students reflect on the learning cycle they just completed.

The Extended Virtual Lesson Plan Template

If you are looking to go a little deeper into creating lessons that prepare students for PBL-lite you can add two layers to this virtual lesson planning template: students can create and they will receive feedback on their thinking and learning. During the create stage of the lesson students would produce products that are more in-depth and would reflect the highest levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. And the feedback stage could either include an in-depth critique, an expert providing feedback on student work, or teacher comments or virtual conferencing. By adding this layer you can close the feedback loop!

Additional Resources

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A Synchronous Sandwich: The Virtual Lesson Planning Template

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The Virtual Lesson Planning Template As states continue to announce that many schools are returning to a fully virtual model, and others will return with the capacity to quickly revert back to virtual learning, it feels important to be prepared for adapting lesson plans for distance learning.

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q7d836ArzXk09RUbrjNw41uAQhPhIhEwMwdX9ksdx1o/edit

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https://craftedcurriculum.com/leading-virtual-professional-development/

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Sample Design Thinking lesson/project potential 

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Sample Design Thinking lesson/project potential 

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https://craftedcurriculum.com/sample-elementary-virtual-learning-lesson-plan/

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PBL to move us forward-Video presentation of PBL-lite 

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PBL to move us forward-Video presentation of PBL-lite 

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLSHCBeIlrs