Project Based Learning & Deeper Learning Resources

Why PBL and DL?

What does PBL look like?

Structures that Support PBL

• Digital Portfolios
• Project Planning Templates and Planning Resources
• On Feedback and Critique for student work
• Presentations of Learning
• Equitable Approaches to PBL

Examples and Inspiration

• Fully Fleshed Out Projects You Can Take and Use
• Project Resource Banks
• Curated list of Projects
• Math Projects

Research

Why PBL and DL?

• Why PBL from the Buck Institute for Education
• Deeper Learning Competencies from the Hewlett Foundation
• Decoding Deeper Learning in the Classroom from the Hewlett Foundation and the Education Writers Association
• The article “Teaching Differently...Learning Deeply” by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine at Harvard follows my friend Dan Wise’s Humanities classroom at High Tech High. This article and Jal’s blog posts in EdWeek (see one example here) present the concepts that he and Sarah expand upon in their upcoming book.

What does PBL look like?

• New framework for High Quality PBL from Buck Institute and Hewlett Foundation
• The Six Must-Have Elements of High-Quality Project-based Learning from the Buck Institute
• Gold Standard PBL: Essential Project Design Elements: Great overview of framework for Project Based Learning from the Buck Institute blog.
• Significant Learning Experiences: This video shows 4 students from High Tech High schools talking about significant learning experiences that they’ve had during their projects.
• Deeper Learning series of 50 short videos put together by the Hewlett Foundation and the Teaching Channel that document deeper learning best practices across 10 high-performing progressive school networks including High Tech High, New Tech Network, Big Picture Learning, Envision Schools, Internationals Network for Public Schools, and Expeditionary Learning.
• Personalized Learning: Enabling Student Voice and Should Through Projects is an article and video from Edutopia about Nashville Big Picture High School
• MLTS Learning Sparks has short video clips with guiding questions from the movie Most Likely to Succeed. Then check out this Innovation Playlist.

• A Test of Value: What is the purpose of assessment? (Harvard Applied Physics Class)
• A School within a School: Can an existing school be transformed in a reasonable time frame? (Albemarle High School)

• Small Hacks to Big Impact: Growing a Culture of Deeper Learning: The administrative team at ASCEND in Oakland, CA have used a School Retool hacking approach to shape their adult learning culture. This is a story of how small hacks can build a school-wide culture that supports deeper learning practices for all students.
• The Need for Revolutionary Networks by Chris Unger. Northeastern University is developing network of K-12 experiential learning educators called NExT. This includes such places as IowaBig, BVCAPS, and One Stone, Barrington, RI and Natick, MA.

Structures that Support PBL

Digital Portfolios

• Alec Patton’s Digital Portfolio (HS Humanities at HTHCV)
• Mike Strong’s Digital Portfolio (HS Humanities at HTH)
• Dan Wise’s Digital Portfolio  (HS Humanities at Prospect Hill Academy)
• Kyle Linnik’s Digital Portfolio (MS Math/Science at HTMCV)
• Jeff Robin’s Digital Portfolio (HS Art at HTH)
• Janna Steffan and Georgia Figueroa (2nd Grade at HTE)

Project Planning Templates and Planning Resources

• 8 Question Project Presentation Doc (Buck Institute Template)

• Mike’s Exemplar Project Presentation Document for US-Mexico Border Podcasting Project

• Project Design Overview and Student Learning Guide (Buck Institute Template)

• Mike’s Exemplar Overview and Student Learning Guide for US-Mexico Border Podcasting Project

• Jeff Robin’s “PME: My Advice to You,” explains how Jeff approaches the Planning, Management and Exhibition of projects.

On Feedback and Critique for student work

• Ron Berger’s In-Depth Critique Protocol (1 page)
• Series of Short Videos of Different Structures for Critique at HTH
• Teacher’s Guide to Project-based learning by Alec Patton. Awesome resource, but it’s a PDF of a whole book (102 pages). You’ll just want pages 24-31 to start, which is “The Three Keys to Successful Projects: Exhibition, Multiple Drafts, Critique”
• Austin’s Butterfly
• How can we Flip Assessment to build a PBL Culture? From BIE Blog
• How to get High Quality Work in PBL by John Larmer from BIE Blog

Presentations of Learning

Presentation of Learning (HTH Video)

How To: Presentations of Learning (HTH Video)

Share Your Learning project to expand Exhibitions of Learning

Equitable Approaches to PBL

ELL Scaffolds for PBL

PBL for Equity & Inclusion of Students with Special Needs

Are you over-scaffolding? By Katie Martin

Examples and Inspiration

Probably the single best resource, this website of PBL Resources was created by two of my colleagues at High Tech High and links to many of the best stuff I’ve seen. This website was designed to help educators and school leaders design projects and set up a culture of critique, celebration, connection, project-based learning and innovation in their classrooms and schools.

Fully Fleshed-out Projects You Can Take and Use

Check out these fully planned out projects from reDesign and the Buck Institute for Education. The projects were designed to make the planning process visible for teacher candidates and those who are new to PBL.

Project Resource Banks:

• EL Education Models of Excellence Project from Expeditionary Learning has hundreds of projects sortable by grade and content area
• Project Cards from High Tech High are great if you’re a more visual learner
• Buck Institute Project Search has 574 Projects that are searchable by grade, content area and keyword
• Better Their World Student Project Database is a curated, freely-available listing of completed & potential real-world-projects with MEASURABLE POSITIVE IMPACT on the world. The projects in the database are intended to stimulate students’ and teachers’ thinking about what today’s students can accomplish in the world.
• Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Project Exemplars Library Google Doc

For those who want a more curated experience exploring projects check out:

EL Education Models of Excellence Project- Illuminating Standards Video Series for videos of 20 Model Projects

Includes great projects such as...

• Economics Illustrated: Illuminating Standards Video by Dan Wise and Jeff Robin at High Tech High (6 minutes)- Humanities & Art
• Water Quality and the Future Use of Loon Pond: Illuminating Standards Video (6 1/2 minutes)- Biology
• Get Bent-Illuminating Standards Video by High Tech High Teachers- Math/Trigonometry and Art

• Peacekeepers of Chicago Illuminating Standards video by Polaris Charter Academy (6 minutes)-Humanities

Math Projects

High School Math Projects from HTH Project Cards

• Geometric Mural Project (10th grade)
• 3 Acts: Students create 3 Act Math Problems
• Conceptual Art Project
• Once Upon a Prime
• Chipotle Challenges
• Calculicious
• Mind the Gap
• Graph-It Design
• Best Project of All Time
• The Sangak{you} Project
• Mystery Code Project 

Math Projects from HTH Website

• Out Mathematical Adventure (6th grade)
• X, Y marks the spot (7th grade)
• Open-ended math problems (6th, 7th, 8th grades)
• Family Math (6th grade)
• The Parchitecture Project (6th grade)

Research

Projects that have been put to the test