Project-Based Learning

A World of New Classroom Resources

alan.richard@sreb.org — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 16:34:00 +0000

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Students can discover the world — and educators will find a treasure of classroom resources — through SREB’s new collaboration with the National Geographic Society.

SREB is offering a free webinar series for teachers that helps them explore the National Geographic Explorer Resource Library, filled with ready-to-use lessons and activities based on the Society’s vast collection of articles, photographs and videos.

All the National Geographic Society resources are free.

Anatomy of a Project-Based Learning Project: When the Levee Breaks

Kirsten Sundell — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 20:55:00 +0000

Students at The Center for Design and Technology at Lanier High School in Buford, Georgia, study the effects of flooding on natural and built environments and design projects that protect communities from natural disasters. In partnership with SREB, Teaching Channel is visiting classrooms across the United States in which students are creating projects that make a powerful difference in their communities while also mastering advanced academic and technical content and skills.

Anatomy of a Project-Based Learning Project: The Fleet Car

Kirsten Sundell — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 20:54:00 +0000

Students at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies in Chapin, South Carolina, become real scientists, engineers and technicians as they design a fleet of vehicles powered by alternative fuel sources. In partnership with SREB, Teaching Channel is visiting classrooms across the United States in which students are creating projects that make a powerful difference in their communities while also mastering advanced academic and technical content and skills.

Anatomy of a Project-Based Learning Project: Go Baby Go!

Kirsten Sundell — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 20:50:00 +0000

Students at Wood County Technology Center in Parkersburg, West Virginia, are re-engineering and building motorized toy cars that help children with disabilities gain independent mobility and improve their cognitive, social and motor skills. In partnership with SREB, Teaching Channel is visiting classrooms across the United States in which students are creating projects that make a powerful difference in their communities while also mastering advanced academic and technical content and skills.

Powerful Project-Based Learning Instructional Practices

Kirsten Sundell — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 17:23:00 +0000

[image:9834, image right w40]This quick-reference guide presents examples of teacher and student behaviors and learning artifacts found in classrooms that embrace SREB’s six Powerful Project-Based Learning Instructional Practices:

Download the PDF

SREB’s Approach to Project-Based Learning

Kirsten Sundell — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 20:40:00 +0000

SREB offers professional development and coaching services that build teachers’ capacity to design project-based assignments that help students master content and cultivate academic, technical and workplace skills.

Our approach to project-based learning blends our decades of experience with career pathways, work-based learning and high-quality assignments with elements of the Framework for High Quality Project Based Learning.

[image:8139, image right w60]We use an industry-standard design process to “chunk” learning throughout a project-based unit. Academic or CTE teachers use this problem-solving process to scaffold learning and provide just-in-time instruction as students complete different phases of their projects.

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Powerful PBL Practices

With support from SREB, teachers incorporate six powerful practices into their PBL units:

Plan authentic, intellectually demanding PBL units in which students master essential content and skills
Partner with business and postsecondary leaders to plan, implement and reflect on PBL units
Engage students in a collaborative problem-solving process
Foster a classroom environment that supports student ownership of learning
Promote sustained in-depth inquiry
Offer students ongoing, purposeful feedback and opportunities to revise and reflect on their work

Customizable Support

SREB partners with states, districts and schools to design multi-day workshops that introduce teachers or teacher teams to project-based learning and engage them in designing their first PBL units. Follow-up coaching can include:

Online planning to support the implementation of a PBL unit
Visiting classes to observe student work or co-teach
Examining student outcomes with teachers after a PBL unit
Coaching teachers through problems with a PBL unit
Developing additional PBL units
Embedding literacy and math
Integrating academic and CTE curricula
Building business and industry partnerships

SREB’s approach to PBL serves as a guiding framework for our Advanced Career and Middle Grades STEM curricula and is a natural extension of our Powerful Literacy Practices and Powerful Mathematics Practices.

Leslie Eaves