Do you have a topic to suggest or insight to share? Text me.

If you have been following the sustainable PBL series, you now understand that building a sustainable, high-impact, project-based culture is challenging and rewarding. School or district leaders encounter three primary roadblocks when launching a project-based learning (PBL) initiative: lack of clarity, lack of competence, and lack of capacity. In episodes 2-5, we explored the importance of overcoming these roadblocks and how to overcome them. If you skipped those episodes, I highly recommend you listen to them.

The success of project-based learning initiatives depends on initial implementation and teachers' sustaining project-based instructional practices over time. Instructional leaders play a crucial role in this process by creating the enabling conditions for teachers.

While exploring the three major roadblocks is beneficial, we must also address some common misconceptions about implementing project-based learning. These misconceptions can prevent you from starting PBL in your school or cause major setbacks to your progress (for those implementing PBL now), so let's address them.

In this episode, we will explore:

• Misconception 1: PBL doesn't require ongoing support
• Misconception 2: PBL isn't practical
• Misconception 3: PBL is too complicated
• Misconception 4: PBL is ineffective
• Misconception 5: PBL conflicts with other initiatives

Support the show

Thank you for listening! If you find this podcast useful and would like to support the show, please rate, review, and follow using your favorite podcasting app. Sharing is caring. When you leave a review, you are helping fellow educators find this podcast, enabling them to design impactful project-based learning experiences for their students.

Do you have a topic to suggest or insight to share? Text me.

The success of project-based learning initiatives depends on initial implementation efforts and teachers’ ability to sustain project-based instructional practices over time. Instructional leaders play a crucial role in this process by creating the conditions necessary to enhance teachers' ability to enact the core practices of project-based instruction. The challenge is figuring out how to foster the conditions for launching a successful project-based learning initiative and then how to maintain this effort beyond one school year.

In this episode, we will explore three tools to guide instructional leaders through planning their capacity-building efforts.

1. Impactful Projects Readiness Assessment: a self-reflection tool to help instructional leaders identify progress and growth areas so they can craft an action plan to foster a high-impact, sustainable PBL initiative at their school
2. Impactful Projects Success Path: a rubric describing the phases of a project-based learning initiative and the conditions necessary to achieve each level
3. Impactful Projects Success Map: a planning guide to help instructional leaders begin taking action toward the next implementation phase

Resource: Take the Impactful Projects Readiness Assessment and receive the accompanying resources mentioned above.

Support the show

Thank you for listening! If you find this podcast useful and would like to support the show, please rate, review, and follow using your favorite podcasting app. Sharing is caring. When you leave a review, you are helping fellow educators find this podcast, enabling them to design impactful project-based learning experiences for their students.

Do you have a topic to suggest or insight to share? Text me.

Project-based learning (PBL) holds the transformative power to engage students actively, foster collaboration, and develop essential problem-solving skills. While PBL yields numerous benefits, implementation has its challenges.

Common challenges teachers face include:

• Adapting to a facilitator role
• Leveraging technology effectively
• Aligning projects with academic standards
• Conducting frequent formative assessments
• Differentiating instruction to cater to students' needs

Therefore, a comprehensive teacher development program is necessary to adopt project-based learning successfully. One-off workshops cannot suffice for the depth of understanding required. To genuinely foster a culture of project-based instruction, professional development should be continuous to provide the support necessary for educators to refine their instructional practices. In this episode, we unpack how high-impact professional development for teachers can increase student academic outcomes.

Stay tuned for the next episode; we will examine how to build capacity to sustain a project-based learning initiative.

Resource: Read the accompanying article for this episode.

Support the show

Thank you for listening! If you find this podcast useful and would like to support the show, please rate, review, and follow using your favorite podcasting app. Sharing is caring. When you leave a review, you are helping fellow educators find this podcast, enabling them to design impactful project-based learning experiences for their students.