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Welcome to the PBL Highway, my new series aimed at helping you on the road to project-based learning!\u00a0 Setting up a student-driven, rigorous, community-focused project-based learning (PBL) unit can feel daunting, so the best way to tackle anything this huge (it’s yuge!) is to break it down into manageable steps.<\/p>\n
A little forward planning — some templates, checklists and rubrics — and you got this.<\/p>\n
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Different organizations name the stages differently, but the essence of each is the same:<\/p>\n
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- What impact has the Vermont Marble Company<\/a> historically had on the town of Proctor, Vermont?\u00a0 How can that impact be felt today?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- How can we protect Vermont forests from invasive species?<\/span><\/li>\n
- What challenges does each climate zone face?<\/span><\/li>\n
- How do idling cars impact the air quality at our school?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Next, make it authentic.<\/h2>\n
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- Connect the driving question to a local event or problem that impacts their students and their community. For example, students from Proctor Elementary School, in Proctor VT, will be visiting Vermont television station WCAX <\/a>to learn what goes into a weather report before they create their own weather reports with a green screen.
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- Students at Shelburne Community School collected data around carbon emissions and idling cars in front of their school. The project’s authenticity came from both the data and the larger idea that they were getting involved in measuring the quality of the air they themselves breathed all day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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