PBL Blog

As we roll out Project Pals, one of the things that keeps me busy is how to teach users to identify the main parts of a problem. As intuitive as it may seem, this is one of the most complicated parts of problem solving in a project setting. I thought about this problem a lot…

Students are tired of boring classrooms. Teachers are sick of disengaged students. It doesn’t have to be this way. Project-based learning offers a fun and meaningful alternative to “teaching to the test.” If you’re interested in trying a new approach to learning, you don’t have to do it alone. Project Pals integrates Common Core with…

In a typical American classroom, students are passive recipients of knowledge. They must memorize long strings of information that feel decidedly disconnected from the real world. Inquiry-based learning (IBL) provides a fun, engaging alternative to the boredom many students and teachers feel. By deeply engaging students in projects that are relevant, IBL can lure in…

Student-centered learning (SCL) might seem inconsistent with basic educational goals. After all, the purpose of school is for students to gain knowledge, right? To many teachers, it seems obvious that for knowledge to be useful, lessons must be centered around the goals of the teacher or district. The results of this hierarchical approach are visible…

Every teacher knows that STEM-based learning is the wave of the future. Most also know that STEM is incomplete without art and literature. Project-based learning is an ideal way to master STEAM skills in a way that feels relevant to students. Projects help students master useful skills, keep learning fun, and allow students to direct…

Critical thinking, communication, creative thinking, and collaboration are vital in the workplace, at home, and in virtually every interaction your students will have. Yet today’s teaching styles consistently fail to help students master these “four Cs.” The right curriculum can overcome this deficit, helping your students prepare for the real world while still meeting or…

Learning needs to be fun, relevant, and engaging. Hundreds of studies on how children learn tell us that children learn best when they’re playing or investigating the world around them. Kids demand relevant learning environments. Yet, today’s educational landscape affords children few opportunities to learn through play and investigation. Twenty-first century skills require a demanding,…

In a TED talk titled: “Can we build AI without losing control over it“, Sam Harris–a neuroscientist and philosopher–claims that Intelligence is a product of information processing, and as machines are better and faster in processing information and handling huge loads of data, if left unchecked, machines will eventually take us over. In a different…

When employees are working on a project at the workplace, it is directed to achieve a goal. This goal is usually laced with a series of problems that workers have to tackle before success is achieved. Whether the goal is to produce a part for an engineering project or to develop a marketing plan for…

Schools are adopting project-based learning in growing numbers. Although it may seem like a trend, it really stems from a development in pedagogical thinking over the past fifty years that advocated a shift away from teachers imparting knowledge to relatively passive students, to learners actively participating in the co-construction of knowledge. Being a complete departure…

According to the Buck Institute for Education, there are forty years of accumulated evidence that the instructional strategies and procedures that make up standard-focused project-based learning are effective in building deep content understanding, raising academic achievement, and encouraging student motivation to learn. Evidence that has greatly contributed to a growing number of schools adopting or…

For many years I was teaching students computer programming. I was really fascinated with LCSI’s Microworlds and Hypercard because both provided students with a multimedia environment where students could become creators of digital products. Most projects focused on a real problem that students were trying to solve and they used built-in text, graphics, media and…