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Picture this: You're excited to bring project-based learning to your school. Your teachers say they're experienced with PBL, and you're ready to dive into advanced implementation strategies.

Sounds promising, right?

But here's what we recently discovered at one school: While leaders believed most of their teachers were PBL-savvy, a simple needs assessment revealed that less than half had actually used project-based instruction in their classrooms. This gap between perception and reality could have derailed their entire implementation.

This episode explores why understanding your actual starting point is crucial for PBL success. I’m sharing the exact process we use with our partner schools to ensure project-based initiatives don't just start strong – they stick.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• The six essential steps to create an effective needs assessment survey
• Why sending surveys 3 weeks before training is the sweet spot for success
• Ways to evaluate both novice and experienced PBL practitioners
• How to use assessment data to get genuine teacher buy-in

P.S. Have you taken the Impactful PBL Readiness Assessment yet? It's a great resource for instructional leaders like you who want to make informed decisions about implementing or strengthening PBL in their schools.
Get Your Free Assessment Now >>

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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.

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.

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

The challenges instructional leaders encounter when launching a project-based learning initiative often stem from a lack of vision setting. A well-defined vision for a project-based learning (PBL) initiative is essential. The vision not only articulates the purpose and goals of the initiative but also aligns with the school's core values and broader educational objectives. It fosters a cohesive and focused approach to implementation, ensuring educators understand the expectations and engage in the process.

This episode explores practical steps for creating and operationalizing a vision for project-based learning. I discuss the importance of school administrators' analyzing their current educational environment to formulate clear and measurable goals. I highlight the need for flexibility in the execution while remaining steadfast in the vision, acknowledging that the journey may require modifications based on feedback and challenges.

Stay tuned for the next episode to explore the importance of boosting teachers' competence to execute the vision effectively.

Now what?

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.

In this fast-paced, ever-changing world, teachers must adapt their teaching methods to prepare students for the challenges they will face in the real world. One approach that has gained traction for its ability to cultivate critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and student engagement is project-based learning (PBL). However, implementing and sustaining a high-impact project-based culture within a school or district comes with challenges. In this episode, we'll explore the roadblocks often encountered in building a sustainable PBL culture and discuss strategies for overcoming these obstacles.

We will discuss three primary roadblocks that school or district leaders encounter when launching a PBL initiative: lack of clarity, competence, and capacity.

1). Lack of Clarity

One of the common challenges in implementing PBL is the need for more clarity surrounding how the methodology aligns with the school's existing initiatives, curriculum, and overall culture. This lack of coherence can lead to a feeling of overwhelm, with numerous initiatives competing for attention, making it challenging to execute a strategic plan for project-based learning effectively.

2). Lack of Competence

Another roadblock is teachers receiving inadequate professional development to become proficient project-based educators. For PBL to thrive, teachers need proper training, coaching, mentoring, and access to resources to develop the necessary skills and confidence to facilitate PBL experiences for their students.

3). Lack of Capacity

Even if a PBL initiative launch is successful, sustaining it over the long term requires a robust support system, structured resources, and routines.

The journey of building a sustainable, high-impact, project-based learning culture is both challenging and rewarding. Acknowledging the potential roadblocks and taking proactive steps to overcome these obstacles can provide students with transformative learning experiences and prepare them for the future.

In this episode, I highlight three critical phases for achieving this goal: gaining clarity, boosting competence, and building capacity.

Stay tuned for the next episode, where we will explore strategies for gaining clarity by creating a vision to support the growth of a project-based culture.

Now what?

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.

Welcome to season 3! This series will focus on how to build a sustainable, high-impact, project-based culture at your school site or within your school district without overwhelming instructional leaders, teachers, and students. This series is designed for school leaders, professional development coordinators for districts, PBL coordinators, teacher mentors, or anyone serving in a role that supports current or aspiring project-based teachers.

It's been a while since our last season. So, in this episode, I will...

• Share what we've been up to (spoiler alert: supporting teachers to facilitate PBL) and what we have learned about providing professional development focused on project-based learning
• Explore how my journey with project-based learning has evolved from being a teacher to designing professional development
• Explain how we are reimagining professional development for project-based educators and what it means for the Impactful PBL Network, our core program
• Preview the episode topics for season 3 and how it will help you launch or relaunch a low-burden, high-impact project-based learning culture at your school site

Listen to the next episode in this series to examine the components necessary to build a sustainable project-based culture at your school site.

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.

Season 2 of the Impactful PBL Podcast ended in May which marked two years of this podcast. The podcast started as a “learn in public” project so that I can document my professional journey and share insights about what I’m learning about project-based learning. In this episode, I’m sharing a progress update on my 2021-2022 goals and why I'm pausing the podcast.

Tune in to...

• Explore what it means to learn in public and why I started this podcast
• Hear why I'm shifting to building in public
• Examine successes & failures with my 2021-2022 professional growth goals
• Hear about my professional growth goals for the 2022-2023 school year and what it means for this podcast

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.