Impactful PBL Podcast

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I enjoyed college because most of the learning activities the professors used would be considered active learning strategies. We engaged in many case studies or projects, and the professor would utilize relevant current events to lead class discussions. I can share specific learning activities that I experienced during undergraduate and graduate school which occurred over 15 years ago. We want students to remember their learning experiences two decades later as well.

In a previous episode, I shared the 6 A's of project design that Adria Steinberg developed: authenticity, academic rigor, applied learning, active exploration, adult connections, and assessment practices. We discussed incorporating adult connections or relationships in a project-based learning unit in a previous episode. This episode will explore how to ensure that your PBL unit includes active exploration and applied learning opportunities so students can experience academic-related content beyond the classroom.

Tune in to...

• [2:19] Hear the common concerns teachers express when incorporating active learning strategies during project-based learning units
• [2:45 Discover the benefits of active exploration and how to integrate it within your unit
• [4:50] Explore how applied learning leads to long term mastery and creates memorable experiences
• [7:19] Identify ways to enhance students’ learning experiences and how to reflect on a previous project-based learning unit 

Resource: Read the accompanying article for this episode. 

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 Planning Guide Now >>

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.

When researching the components of a quality project-based learning unit, you will find several frameworks stating what PBL should look sound, and feel like. Depending on the source, the actual vocabulary may vary, but they all share the same concepts. In Adria Steinberg's Connected Learning Communities: A Toolkit for Reinventing High School, written in 2001, she shares the 6 A's of instructional or project design.

 One instructional design component is to include adult connections/relationships when designing learning experiences. Integrating adult connections or relationships means providing students with adult mentors and coaches from the wider community. This episode will explore how incorporating community partners can positively impact your students' project-based learning experience and ways to prepare adult partners for collaboration.

Tune in to...

• [0:45]  Discover the 6 A’s of instructional design 
• [2:14]  Analyze the benefits of incorporating community partners
• [3:30]  Identify the various roles that community partners can hold
• [5:34]  Hear why it’s important to have a real community partner
• [6:08]  Explore how to prepare community partners to support your PBL unit

Resource: Read the accompanying article for this episode. 

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 Planning Guide Now >>

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.

Every school year, I explore a new professional learning growth project. Some of my past explorations included in-depth research on virtual coaching, program design, curriculum writing, designing after-school programming, and project-based learning. This year, I'm examining how to utilize portfolios effectively to improve practice. There are several types of portfolios. Before collecting artifacts, it's essential to determine your portfolio's purpose and intended outcome. Let's discuss how creating a portfolio as a project-based educator can help you document your learning journey. This episode will examine how to use portfolios to enhance educators' teaching practice and how I plan to incorporate portfolios into my work.

Tune in to...

• [1:16]  Explore the various types of portfolios and why it’s important to choose the correct one based on your goals
• [3:22]  Examine the purpose of a teaching portfolio
• [5:12]  Discover how I plan to support project-based teachers in developing a portfolio to document their learning journey
• [6:57] Hear how I plan to incorporate portfolios to document my learning journey

Resource: Read the accompanying article for this episode. 

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 Planning Guide Now >>

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 is not an instructional method where teachers can attend one workshop and master it. As you know, project-based educators continuously enhance their instructional skills by learning from implementation and being lifelong learners. Effective project-based educators focus on student academic and personal growth and their own growth as well. 

They understand that it's a journey; however, some teachers find it challenging to identify the next steps on their professional learning path. After supporting hundreds of teachers in executing PBL, I've noticed several factors that impact their ability to implement PBL successfully. In this episode, we will explore the steps to becoming an impactful project-based educator.

Tune in to...

• [0:45]  Explore the importance of continuous PBL professional development for teachers
• [2:48]  Discover the characteristics of a “wanderer” and determine if you resonate with this stage of the PBL journey
• [3:50]  Discover the characteristics of an “explorer” and determine if you resonate with this stage of the PBL journey
• [5:07] Discover the characteristics of an “adventurer” and determine if you resonate with this stage of the PBL journey
• [6:25]   Discover the characteristics of a “navigator” and determine if you resonate with this stage of the PBL journey
• [7:43]  Determine where you are on your PBL journey and how to create a professional learning goal 

Resource: Read the accompanying article for this episode. 

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 Planning Guide Now >>

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 1 of the Impactful PBL Podcast is coming to an end. It’s officially been a year since I started this podcast. The podcast started as a “learn in public” project so that I could document my professional journey and share insights about what I’m learning about project-based learning. In this episode, I’m sharing why I decided to create a “learn in public” project, how teachers can do the same, and what to expect during season 2 of the podcast.

Tune in to...

• Explore what it means to learn in public
•  Analyze the benefits of learning in public
• Discover the challenging part about learning in public  
• Examine ways teachers can learn in public
• Hear about my experience with learning in public
•  Identify the steps teachers can take to start learning in public
•  Hear what to expect for future episodes of the Impactful PBL Podcast

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 Planning Guide Now >>

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.

Let’s explore how teachers can enhance their project-based learning unit culminating event. In a previous episode, we examined how to plan a showcase to help students share their knowledge with an authentic audience.  Many teachers are able to plan creative ways for students to share their knowledge, and their students can create great solutions to their projects' driving question. However, some teachers experience difficulty fostering an environment where students are equipped to share their learning journey. In this episode, we will examine how to shift students from delivering presentations to presentations of learning.

Tune in to...

• Identify the benefits of students sharing their knowledge publicly
• Discover the difference between presentations versus presentations of learning
• Explore how a STEM school designed a showcase where students shifted from delivering presentations to presentations of learning
• Determine the teachers' role during presentations of learning
• [Learn how to help students transition from delivering presentations to presentations of learning

Resource: Read the accompanying article for this episode. 

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 Planning Guide Now >>

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.

Let’s explore how teachers can improve their project-based learning experience by creating a reflection process. Many of the teachers inside the Impactful PBL Network are wrapping up their project-based learning unit. I'm so thrilled to hear about what students and teachers are learning during their PBL experience. Educators often discuss the importance of providing space for students to reflect, but self-reflection is essential for them as well. In this episode, we will examine a protocol that teachers can use to reflect on their project-based learning experience.

Tune in to...

•  Learn the definition of reflective thought and how it impacts learning
• Discover how I created a reflection process as a math teacher and now as a professional development facilitator
• Examine how teachers can use the framework for high-quality PBL to reflect on their project-based learning unit
•  Explore how teachers can reflect on their thoughts, emotions, decisions, and behaviors to improve a project-based learning unit using eight guiding questions

Resource: Read the accompanying article for this episode. 

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 Planning Guide Now >>

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.

Let's explore how teachers can end the school year strong with project-based learning. Recently, I conducted a check-in with a few members of the Impactful PBL Network, our year-long professional learning program for current and aspiring project-based educators. Many of the teachers' goals involved executing a project-based learning unit this semester, but due to the constant changes with their schools' schedule and logistics, they are experiencing challenges with implementing their plans. Teachers have shared how they are excited about the PBL unit but wonder if it's still feasible to launch it given their current situation. This episode will explore how teachers can modify their project-based learning plan to fit their teaching environment.

Tune in to hear:

• How to decide whether to cancel a PBL unit or move forward with facilitation
• Why teachers must reimagine a PBL unit if they decide to move forward with facilitation
• How to modify each phase of the Impactful PBL Roadmap to align with your timeframe and current learning environment
•  Ways teachers can share their PBL ideas with Candice for quick feedback

Are you ready to become a high-impact project-based educator?

1. [FREE] Download the Impactful PBL Roadmap™  planning document to craft your next project-based learning unit + receive weekly tips to enhance your facilitation skills via email.
2. [FREE] Check out The Impactful PBL Roadmap™: 9 Steps to PBL Success e-guide which covers the nine phases you need to design a memorable, authentic, and rigorous learning experience for K-8 students via project-based learning.
3. [PAID] Join our Impactful PBL Roadmap™: Launch program, an online course, coach, and community of educators exploring and implementing research-backed project-based instructional practices.

Support the show

Thank you for listening! If you find this podcast useful and would like to support the show, please rate, review and subscribe 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.

Let's explore how to use feedback to improve students' work during project-based learning by giving quality feedback. Feedback is an essential component of the formative assessment process. The challenge is that sometimes students receive inadequate feedback during the project-based learning unit, preventing them from producing their highest level of work. There are some strategies that teachers can utilize to ensure that they are fostering a culture of feedback in their classroom. This episode will examine how teachers can use effective feedback strategies to enhance students’ public products.

Tune in to hear how to:

• Identify the purpose of providing feedback and how it impacts someone's performance
•  Discover the reasons why some teachers give students feedback that doesn't help them improve their skills
• Explore five strategies to ensure that teachers are providing quality feedback to students
•  Examine the various ways to use written and oral feedback to enhance students' public products

Resource: Read the accompanying article for this episode. 

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 Planning Guide Now >>

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.

Let's discuss how to plan a showcase to help students share their knowledge with an authentic audience. During phase 7 of the Impactful PBL Roadmap, we explore how to finalize students’ showcase agenda to determine how students will share what they learned during the PBL unit with an authentic audience. At this stage, you may be excited for students to share their public products but may feel a little overwhelmed as you begin to think about the actions needed to execute the showcase. This episode will examine how to plan a project showcase with less overwhelm using two planning templates.

Tune in to hear:

• The benefits of allowing students to share their knowledge publicly
•  The types of public products that students can create to share the solution to their challenge or problem
•  How to create a timeline using a spreadsheet to track and manage the tasks for the event
• How to use a run of show document to map out what will happen before the event, during the event, and after the event, whether you are hosting an in-person or virtual showcase
•  Why it's important to have a communication method for all adults involved with the showcase execution

Resource: Read the accompanying article for this episode. 

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 Planning Guide Now >>

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.