PBLU Brings Free Professional Development Online
Editor's note: Today is the sixth and final in a series of posts from PBL World, a global gathering of educators interested in project-based learning. Join the conversation on Twitter by following the hashtag #pblworld.
The five-day global learning experience known as PBL World wrapped up Friday with the announcement of a new online resource for teachers interested in project-based learning. PBLU, offering free professional development from the Buck Institute for Education (BIE), gets underway in late July.
PBLU offers a way to meet the growing demand from K-12 teachers who want to shift from traditional instruction to teaching with projects. Unlike workshops that focus on project design, PBLU will emphasize project implementation, management and assessment. A series of five courses, each lasting for two weeks, will take teachers through all phases of PBL, from "How to Launch a Project" to "How to Showcase Student Work." A capstone experience will be offered for those who complete the five-course sequence, leading to PBL certification. Social media will be incorporated throughout to connect participants and encourage teacher collaboration.
PBLU draws on the work of expert PBL teachers, including several from High Tech High in San Diego, California. They have contributed project plans for elementary and secondary, aligned to the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and math, that provide PBLU participants with a starting place for implementing their own projects. The library of project plans will continue to expand in coming months. Educators can add requests for future project topics to a "community wish list."
PBL World Plans
PBL World, the first event of its kind, drew more than 450 educators from several countries to Napa, California, for a week of workshops and intensive professional development on project-based learning. Sponsored by BIE and Napa Unified School District, the event took place at Napa New Technology High.
Read about the highlights in this special series of Edutopia blog posts:
Plans for PBL World 2013 are already underway, with dates set for July 17-22, 2013. Stay tuned for details.