As schools around the world focus on how best to prepare students for success in the 21st century, there’s been much debate about what approach works best. Educational experts -- from classroom teachers to university professors, from parents to politicians -- have weighed in on what schools should look like and how they should run. Opinions about how to "reform" schools or introduce new innovations dominate the literature. Yet one perspective, perhaps the most critical, has been missing from much of the conversation -- the student.

Whether or not your school provides explicit or implicit opportunities to address Passover, Easter, and other spring religious observances, our teens need us to use this time of year to have important conversations about aspirations.

Considering project-based learning as a way to teach 21st century competencies? Or perhaps you have already used PBL in your schools and want support for your discussions with administrators, parents or board members? In either case, it might be helpful to know about the strong research evidence that PBL, when supported by good professional development, can in turn support the teaching and learning of 21st century skills significantly better than more traditional alternatives.

Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Thinking Through Project-Based Learning: Guiding Deeper Inquiry by Jane Krauss and Suzie Boss. It was published this month by Corwin.

Take a moment and imagine a creative work environment. Don't worry about the kind of work going on. Just focus on the space. Close your eyes and picture it. What is that space like? What does it sound like? How are people interacting? Is there movement? Is there evidence of work in progress? Is it tidy, or busy-messy? Can you imagine working there?