Launch

Launching a student project is a collaborative development process. You'll begin by drafting a short proposal that describes your idea for the project and the course content it will address. You'll end the launch phase with a complete project plan that reflects the unique context of your school and students and clearly describes your project's learning goals, activities, and student learning outcomes.

Here are two tools to support your big-picture thinking and planning. Use these tools and the guidance below to get your project launched!

Project Planner : Click on the link to make your own copy to document your proposal and full project plan. Keep completed plans in case you want to repeat the project, share with others, or tap to inspire future projects.

PBL Framework : Use this tool before, during, and after completing your project to support ongoing planning and self-assessment. It identifies six essential design elements, associated design questions, and a continuum for understanding to what extent your idea matches the criteria for high-quality PBL. Important Note: While good projects need not address all six elements, we recommend addressing at least four elements to maximize student engagement and deeper learning.

Develop Initial Project Proposal

Follow these steps to develop your project idea, integrate feedback from colleagues, and secure initial approval to develop a full project plan.

Explore the PBL Framework and consider how your project idea connects with the PBL design elements.
Open the Project Planner and save a copy for your specific project plan.
Review the additional project planning guidance below on this page and the LIFT and LAND pages on this website.
In your Project Planner, complete Sections 1-4. Keep in mind you do not need to have all the answers at this point. Don't let perfection be the enemy of the good!
If helpful, share your proposal with colleagues and potential collaborators for feedback.
Share your proposal with your building administrators (principals, department leads) and discuss scheduling, funding, risk management, or other steps needed to move forward.

Revise and Complete Project Plan

Follow these steps to develop your complete project plan.

Revise Sections 1-4 of your Project Planner to reflect further thought and the feedback you received on your proposal.
Review the "LIFT" page on this website.
Complete Sections 5-6 of your Project Planner.
Map your next steps and a timeline (a template is provided at the end of the Project Planner template).
Share the plan with your collaborators for input on next steps and to clarify roles and responsibilities.
Share the plan with your building administrator for input on next steps and timeline, discuss resources and ongoing coordination.

Additional Guidance

Click to explore as you work through these complex aspects of project planning.

Additional Project Planning Guidance

Essential or Driving Questions

As an inquiry-based approach, PBL designs learning around questions that teachers pose or that students generate based on their interests or findings as the project unfolds. Generally, there are two types of questions:

Driving Questions seek to solve a specific problem:

How can we… (do this) ...so that (problem solved)?

Using this model, sample driving questions could be:

How can we help our peers develop eating habits that combat nutrition-related chronic diseases?
How can we use biomimicry to design safety equipment for firefighters?
How can we use information design to help inform voters about ballot initiatives?

Essential Questions are for projects that explore big ideas, dig into debatable issues, and demand supporting evidence.

Some sample essential questions are:

What should our meal plan be in a world with constantly changing advice from experts?
When is fiction revealing and when is it a lie?
What good is a bug?

Reflect on the Context

Reflect on the Context

Successful projects typically connect to the unique context of your classroom, your students, your school, and your strengths as a teacher. Important questions to consider are:

What do students and people in this community identify as concerns and how can these individuals and issues shape my project design?
What is my identity and role in terms of power and opportunity? How does it affect how I engage with students and curriculum?
How do I maintain awareness of my biases and challenge them in order to see my students and our community more authentically?
How can we provide authentic opportunities for students to have voice and choice in their learning?
What challenges and opportunities are at play in my school and/or pathway related to PBL this year?

Mapping Learning Goals and Standards

Successful projects holistically integrate content-area standards with PPS' Graduate Portrait elements and social-emotional development priorities. The questions and examples in Section 2 of the Project Planner template will help you think through the knowledge, skills, and dispositions students will gain through their engagement in project activities.

What key course concepts, themes, or inquiry methods are addressed by this project? (Ex: Supporting ideas with evidence, thinking like a historian, using the scientific method…)
How are graduate portrait elements built into this project? (Ex: Inclusive and Collaborative Problem Solvers, Powerful and Effective Communicators, Influential and Informed Global Stewards)
Which power standards will be mastered and what student work will serve as evidence? (Ex: ELA 10.2.1 Students write informational texts… Ex: Annotated script for documentary video)

FAQs

Help us develop this section by emailing your questions to nlegters@pps.net