"Even the smallest things, like the living cell, become big enough to grasp in Rob Olazagasti's middle school science class, where he enables students to learn by creating, remember by experiencing, and show what they know by teaching."
"At the end of a project-based learning (PBL) experience, students typically share what they have learned or discovered with an audience. Depending on the project, students might publish their work online, make presentations at a public event, or pitch their ideas to a panel of judges.
For veteran PBL teacher Don Wettrick, "nothing is better than a project that gets community buy-in." Connecting students with an authentic audience is key, he says, to driving engagement and helping students relate what they are learning to the real world. "My top two goals are to help students find great opportunities [for real-world problem solving], and then cheerlead them to a great audience." "
"During last year's edJEWcon conference (a Teaching & Learning Institute for Jewish Educators, which I help organize with Andrea Hernandez and Jon Mitzmacher), we invited our Middle School students to attend our keynote session with Heidi Hayes Jacobs. We all watched magic happen, when students (without being asked) created their own backchannel and added their perspective to the conversation about THEIR learning."