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This article highlights the shift from traditional teaching, termed transmission, to 21st century inquiry-based teaching, termed transformation. The digital age has changed the learner and if formal education is to remain relevant, the approach must also change. If students are to be equipped to solve the complex problems of society, the foundation of their learning must be critical inquiry which encourages critical thought. The article outlines the tools needed for inquiry-based learning, valid assessment and how it is more than having the students 'think outside the box'. It is a thorough overview of inquiry-based learning and what it can look like in a modern classroom.

This article proposes an evolution in teaching and learning that will facilitate the needs of the 21st century learner. Successful examples are highlighted to introduce the various pieces needed to create the picture of a new learningscape, a hybrid model of learning. First, the atlier form of learning, modeled after the architecture studio is described where student work is public within the studio and is critiqued by fellow students and directed by the instructor or master architect. He then describes an apprenticeship model in which students "learn to be" and practice productive inquiry in which they actively seek what they need in order to do what they want to do. Next, Seely-Brown explored the use of backchanneling, and bringing it to the forefront, which transforms a class into a collaborative team. Finally he describes the passion based learning exhibited by the "pro-amatuer". These are niche communities forming on the web, sharing ideas and information. The example provided was amateur astronomers who share tips, post images, and interact with each other and with professionals in the field. Seely-Brown combines these various thoughts, into what he calls the Grand Transition in our educational approach from supply-push mode to demand-pull mode. The hybrid model of learning is a culture of peer-based learning and building in which students participate in passion-based niche communities of co-creation complemented by a core curriculum.

Tech's Role in Learning is a 33 minute video produced by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach that focuses on the implementation and use of technology in Project Based Learning.  Nussbaum-Beach begins by looking at the TPAC model and the revised Bloom's Taxonomy (http://www.apa.org/ed/new_blooms.html) with an emphasis on students becoming creators (or producers) of knowledge.  She argues that the current model of classroom instruction (desks in rows, learning independently) will not work in the 21st century, and that we need to help our students construct their knowledge in a way that will prepare them for their future in an online world. The main point that Nussbaum-Beach makes in this video is that when our students get out into the real world, they will be connected to a global learning network.  Whatever they do in life, they will be able to connect and collaborate with others around the world.  It therefore becomes our job as educators to not only become connected learners ourselves, but to teach our students how to be connected learners as well.  Our students need to be constructing their knowledge and sharing/publishing their learning with the world.  She presents new "digital literacies" as tools that all students need to know to become members of this new global society and to make a difference in the world.

I launched my knowledge of PBL via this website. They offered free, online courses on this topic. They have numerous pre-constructed plans available to facilitate learning how to run PBL in the classroom.