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As most of you know, the uber gods of PBL are BIE. I was first introduced to the BIE PBL 'model' from mate Dean Groom who handed me over what I still refer to as my 'PBL Bible' - a ring-binder full of the BIE Freebies that help teachers plan effective projects and keep students on track as they move through the different phases of each project. The cool thing is that you can use as much or as little as you want … PBL is a very personal process that (like all good teaching) should be tailored to the expertise and needs of the teacher and students. However, there are 8 Elements of Project Based Learning that can be called the 'essential elements' of PBL … keeping an eye on these and 'testing' your project design based on them can help you determine if what you're creating isn't just a 'project'. I really like this statement from BIE contrasting PBL and traditional 'projects':

A typical unit with a "project" add-on begins by presenting students with knowledge and concepts and then, once gained, giving students the opportunity to apply them. Project Based Learning begins with the vision of an end product or presentation. This creates a context and reason to learn and understand the information and concepts.

Project Based Learning has made a splash in the secular education world, and it can be a powerful tool for Jewish classrooms, too. In fact, project based learning can be a dynamic technique for teaching a wide range of Judaic topics, especially Jewish values. Why? Because we want students to live Jewish values, not just study them, and PBL is all about learning in the context of real life: Project based learning is hands-on, student-driven, and involves projects designed around real-world activities. Students build life skills while researching and tackling issues that are meaningful to them, resulting in learning that can be deeper and more lasting.

You may have never tried project-based learning, or you may teach in a purely PBL environment. Whatever your background, you'll find that PBL can be a powerful instructional approach. Here are ten reasons why.

"What boosts PBL from a fun and engaging exercise to a rigorous and powerful real-world learning experience? Researchers have identified four key components that are critical to teaching successfully with PBL (Barron & Darling-Hammond, 2008; Ertmer & Simons, 2005; Mergendoller & Thomas, 2005; Hung, 2008). All of these play a role in the curriculum-design process."

The rise of technology used in classrooms has made learning much more interactive. The emergence of iPads to browser-based tools in project-based learning, take teaching to a new level in the 21st century. Even the current trends in education include the use of new technology, from collaborative projects to blending traditional textbook teaching with innovative tools. - See more at: http://www.teachthought.com/learning/project-based-learning/11-tools-for-better-project-based-learning/#sthash.hDYb4TZ5.dpuf

#PBL On-line - a great resource for learning about Project-based learning!

Welcome to PBL-Online, a one stop solution for Project Based Learning! You'll find all the resources you need to design and manage high quality projects for middle and high school students.

From the West Virginia Department of Education. As they say: "Many people have requested a source for the management tools that are used in the Project Based Learning plans on Teach 21. Here is the place. You will find rubrics, checklists, task management charts, learning logs and other documents that will help your PBL planning and delivery."

The Project-Based Learning designs on this website were created by West Virginia teachers who worked with the WVDE Office of Instruction through participation in the Teacher Leadership Institute, the Secondary PBL project, content-specific professional development in mathematics, and the Model Schools and Classrooms project

You know the hardest thing about teaching with project-based learning? Explaining it to someone. It seems to me that whenever I asked someone the definition of PBL, the description was always so complicated that my eyes would begin to glaze over immediately. So to help you in your own musings, I've devised an elevator speech to help you clearly see what's it all about.

Andrew Miller provides tips for conducting Math PBL projects with examples

"It is often said that leading and teaching in project-based learning schools are like building an airplane while flying it. During the summer, we land the plane and we have a chance to just build. In the spirit of summer, this post is brief and concrete so we have more time for the beach and planning! Here are three ways you can plan for student success this summer"

new Elements course on Project-Based Learning! Anyone may take this course independently online.

"John Mergendoller is Executive Director of the Buck Institute for Education, where he leads a talented team focused on building the capacity of districts, schools and teachers to do high quality Project Based learning. He has taught in both elementary and high schools, and received his Ph.D. in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan."

John Mergendoller is Executive Director of the Buck Institute for Education, where he leads a talented team focused on building the capacity of districts, schools and teachers to do high quality Project Based learning. He has taught in both elementary and high schools, and received his Ph.D. in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan.

Project based learning in the technology classroom diary: T minus one week After spending 3 weeks teaching my grade 9's project management using Scrum, we finally moved on to Alexey Krivitsky's terrific and well-known Lego City simulation.

Teach21 Project Based Learning Making a Difference in Our World Community Social Studies Third Grade

Defines PBL and provides research, project guides, resources, and examples. 

Edutopia post includes highlights from recent webinar series featuring some outstanding PBL teachers

Six math projects that integrate real-world math problems are presented as a teaching strategy for helping students develop a greater understanding of math.

Podcast about digital-age projects hosted by Teachers Teaching Teachers