This document outlines an introduction to project-based learning (PBL) given by Curtis Chandler. The objectives are to provide principles for effectively engaging students in PBL, examine examples of PBL in various classroom settings, preview technology tools that support PBL, and involve participants in a PBL activity. Chandler explains different levels of PBL implementation from enhancing existing projects to fully student-driven problems. He emphasizes that authentic, real-world problems are at the core of PBL and provides examples like designing a sustainable pet washing system. The document concludes by directing participants to resources on Chandler's website and having them brainstorm PBL ideas with a partner.

1. Curtis Chandler, Ph.D.
BetterLearningForSchools.com
@CurtisChandler6
PBL
2

2. Curtis Chandler, Ph.D.
BetterLearningForSchools.com
@CurtisChandler6
Creating More Problems in Education...

3. Objectives
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!
@CurtisChandler6

4. my family...

6. We need a
new fort! We need a
new fort! We need a
new fort!
We need a
new fort!

8. We need a
new fort! We need a
new fort! We need a
new fort!
We need a
new fort!

9. new
fort !?!

13. Informal

14. Orchestrated

17. 17

18. 18

19. 19

20. 20

21. 21

22. 22

23. 23

24. 24

25. 25

27. PBL
2
@CurtisChandler6

28. Creating More Problems in Education...
@CurtisChandler6

29. goo.gl/1C2q3B

30. 1. BetterLearningForSchools.com
2. 3rd tab... “Curtis’ PBL Page”

31. Objectives
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!
@CurtisChandler6

32. My task...
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!

33. Create More Problems in Education!

34. Your task...

35. Objectives
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!

36. Learning naturally results when we give
pupils something to do, not something to
learn; and the doing is of such nature as
to demand thinking, or the intentional
noting of connections...
(Dewey, 1916, 1944)

37. Learning naturally results when we give
pupils something to do, not something to
learn; and the doing is of such nature as
to demand thinking, or the intentional
noting of connections...
(Dewey, 1916, 1944)

38. Learning naturally results when we give
pupils something to do, not something to
learn; and the doing is of such nature as
to demand thinking, or the intentional
noting of connections...
(Dewey, 1916, 1944)

39. Learning naturally results when we give
pupils something to do, not something to
learn; and the doing is of such nature as
to demand thinking, or the intentional
noting of connections...
(Dewey, 1916, 1944)

40. 1) an essential body of knowledge
2) the ability to use that knowledge to
solve problems
3) the ability to extend/improve
knowledge in order to solve problems in
the future
(Howard Barrows)

41. 1) an essential body of knowledge
2) the ability to use that knowledge to
solve problems
3) the ability to extend/improve
knowledge in order to solve problems in
the future
(Howard Barrows)

42. Challenging
Problems & Questions
Authenticity
Product or Performance that
Involves your Head...
& your Hands
Critique & Revision

46. Challenging
Problems & Questions
Authenticity
Product or Performance that
Involves your Head...
& your Hands
Critique & Revision

52. Objectives
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!

53. Objectives
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!

65. 1. Analyze initial photos.
2. Build a ship.
3. Gather data.
4. Compile and present your
findings.

67. 1. Analyze initial photos.
2. Build a ship.
3. Gather data.
4. Compile and present your
findings.

68. Black hole!
Nuclear
fallout!
Meteor!

76. P.Y.S.E.U. STONE

77. S.E.T.I. STONE

78. NAME_______________________ DATE____________ HR____________
Teacher explanation-
I don’t know how many of you have ever heard of the Voyager space crafts.
They were either the coolest or the dumbest ideas that NASA has ever had.
The cool part…these crafts were designed to travel from Earth, through
our solar system, and then out into space. The crafts looked like this.
Many of the coolest things we know about other planets were discovered
from the Voyagers’ trips. We discovered a bunch of new moons, new rings
around planets, etc. Pretty cool stuff.
Now, the other cool part, or the dumb part, depending on how you see it--if you look closely at the picture
you will see this weird, golden disc. You see, some scientists who are convinced that aliens actually exist
attached this giant, golden DVD-looking-thing the space craft. On the “D VD” there were pictures, sounds,
and all sorts of stuff. If you want to see everything that is on it, click here. Don’t believe us? Click here if
you want to read about it on NASA’s site. By the way, one of the messages on the disk was this… “Friends
of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time.” So IF aliens do exist
and…IF they intercept the golden disc, they will probably come eat us! Way to go NASA!
Don’t Eat Us...Part 1
Create a P.Y.S.E.U. Stone
Your job is to convince the aliens not to eat us with some
evidence that we are civilized. The catch is... if they see
you, you’ll be lunch! Instead of speaking with them, you
must create you own P.Y.S.E.U. (Proof You Shouldn’t Eat
Us) stone. I have a scientist friend at KSU named Paul

79. around planets, etc. Pretty cool stuff.
Now, the other cool part, or the dumb part, depending on how you see it--if you look closely at the picture
you will see this weird, golden disc. You see, some scientists who are convinced that aliens actually exist
attached this giant, golden DVD-looking-thing the space craft. On the “D VD” there were pictures, sounds,
and all sorts of stuff. If you want to see everything that is on it, click here. Don’t believe us? Click here if
you want to read about it on NASA’s site. By the way, one of the messages on the disk was this… “Friends
of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time.” So IF aliens do exist
and…IF they intercept the golden disc, they will probably come eat us! Way to go NASA!
Don’t Eat Us...Part 1
Create a P.Y.S.E.U. Stone
Your job is to convince the aliens not to eat us with some
evidence that we are civilized. The catch is... if they see
you, you’ll be lunch! Instead of speaking with them, you
must create you own P.Y.S.E.U. (Proof You Shouldn’t Eat
Us) stone. I have a scientist friend at KSU named Paul
Verhage who sends monstrous weather balloons into the top
of near space to take pictures, video, and to record data. He
has agreed to send your projects up into space, attached to
one of his crafts, just like NASA did as long as we can get
them all on a single DVD.
Each of your projects will be two sided and look something like this:
FRONT (pictures) BACK (paragraphs)

80. around planets, etc. Pretty cool stuff.
Now, the other cool part, or the dumb part, depending on how you see it--if you look closely at the picture
you will see this weird, golden disc. You see, some scientists who are convinced that aliens actually exist
attached this giant, golden DVD-looking-thing the space craft. On the “D VD” there were pictures, sounds,
and all sorts of stuff. If you want to see everything that is on it, click here. Don’t believe us? Click here if
you want to read about it on NASA’s site. By the way, one of the messages on the disk was this… “Friends
of space, how are you all? Have you eaten yet? Come visit us if you have time.” So IF aliens do exist
and…IF they intercept the golden disc, they will probably come eat us! Way to go NASA!
Don’t Eat Us...Part 1
Create a P.Y.S.E.U. Stone
Your job is to convince the aliens not to eat us with some
evidence that we are civilized. The catch is... if they see
you, you’ll be lunch! Instead of speaking with them, you
must create you own P.Y.S.E.U. (Proof You Shouldn’t Eat
Us) stone. I have a scientist friend at KSU named Paul
Verhage who sends monstrous weather balloons into the top
of near space to take pictures, video, and to record data. He
has agreed to send your projects up into space, attached to
one of his crafts, just like NASA did as long as we can get
them all on a single DVD.
Each of your projects will be two sided and look something like this:
FRONT (pictures) BACK (paragraphs)
Launch

81. must create you own P.Y.S.E.U. (Proof You Shouldn’t Eat
Us) stone. I have a scientist friend at KSU named Paul
Verhage who sends monstrous weather balloons into the top
of near space to take pictures, video, and to record data. He
has agreed to send your projects up into space, attached to
one of his crafts, just like NASA did as long as we can get
them all on a single DVD.
Each of your projects will be two sided and look something like this:
FRONT (pictures) BACK (paragraphs)
Launch

82. Video Games as Design Tools

88. Where do I begin?

89. PBL

90. PBL
Get them to do stuff with their
hand and hands!

91. PBL

92. PBL
Get them to do stuff with their
hand and hands!

95. Build me a table that
supports my laptop.

100. PBL

101. PBL
Get them to do stuff with their
hand and hands!

102. PBL
Driving question...What
projects and design challenges
can I do with my kids?
Entry Points for PBL
PBL
a`la
mode
Driving question...How can I
incorporate more elements of
PBL into something that I am
already doing?
True
PBL
Driving question...What real-world
problems and projects could my
kids tackle that would allow them to
experience all components of PBL?

103. PBL a`la mode

104. Something I am
already doing...

105. Something I am
already doing...

106. PBL a`la mode

107. What could that look like at ?

116. Something I am
already doing...

123. PBL a`la mode

129. Build a door for this sound-booth!

130. Build a door for this sound-booth!
What are
some things we
will need to know
about?

131. Build a door for this sound-booth!
What are
some things we
will need to know
about?
Where are we
going to discover the
answers to those
questions?

132. Build a door for this sound-booth!
What are
some things we
will need to know
about?
Where are we
going to discover the
answers to those
questions?
How can we evaluate our
solutions?

133. Next Step--Completely build your
own sound-booth!
What are
some things we
will need to know
about?
Where are we
going to discover the
answers to those
questions?
How can we evaluate our
solutions?

134. PBL a`la mode

135. PBL
Driving question...What
projects and design challenges
can I do with my kids?
Entry Points for PBL
PBL
a`la
mode
Driving question...How can I
incorporate more elements of
PBL into something that I am
already doing?
True
PBL
Driving question...What real-world
problems and projects could my
kids tackle that would allow them to
experience all components of PBL?

136. Something I am
already doing...

137. Something I am
already doing...

141. PBL a`la mode

142. Real PBL

144. •Historical Investigations
•Decision Making
•Problem Solving
•Systems Analysis
•Experimental Inquiry
•Invention
PBL Tasks
Adapted from Marzano’s
‘Generating and Testing Hypotheses’

145. PBL Tasks

146. PBL Tasks

147. In real PBL, the problem is identified
by students, rather than given to
them.

148. In real PBL, the problem is identified
by students, rather than given to
them.

149. In real PBL, the problem is identified
by students, rather than given to
them.

150. Mini-explorations that provide skills
and knowledge.

151. Design a system for pet-washing
that reuses, recycles, and conserves
water.

152. Design a system for pet-washing
that reuses, recycles, and conserves
water.

153. Real PBL

157. What would it take to survive
off of the grid?

158. What would it take to survive
off of the grid?

159. What would it take to survive
off of the grid?

160. Mini-challenges on electricity!

161. Mini-challenges on heating, cooling,
renewable energy...

162. Build working models of solar-
powered, off-the-grid homes.

164. Who would win in a battle...a
ninja or a pirate?

165. In the future, I think predict that
______ and _______ will be
extremely expensive.
The reason I
feel this way is
because...
For example...

167. PBL
Driving question...What
projects and design challenges
can I do with my kids?
Entry Points for PBL
PBL
a`la
mode
Driving question...How can I
incorporate more elements of
PBL into something that I am
already doing?
True
PBL
Driving question...What real-world
problems and projects could my
kids tackle that would allow them to
experience all components of PBL?

168. Real PBL

170. Objectives
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!

171. Objectives
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!

173. goo.gl/1C2q3B

174. goo.gl/1C2q3B

175. Objectives
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!

176. Objectives
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!

177. Get a buddy...

178. goo.gl/1C2q3B
Check out the resources.

179. Think about your kiddos!

180. PBL
Driving question...What
projects and design challenges
can I do with my kids?
Pick an entry point.
PBL
a`la
mode
Driving question...How can I
incorporate more elements of
PBL into something that I am
already doing?
True
PBL
Driving question...What real-world
problems and projects could my
kids tackle that would allow them to
experience all components of PBL?

181. Identify your key knowledge,
understanding, and success skills.

182. Pick a problem type.

183. Think about ways
to incorporate the
other elements
of PBL.

184. Sketch or
outline your
plan.

185. Try out your
PBL
activities as
if you were
a student.

186. Talk to your buddy
about what your next
step will be.

187. Curtis Chandler, Ph.D.
BetterLearningForSchools.com
@CurtisChandler6
Creating More Problems in Education...

188. Objectives
1. Provide principles that will help you to effectively
engage students in Project-Based Learning (PBL)
2. Examine PBL in practice in a variety of contexts
and classroom settings
3. Preview some tech-tools that help foster
PBL in and outside of the classroom.
4. Put you to work!
@CurtisChandler6

189. Think about your kiddos!

190. Curtis Chandler, Ph.D.
BetterLearningForSchools.com
@CurtisChandler6
PBL
2