#project based learning

Literally every creative project type I could think of!

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I have a project-oriented mind, which means that when I am learning something, I don't want to just read about it. I want to create something about it, too. My only problem is that I get stuck in a loop of drawings and paintings being the only thing I can think to make.

So, I've compiled a list of all the projects one could make about a favorite subject, organized by what sort of thing it is. Some of these are very silly, so if you've lost your childlike wonder you might not be into them. I hope everyone can find something they like in here though! ₊˚⊹♡

✧˖° list under the cut! °˖✧

I've always been an advocate for project-based learning (PBL), so of course I was excited to learn that my job teaching English to Moroccan elementary school students would actually require me to use this approach not only in the classroom, but school-wide as we work on whole-school entrepreneurial projects.

I know, of course, that the theoretical framework is there, and that there is a strong precedent for PBL in language learning contexts. But even before I was studying this approach in my TEFL Diploma studies (and later on as I prepped for my MEd studies), this was a method that I naturally gravitated towards in my own curriculum design. I advocate for lesson plans that allow students to get hands-on and/or immersive experience, and utilize student-led inquiry and independent and informed decision-making to explore a range of different projects, both easily accessible and hypothetical in nature. My belief is that by moving away from passive learning, students take ownership of their linguistic development through hands-on explorations.

In one project, students are the captains of their own pirate ships, and need to manage all sorts of problems - from curing a scurvy outbreak and managing stocks of food to divvying up pirated loot and recognizing precious minerals. In another project, students explore all the ways that water is wasted in their community - at home, at school, in town - and think up solutions to minimize that waste. Some projects are closer to home, and some projects are thrilling forays into a world we may never get the chance to step into. All projects engage cross-disciplinary, creative, social-emotional, and multilingual competencies.

The skills that PBL approaches favor - problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and organizational/management thinking - are all essential 21st-century skills for learners to develop.

Photo of a dam our students visited to learn more about dams as part of their water conservation project. This outing was one lesson in a sequence of lessons surrounding the project, and for this session, I prepared a card game where students raced each other to be the first to finish constructing their own dam, working vocabulary and logic skills at the same time.

My own observations in the classroom took me beyond curriculum design hypotheticals and into practical experiences with my students. Through this evidence-based practice, I observed that my students had fun when they were allowed to explore a topic (given the correct support and guidance), and that they picked up more easily on vocabulary, sentence structure, phrases, and subject skills in math, science, social studies, and language arts when they could directly link it to an identified need.

In this trilingual environment, the PBL approach has acted as a 'linguistic bridge' of sorts. It allows students to focus on the content (how to save water) while the language (English) becomes a necessary tool for solving the problem, rather than just an abstract subject to be memorized. When there is a practical use for something, we are more likely to remember how to use it, because our brain assigns it an importance that may have otherwise been overlooked in a more memorization-based approach.

Check out this template to provide an engaging start of class warm-up especially for extremely diverse audiences learning measuring skills.

The start of class warm-up, or “bell ringer” as it’s sometimes known in education, is a fickle beast. It’s an idea pushed down on us by minimally-credentialed educational professors and administrators as a silver-bullet solution to solve every and all start-of-class engagement issues. That’s a lie. Class warm-ups can help; they can help get the class started right. And they can help to provide…

03.09.18 

First day is over. It was much harder than expected, but people are nice and I think everything will be alright.  Currently I’m doing the reading for my first lecture on Wednesday. It’s on PBL (Project Based Learning). Does any of your schools use that as their primary was of teaching? 

For years, I’ve had a recurring conversation with school leaders and passionate teachers. It usually starts with a spark of inspiration—perhaps from a YouTube video on Project-Based Learning or a keynote on Design Thinking—and ends with a difficult question: "David, can you help our school with this approach?"

As a consultant, my answer has always been a mix of excitement and hesitation. I love the energy of a live workshop, but I’ve also seen the limitations of the "consulting model." We spend a couple of days together, we build momentum, and then... life happens. The bell rings, the emails pile up, and that "innovation" gets pushed to the back burner because there wasn't enough time to truly embed the change.

In a VUCA world (one defined by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) where the ground is constantly shifting beneath our schools, educators don't need more one-off 'PD days' to prepare their students for a world of volatility and complexity. I realized that schools need to build permanent infrastructure for growth, and that can’t happen with the 'drive-by' consulting model. I built the Learning Hub to serve as a permanent, accessible infrastructure where teachers, leaders, coordinators, and coaches can return at any time—for free—to progress and implement their learnings at their own pace. The Hub empowers participants to implement innovation slowly and effectively, turning the overwhelming complexity of modern education into a series of manageable, impactful iterations.

The Learning Hub helps with the critical implementation gap. By moving through the Hub at their own pace, educators and leaders gain the clarity needed to plan, prepare, and execute innovation in a realistic way. It’s about ending the culture of 'rushing to implement' and replacing it with a strategic, effective process that actually sticks within your school’s unique reality.

The Architecture of the Hub: See, Investigate, Reflect

Every course in the Learning Hub—from STEM Education to Authentic PBL—follows a specific pedagogical architecture:

1. See & Learn (The Spark)

We are visual and auditory creatures. Most of the modules contain lessons centered around videos I’ve made to help educators see the "how" and "why" of a concept. 

2. Investigate (The Exercise)

You can’t grow muscles by watching someone else lift weights. In the "Investigate" phase, we move beyond the screen. You are prompted to deconstruct complex ideas, audit your current classroom environment, and analyze real-world examples. This is where the theory meets your specific reality.

3. Reflect (The Anchor)

Real growth happens in the pause. Through intentional reflection questions, the Hub helps you connect the content to your students, your curriculum, and your school’s unique culture. This ensures that the "inspiration" from the video turns into a "sustainable strategy" for your classroom.

Why Is This Free?

The courses are free because I am a product of the community. I have spent my career learning from free resources like Edutopia and PBLworks, and the collective wisdom shared online. Sharing my experiences for free on YouTube has given me more energy and inspiration than any consulting contract ever could. Seeing a comment from a teacher in a different part of the world explaining how a PBL strategy transformed their student's engagement is my "Success Metric."

The Learning Hub is my way of giving back. It’s a decentralized gift to the education community. While there is a link for those who wish to donate to non-profit organizations, my primary goal is to lower the barrier to innovation for every teacher, regardless of their school's budget.Because the Learning Hub is a labor of love rooted in a desire to give back to the community that raised me, access will always remain free. However, if participants want to support the work and the hours of production that go into these resources, feel value in the content, and feel moved to contribute, I invite them to turn that generosity outward. I encourage you to make a donation to one of the non-profit organizations linked within the Hub. This support can help other people around the world. 

Closing

“STEM” is a term we use constantly in education, but if you ask five different stakeholders to define it, you might get five different answers.

Originating in 1993 with the National Science Foundation (originally called SMET!), the acronym is well-known, yet “the finer points of this construct often cause confusion” (Breiner, 2012). Some educators argue that teaching a standalone math class counts as STEM. However, research suggests that the true power of STEM lies not in silos, but in integration.

After analyzing various perspectives, I’ve identified a common thread consisting of four essential elements:

Interdisciplinary Approach: We don’t treat Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math as separate subjects. We look for connections to create a holistic understanding.

Real-World Problem-Solving: We apply these combined disciplines to challenges students encounter in the real world.

Project-Based Learning: Students actively engage with the material by creating solutions, rather than just passively consuming information.

21st-Century Skills: We focus on critical thinking, collaboration, and communication needed to navigate a complex world.

My Definition

Based on this analysis, here is the definition I use to guide my work:

STEM education is an interdisciplinary approach to learning that integrates science, technology, engineering, and mathematics into a cohesive whole. This approach emphasizes real-world problem-solving through project-based learning, preparing students with the critical thinking skills and STEM literacy necessary to thrive in the globalized world.

Resources Here are the academic sources I referenced to form this definition:

Breiner, J., et al. (2012). What Is STEM? A Discussion About Conceptions of STEM in Education and Partnerships. School Science and Mathematics.

English, L.D. (2016). STEM education K-12: perspectives on integration. IJ STEM Ed.