The Friction & Fact Protocol: Outsmarting the Yes-Bot in PBL
If you have ever watched a student paste a project idea into a chatbot and get back “Great idea! Here’s a complete outline,” you have [...]
Architects of Empathy
Middle Project Idea · Grades 6–8 A snapshot of the 5-Phase Prompt Sequence for Project Framing — in action. Teachers don’t need another 40-page packet. [...]
Play Part III: When to try play in PBL, with adults.
Who Can Do It---> Teachers on Monday. Leaders in the Next PD. Tinkering is not a specialist’s job. If you have students, a table, and [...]
Play, Part II: Why Tinkering Belongs at the Front of PBL
In a recent Substack post I wrote about play as an entry point to project-based learning—a provocation that opens the door before anyone announces the [...]
Play, Part I: Tinkering Is Not a Station-It’s a Way of Thinking
Last week I sat in a workshop and watched a slide that named something I have been circling for years. Tinker (verb): to explore by trying, [...]
What If Students Designed a Fully Self-Sustaining School?
A high-quality PBL example that turns an 8-part homestead graphic into a campus resilience studio. I was scrolling Instagram when a homestead infographic stopped me. [...]
Building a Shared Definition of High-Quality PBL Through Calibration
When a team of educators sits down to talk about project-based learning, we often assume we’re speaking the same language. We’re not always right. At [...]
Icebreakers That Actually Teach
Turning Light Activities into Durable Skill Practice with Meta Moments We’ve all sat through the obligatory icebreaker. Name + something interesting about yourself. Two truths [...]
What a Murder Trial Taught Me About the Kind of Learning Students Never Forget
The surprising connection between true crime and the most powerful project-based learning I’ve ever designed I’ve been following a high-profile murder trial for weeks. Not [...]
Small Button, Big Markup: A Middle School Business Project
Students investigate the game-day button market, design a product people will buy, and sell it in public. Middle School PBL Idea Project Summary: Middle school [...]