Client: Whittle Schools and Studios https://www.whittleschool.org/en, international

The Challenge:

Whittle Schools and Studios, a private bilingual international school featuring a project-based learning model, found itself growing rapidly. To bring the highest quality PBL to their staff and students, they required Professional Development training and instructional support for faculty at their debut locations in both the United States and China. How successfully they established PBL at their flagship schools would set the tone for their success throughout the world. 

The Solution:

CraftED began by calibrating both support and instructional staff on PBL. We then familiarized ourselves with the unique needs of this innovative school, to assure that the PBL framework would work with their Learner Management System, align to the organization’s principles, and would scale across countries. 

We then:

• Created a custom PBL model that aligned completely with the school, their principles, and their Learner Management System 
• Guided the HQ staff to develop a PBL framework that would scale to other languages and support their international growth 
• Developed sample projects for their LMS, in collaboration with the staff. 
• Conducted PBL training for all staff including HQ, leadership, and faculty in both nations 
• Offered further professional development PBL consultation  
• Provided PBL workbooks and virtual e-courses as ongoing resources and tools for the educators 

THE RESULTS
In 2019, Whittle launched its Washington DC and Shenzhen schools, featuring a uniform vision for PBL and, more importantly, a concrete plan for PBL teaching and learning, carefully tailored to their unique school model. 

“We were so fortunate to have Jenny work with us from the beginning as we endeavored to make HQPBL a critical part of our education program in both our newly launched Shenzhen and DC campuses.  She began with involving our diverse group of lead educators in critical thinking exercises to make sure we built a shared understanding of HQPBL and of our specific goals. This exercise in alignment was so important for our success!  Jenny then helped us to develop our own frameworks and procedures as we created projects that we were able to use with students. She is such a master teacher, and shared such well-designed resources, that she empowered us to continue the work ourselves as we grow.  And while there is nothing quite like having Jenny work with you to design sessions to meet your specific needs, her library of on-line resources are a fantastic way to keep the learning going and serve as valuable references in your continued work and growth. -Susanna Stoessel, Head of Lower Schools