Educators Blog

Problem Solving and STEM

Throughout the course of the day, teachers ask students to solve lots of different problems. Some problems may be small, while others may require multiple steps. Sometimes problems can be solved independently, while others require some […]

How PBL Aligns with Effective Teaching Frameworks, Part 2: Planning

In my last post, I made the case for easing teachers into the shift from traditional teaching to project-based learning. I discussed the alignment between project-based teaching and the frameworks for effective teaching already used by many schools, […]

John Larmer Joins Defined

John Larmer brings two decades of PBL expertise and leadership to Defined 

NORTHBROOK, Illinois, November 9, 2021— Defined today announced that as it continues to build on its momentum as the leading provider of K-12 project-based learning (PBL) […]

Professional Learning for PBL Champions

Hanging on the fence outside the entrance to Walt Whitman High School is a banner with a quote by the school’s namesake “Happiness is not in another place, but this place… not for another hour, but for this hour.” Students who attend Walt Whitman […]

Preparing Students to Thrive in a Modern Workforce

A middle school English teacher explains how she incorporates STEM skills like problem-solving, formulas, and tech into her word-filled classroom.

With report after report touting the American economy’s need for STEM workers, school districts […]

3 Keys to Improving Assessments

Educators, policymakers, parents, and others interested in improving the way we measure learning in today's schools need to examine three essential questions: 1) What really matters in a contemporary education? 2) How should we assess those things […]

STEM and Writing: Connecting All the Pieces

A class of fourth grade students are hunched over their desks writing feverishly about their recent experiment in the STEM lab. Within their science notebooks, you can see evidence of their learning; drawings of their catapult designs, labeling all […]

7 Questions That Guide the Work of Inspired Teachers

I’m near the ocean where the sky is bright blue and the water is placid, but I can’t help recalling how gray, mute, and turbulent the last 15 months have been.  While I spent most of that time wrestling with a book I began four years ago, the […]

How Project-Based Learning Aligns with Effective Teaching Frameworks

Sometimes, when teachers and school leaders hear about project-based learning (PBL), it sounds like a whole new thing. They can’t imagine adding any more to their already-full plates. They may think it’s so different from what they are already doing […]

Supporting Students Through Deeper Learning

Okay, so what is deeper learning? And are we not helping our students learn deeply in our schools already? 

As more and more of my educational conversations involve the discussion of deeper learning for students, I must admit these questions were at […]