How to Foster Student-Directed Learning in Your Classroom

For the past 21 years, I have been teaching high school science, from environmental and earth science to college prep, honors, and Advanced Placement biology. During my first 15 years as an educator, I taught science based on how I was taught when I […]

The Key to Preparing Students for the Future: Early Career Exploration & Experiences

Recently, I had a conversation with my 8-year old son. I asked him what job he thought he wanted to do when he grows up. He is a smart, creative kid. He is interested in a lot of different topics and has relative strengths in math and art. He is a […]

Top 10 PBL & STEM Education Articles of 2020

We reviewed the major news articles written on project-based learning (PBL) and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in 2020 and found ten that we think are exceptionally inspiring and educational.  Topics range from […]

Sticking with STEM: Maintaining Hands-On Learning While Virtual

I was recently interviewed on a podcast and was asked how I felt about the changes in education in light of the pandemic. We discussed the fact that a lot has changed; for educators, for students, and for families. The circumstances that we are in […]

A Pathway Into STEM Careers

In high school, I loved chemistry class. Led by an inspiring teacher, I was curious about the experiments we did and enjoyed the hands-on nature of the class. Although I wasn’t the top student, I knew it was something that I was good at. I was […]

Holiday STEM Activities

As we celebrate holidays, use the holiday theme to create STEM activities. For this week look for an experiment around your Elf on the Shelf. If you have upper elementary children, read the book by Larissa Juliano How to Build an Elf Trap. Help them […]

Career-Focused Project Based Learning: The Ideal Teaching Approach for Career Preparation

Many of today’s students are floundering after graduation without a clear plan and direction for their future. Our current one-size-fits-all curriculum focuses almost entirely on academic courses that meet state graduation standards in core […]

New Career Pathways Service Helps Students Explore and Experience Careers

Defined Learning launches new career pathways solution to empower educators to strengthen students future-readiness skills.

November 11, 2020 (CHICAGO, IL)—To support students and teachers with in-person, hybrid, or virtual learning settings, […]

What is Project Based Learning?

Project Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional methodology encouraging students to learn by applying knowledge and skills through an engaging experience. PBL presents opportunities for deeper learning in-context and for the development of […]

What is the Difference Between Projects and Project Based Learning?

One area that I have tried to bring into my teaching practice more over the past four years, is Project Based Learning (PBL). When I  first started teaching, I thought that I had been doing “PBL” however I was not. Making connections with educators, […]