Professional Development That Changed My Teaching and Inspired My Students

Educators have many options to hone their craft in the quest of becoming better teachers. Professional development (PD) opportunities include: 1) improving teachers’ content knowledge; 2) updating teaching practices; 3) learning how to work with new […]

Engineering All Around: Design Challenges For Every Classroom

Have you ever traveled down the highway and noticed a giant water tower? These elevated, cylinder-shaped structures support a huge water tank that can hold over 30,000 gallons of water--that’s more than 50 backyard swimming pools! These towers are […]

Using Defined Learning to Support Teachers with High-Quality PBL Professional Learning

When Angelina Rowden, principal at Sunrise School, says, “Our school is our community” she means both literally and figuratively. The school, which serves students in grades pre-k through 8 is 50 miles south of St. Louis and the only business in […]

North Carolina School District Gives STEM some STEAM

The data speaks for itself in Greene County, North Carolina, but it’s only part of the story. The real story comes from the district’s response to remote learning, and, most importantly, according to district leaders, the feedback the district is […]

Bartlett City Schools Increases Access to STEM Experiences with Defined Learning

“Can I use this exclusively?!” When Katie MCain, the 6-12 instructional supervisor for Bartlett City Schools in Tennessee, heard this from one of her teachers, she knew the district’s plan for STEM and Project-Based Learning (PBL) was going better […]

A High School Math Teacher at Camden County Schools Uses PBL to Drive Student Achievement

It’s easier than you think!” This is the advice I gave to my colleagues who were hesitant to try Project Based Learning (PBL) using the Defined Learning platform. I attended a summer institute to learn about Defined Learning after previewing a […]

Tips on Customizing a Performance Task

I teach 6th graders in a low-income area. Some of my students are somewhat familiar with technology, but for the most part, they know nothing of tech they cannot hold in their hands. Even though many of my students have some kind of smartphone in […]

Engaging Middle Schoolers in Authentic PBL

Being part of a small and underperforming rural district, we feel the constant pressure that surrounds high stakes testing. As administrators and teachers constantly look at how we can improve state assessment scores (especially in math/reading), […]

Projects that Inspire Students to Think Beyond the Classroom

An elementary school intervention teacher shares how imagining their own bakeries inspired her students to collaborate, create, and consider future careers.

Project-based learning (PBL) helps my students connect what is being taught in the […]