Starting the School Year on a Creative Note Blog Post
When I was a middle school student, I dreaded the first week of school. Teachers would walk us, line-by-line, through the syllabus and handbook and we would practice the classroom procedures. It was as if school started a week before the learning started. But then…
Getting Started with P.B.L. Page
Getting Started with Project-Based Learning Subscribe to My Channel Think back to your most memorable educational experience. Chances are, it was an epic project. As teachers, we can design epic projects to make this happen! But what about the time constraints? What about the standards?...
Always Play the New Teacher Card Blog Post
For the last month, I’ve traveled everywhere from Hawaii to Washington (short drive, actually) to Indiana to South Carolina delivering keynotes and leading workshops on empowering students with voice, choice, and ownership. Each time, I’ve had the opportunity to hear stories about the design thinking…
It’s Okay to Do That Same Epic Project Next Year Blog Post
It was twelve years ago when I sat down with a journal and began debriefing my first full year of going project-based. I had a list of what went well, what went poorly, and what things I wanted to try out the next year. As…
The Case for More Recess Blog Post
We tend to view recess as a break from learning. However, free play is actually a vital part of the learning process. Play boosts divergent thinking, flexible thinking, and creativity. It helps students learn critical social-emotional skills. Unfortunately, in many schools, students are losing recess…
Spark Curiosity and Help Students Ask Better Questions Blog Post
In the previous article, we explored the Look, Listen, and Learn phase of the LAUNCH process for design thinking. In this article, we explore the second phase, Ask Tons of Questions. When students are able to ask their own questions, they can chase their curiosity…
Empowering Students with Voice and Choice Page
Empowering Students with Voice and Choice Subscribe to My Channel We want students to be creative, critical thinkers. We want them to rewrite the rules as life-long learners and critical thinking citizens. It's a mindset of self-direction and student ownership and it begins by empowering...Projects Page
Projects and Resources If you're starting out with project-based learning, design thinking, or inquiry-based learning, you might be thinking, "where do I even start?" You might want to try one of these free projects, mini-projects, or other classroom resources. Most of these projects include slideshows,...
Making The Shift from Student Engagement to Student Empowerment Blog Post
We often focus on student engagement, but student empowerment is a step further. Here, we focus on the seven shifts toward student empowerment. Two years ago, I was a chaperone for my son’s fourth-grade field trip to a hands-on pioneer museum. Students learned how to…