1. Christy G. Keeler, Ph.D. Heather Rampton, M.Ed.
Innovative Project-Based Learning: Strategies from Kindergarten to College
Christy G. Keeler, Ph.D.
Heather Rampton, M.Ed.

2. What is PBL?
Project-based learning is an instructional technique in which students learn content while constructing an artifact.

3. What is PBL?
Project-based learning is an instructional technique in which students learn content while constructing an artifact.

4. Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)

5. Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

6. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

7. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

8. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

9. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

10. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

11. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

12. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

13. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills
21st Century

14. Project-Based Learning in Action
Video

15. “Mixed-Up Class” Typing One-page product Digital Photography/
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
One-page
product
Digital Photography/
Videography
Video
Contributing pieces
to the whole
Reading/Writing
Science
Several Weeks
Music
Student-selected and
designed products

16. Strategies Video Audio Blogs Digital Photography Page Layout Software
Common Applications

17. Using Video Adapting literature for video Research-based video reports
Other Examples:
Adapting Literature:
--Act out a Shakespearean sonnet
--Interpretive dance science concepts (solid, liquid gas or the water cycle)

18. [video] Research-Based Report
“St. Patrick’s Day”
Other Examples:
--”Chocolate” by Mabry Middle School Students
--“Holiday Explorations”
--“Patriotic Music”

19. Strategies Video Audio Blogs Digital Photography Page Layout Software
Common Applications

20. “Simpson Book Review” by Michael Tomorsky
[audio] Mock Interviews
Other Examples:
Write and record an interview with a parent about family history
Interview Leonardo DaVinci in high school science
Interview Dewey during a Curriculum Foundations course
“Simpson Book Review” by Michael Tomorsky

21. [audio] Process Practice Songs
Other Examples:
Replicate Tom Lehrer’s “Element Song” with math rules
Make up new words for a song after listening to a Dr. Jean CD
Make a new Schoolhouse Rock song
“Gravity”

22. “New York City Draft Riots” by Randi Stover
[audio] “Day in the Life”: Man-on-the-Street
Other Examples:
Ask peers to define words and then tell the true definitions
Pretend to be an announcer at a professional sports event
“New York City Draft Riots” by Randi Stover

23. “Civil War Nurse” by Verena Bryan, Ashley Keller, and Tracy Moulson
[audio] “Day in the Life”: Journal Memoirs
Other Examples:
Pretend to be a “person in your neighborhood” (after watching Mr. Rogers and studying community helpers)
Pretend to be Galileo
Write and record a first-person science fiction story
“Civil War Nurse” by Verena Bryan, Ashley Keller, and Tracy Moulson

24. “Civil War Metaphors” by Mr. Johnson’s Students
[audio] Content-Based Podcasts
Other Examples:
Practice fluency by recording self-written stories
Demonstrate progress with before and after audios (music class, fluency, speed math facts)
Write, record, and post a weekly news show telling about classroom activities and learning gains
Songs or raps about given historical eras
“Civil War Metaphors” by Mr. Johnson’s Students

25. Strategies Video Audio Blogs Digital Photography Page Layout Software
Common Applications

26. [blogs] Journaling “Harriet Tubman” Other Examples:
Journaling class notes
Writing a story in which each student adds another paragraph
Writing a news journal for each day of the school year or each day from an event in history (e.g., the American Revolution)
“Harriet Tubman”

27. [blogs] Daily Homework
Other Examples:
New vocabulary word-of-the day (recognize students who use it appropriately in class)
“Where in the World is…” (put up pictures from different parts of the world and have students determine where it was taken)
“Daily Math Problem”

28. “Pre-service Teacher Portfolio” by Katie Dennison
[blogs] e-Portfolios
Other Examples:
Class portfolios with pages for each subject area (include pictures, scanned artwork, videos of in-class activities, and student-written articles)
“Pre-service Teacher Portfolio” by Katie Dennison

29. Strategies Video Audio Blogs Digital Photography Page Layout Software
Common Applications

30. “Geometry All Around Us” by Mrs. Cogan’s Students
[digital photography] Scavenger Hunts
“Geometry All Around Us” by Mrs. Cogan’s Students

31. [digital photography] Edits/Analysis/Publishing
Other Examples:
Photo montage (e.g., geographic features, grammatical terms, tessellations)
Community building through taking photos of students during class activities
Sample Flickr Options

32. Strategies Video Audio Blogs Digital Photography Page Layout Software
Common Applications

33. “1930s Book Review” by Erica Saia
[page layout software] Newspaper Reports
Other Examples:
Report on daily happenings in the classroom
Newspaper page listing books read throughout the semester (told using critiques)
Newspaper from important dates in history (e.g., announcement of the discovery of penicillin)
“1930s Book Review” by Erica Saia

34. “1930s Book Review” by Michael Kuennen
[page layout software] Tri-fold Brochures
Other Examples:
Brochures addressing: The life cycle of a butterfly, Taking a Trip Across the USA, Multiplying Fractions 101
Flyers for: Items on sale (percentages off - economics), Visiting a zoo exhibit
Certificates for: The Best Family in the World, Fastest Animal in the World
“1930s Book Review” by Michael Kuennen

35. Strategies Video Audio Blogs Digital Photography Page Layout Software
Common Applications

36. [common applications] Virtual Museums
“Native Americans
of the Colonial Era”
Other Examples:
Famous mathematicians or scientific discoveries organized by century
The people at our school (the nurse, the principal, our classroom) with the museum in the shape of a map of the school
by Monica Modesitt

37. [common applications] Game Shows
“Basic Math”
Other Examples:
Concentration (using latitude and longitude or Cartesian coordinates)
Family Feud
Hollywood Squares
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
The Missing Link

38. Let’s brainstorm!

39. Let’s set some goals!

40. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

41. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

42. Project-Based Learning
NETS•S
(Refreshed)
Research/information fluency
Creativity and innovation
Communication and collaboration
Critical thinking, problem solving and decision-making
Digital citizenship
Operations and concepts
Project-Based Learning
Artifact driven
Content focused
Technology-infused
Collaborative
Multi-disciplinary
Long-term
Student centered (conceived, designed, produced, owned)
21st Century Skills
Core subjects
Core content
21st century context
21st century tools
Learning skills

43. Innovative Project-Based
Learning: Strategies from Kindergarten to College
Christy G. Keeler, Ph.D.
Heather Rampton, M.Ed.