The Future of Project Based Learning with Thom Markham Transformative Principal 235

Thom Markham is a founding father of Project Based Learning.

Started in the mid-90s at a high school trying to reclaim the positive name of the school.

• Formed charter high school - envision schools.
• Wrote the handbook on PBL
• PBL Global
• PBL = problem to be solved, investigating process, end of process - defining what they did to solve their problem.
• Lots of variations in that definition.
• Inquiry, research, facilitated
• One of the misnomers is the notion is that it is discovery only.
• Teacher has a strong role in PBL, but it changes.
• 3 roles: direct instruction, mentor, designer.
• To be a designer, need to have a better idea of whose role is what?
• What do you need to learn from someone else, and what do you need to discover yourself?
• Sensitive to students, need to know them.
• PBL works better in a personalized culture in the classroom.
• Getting teams to work well is challenging.
• We don’t teach teachers known coaching protocols.
• Skillset is changing dramatically.
• Teaching 21st century skills.
• Goal of working with teams is welcoming disruption.
• Critique as designers.
• Focus on some personal skills.
• Every teacher candidate in personality profile to learn what their strengths and weaknesses are.
• Having very serious conversations about mindset and skillset.
• Self-analysis and inquiry into the teaching profession.
• You have to look at yourself and see if you can handle it.
• Take an inward look and not just an outward look.
• What is high quality PBL
• 6 essential principles of PBL
• Social Emotional learning
• Human performance method, not a content acquisition method.
• If you’re going to have kids working in teams, how are they going to work in teams?
• Chief characteristic is humility.
• Teams of students create quality work.
• Accountability, becoming a leader.
• Breaking down collaboration skills.
• What happens in the middle of the project?
• Teaching design thinking process.
• Social good-focused PBL projects.
• the standards are not capable of containing what we can learn in the world.
• Intelligence as successful behavior
• Z school
• Deep performance rubrics that kids can judge themselves against.
• What’s the nature of intelligence in today’s world?
• The curriculum is the world.
• You’re in one of the most creative professions in the world.
• In places where the PBL is happening, the teachers.
• How to be a transformative principal? Have some basic training in project based learning. How to become an inquiry-based teacher?

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