When Cornell School District launched a program this year offering Professional Development pathways matched to teachers’ interests, the district’s Director of Technology & Instructional Innovation, Kris Hupp, wasn’t surprised to find Project-Based Learning on their wish lists.
For some teachers, PBL “can be a really significant lift,” he said. “It’s really a rethinking of the role of the teacher in the classroom.”
Owing to that, demand for PBL training continues apace. This year alone, our PBL team provided customized training to four districts, two of which enrolled in year-long programs. In addition to Cornell, participants included Butler Area, Franklin Regional and Greater Latrobe school districts. The team also trained a cohort of early career teachers during the summer under a Tomorrow Grant from Remake Learning. All implemented projects during the school year.
At Cornell, PBL training also already has borne fruit for participants. “Every one of them was able to incorporate PBL into their classroom this school year,” said Hupp. “It’s been really exciting to see the success our teachers are having.”
He said he’s found the Consortium’s team very effective doing both in-person and virtual sessions. Our trainers—Aaron Altemus, Sarah Brooks and Christy Kuehn— “bring credibility” because all have backgrounds as classroom teachers, Hupp added.
Districts interested in customized training can contact any member of the team. The Consortium’s customized programs can be designed to meet specific district needs or simply to work with cohorts of educators that a district or school wants to train together.
We also periodically offer general training sessions, for which any educator can register. The next is An Introduction to Project-Based Learning, with four half-day workshops beginning July 19. Educators can register now at Eventbrite.
Additionally, our PBL team plans to offer a summer webinar titled PBL Without the Project for teachers who want to learn how to apply PBL principles and methods in teaching situations that aren’t necessarily project-based. Watch our website and social media for further details.
