Upcoming PBL Institutes

Now is the time many folks are starting to think about their summer professional development plans.  Since not everyone in the trenches always has the time to research some of the better project-based learning summer institutes, I'd thought I'd inventory them here.

April 14 -16, 2009
"Big Picture Learning’s Schools, Innovation, and Influence Conference"
http://www.bigpicture.org/2008/10/bp-schools-innovation-influence-conf/

June 15 - 17, 2009
Project-based Learning Dissemination Workshop

http://www.rhinelander.k12.wi.us/ncss/

July 21- 22, 2009 
'How to Better Leverage' Project Foundry Conference

http://www.projectfoundry.org/news/summerWorkshop2009.html

July 27 - 30, 2009

EdVisions Summer Institute

http://www.edvisions.com

August 3 - 6, 2009

Big Picture Big Bang 

http://www.bigpicture.org/2008/10/big-bang-viii/

All Summer Long

BIE Project Based Learning Academy  
http://www.bie.org

Of course, I would tell you once you have the theory and confidence in the pedagogy, remember to figure out project management, how you'll manage individual learning plans and if standards-based reporting will suffice for your summative transcript. Despite living in a standards-based world, the traditional institutions still don't get it unless you provide a course-based conduit.

Buck Institute for Education PBL Handbook

Anyone who wants to knows anything about the actual 'how to' of project-based learning needs to have the Buck Institute for Education PBL Handbook (http://www.bie.org).

I appreciate the handbook's practical framing and real examples.  In addition, the handbook articulates the requirement that doing PBL demands a paradigm shift, not just an adjustment to a classroom. As scary as this may sound, the handbook provides guidance and concrete ideas on how to frame, scaffold and model such a change.

Too often I see people with the best intentions try to create better learning environments by keeping the same structure and people. It's not only education, but any organization systemically making a fundamental change requires a certain level of autonomy  and distance from the existing system. Otherwise, the new system will have to conform to the old incrementally undermining the hopes and discernment of the new system. Ultimately, this is how many project-based schools are undermined... "We want something different, but wait it needs to look the same."

The Buck Institute of Education Handbook is one of those transformational resources that can take the theory and make it real.