Minnesota New Country School

Teacher’s Role in PBL

Facilitator: Your job is to help facilitate experiences and project opportunities for students. You will frequently lead discussions and project work but you do not control.

Guide: Your job is to help students construct their own meaning by modeling, mediating, explaining when needed, redirecting focus, and providing options.

Co-learner/co-investigator: Consider yourself a learner; be willing to take risks and explore areas outside your expertise. Collaborate with others.

Online Resources

BIE–Website provides information about PBL and offers resources for parents and teachers.

Edutopia–Offers information about PBL and online discussions about PBL for parents and teachers.

TNTP–Hosts a blog with numerous ideas for the PBL classroom and home as well as other innovative educational ideas and programing.

EdSurge–Specific information about the creation of MakerSpaces within the classroom to help foster creativity and problem solving.

ISTE–Hosts a blog with numerous ideas for the innovative and project driven classroom.

Project Based Children’s Books for the Classroom

• Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! — Dr. Seuss with help from Jack Prelutsky & Lane Smith

• The Big Orange Splot — Daniel Pinkwater

• The Dot — Peter H. Reynolds

• I wonder, I wonder — Marguerite Kurth Frey

• What do you do with an Idea? — Kobi Yamada

• Ish — Peter H. Reynolds

• Rocket Writes a Story — Tad Hills

• Harold and the Purple Crayon — Crockett Johnson

• A Perfectly Messed-up Story — Patrick McDonnell

• One — Kathryn Otoshi

Project Based Books for the Teacher

• Setting the Standard for Project Based Learning — BIE

• PBL in the Elementary Grades — BIE

• Transforming Schools — Bob Lenz

• Authentic Learning Experiences — Dayna Laur

• Bring Innovation to School — Suzie Boss

• Reinventing Project-Based Learning — ISTE

• Invent to Learn — Sylvia Martinez and Gary Stager

• Tinkering — Karen Wilkinson and Kike Petrich

• MakerSpace: How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration — Scott Doorley and Scott Witthoft

• The Makerspace Workbench — Adam Kemp