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Active and Project-Based Learning (PBL)

Articles | Books & Publications | Webinars | Featured Collection | Digital Learning | Experts & Events

PBL comprises teaching methods that actively engage people in their own learning and in the real world. Active learning involves creating learning experiences differently so that students engage in exploration of the content and take responsibility for their own learning. Students reach explicit targets in different ways, which can result in increased student effort and a higher quality of work. PBL incorporates interesting and relevant topics, issues, and challenges; interaction with the teacher; and discussions and debates with peers, educators, and others into larger-scale projects with multiple learning targets and standards, and it usually involves technology and student presentations.

Related Topics and Terms 

  • 21st century learning
  • Instructional strategies
  • College and career readiness
  • Student engagement and motivation
  • Curriculum design and lesson planning
  • Whole child: Engaged
 

Level Up Your Classroom - ASCDLevel Up Your Classroom

Jonathan Cassie shines a spotlight on gamification, an instructional approach that's revolutionizing K–12 education.

Learn more

 

Articles 

ASCD members can access all recent magazine issues and articles by logging in.

Seven Essentials for Project-Based Learning

Too often, "meaning-lite" activities like having students research an assigned topic and create a pretty poster about it are what passes for projects in schools. In this Educational Leadership article from September 2010, John Larmer and John R. Mergendoller from the Buck Institute for Education provide seven elements that every meaningful project needs to have.

Read

  • Educational Leadership: "Springing into Active Learning," November 2008
  • ASCD Express: "Developing Global Citizens Through Project-Based Learning," June 2017
  • Educational Leadership: "Project-Based Learning: 7 Ways to Make It Work," June 2016

Browse the newsletters and publications archive to find more articles on this topic

Books & Publications

Explore free sample chapters, study guides, and author interviews.

Setting the Standard for Project-Based Learning - ASCD   Teaching in the Fast Lane: How to Create Active Learning Experiences - ASCD   Real-World Projects: How do I design relevant and engaging learning experiences? (ASCD Arias) - ASCD    Inspiring Active Learning: A Complete Handbook for Today's Teachers - ASCD

Setting the Standard for Project-Based Learning

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Teaching in the Fast Lane

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Real-World Projects (ASCD Arias)

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Inspiring Active Learning

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Webinars 

Access free professional development on demand and online.

  • Get in the Game: The Magic Circle of the Gamified Classroom with Jonathan Cassie (June 14, 2016)
  • Engage Your Students with Real-World Projects with Suzie Boss (March 12, 2015)

Browse all webinar archives

Featured Collection 

We recognize that just like students, educators have a variety of learning style preferences. Featured collections give you options for learning about specific topics or skills that affect student success.

Total Participation Techniques:
Making Every Student an Active Learner

How do you get students to engage and participate in their own learning? In this suite of resources from Pérsida Himmele and William Himmele, you'll find 51 easy-to-use, classroom-tested alternatives to the "stand-and-deliver" teaching techniques that cause so many students to tune out or drop out.

 
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Digital Learning 

ASCD myTeachSource

In the ASCD myTeachSource® topic pack Avoiding Project-Based Learning Pitfalls, you'll find teacher-driven articles, videos, checklists, rubrics, and more.

Learn more about ASCD myTeachSource

PD In Focus

Designed with blended learning and group learning in mind, the PD In Focus® platform channel Problem-Based Learning for the 21st Century Classroom features videos, resources, and strategies to motivate and engage students.

Learn more about PD In Focus

PD Online Courses

Our award-winning PD Online® courses are interactive, in-depth, and self-paced online professional development courses for educators. Explore these courses, or browse the online course catalog for more options.

  • Project-Based Learning: An Answer to the Common Core Challenge
  • Sparking Student Creativity: Practical Applications and Strategies
  • Total Participation Techniques

ASCD Streaming Videos 

The Innovators: Project-Based Learning and the 21st Century - ASCDThe Innovators: Project-Based Learning and the 21st Century

To combat its overwhelming social and economic problems, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District is creating a school that incorporates a project-based learning method. Will project-based learning turn this school system around?

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Experts & Events

ASCD Faculty members are available for on-site capacity-building professional development on active and project-based learning. ASCD can design a precise professional development plan, organized around our field-tested solutions, with a focus on the education foundations that make sense for you.

Learn more about ASCD Professional Learning Services

ASCD Conferences, One-, Two-, and Three-Day Institutes, and other special events frequently feature sessions about active and project-based learning.

Learn more about ASCD Conferences and Events

ASCD Express

Ideas from the Field

Subscribe to ASCD Express, our free email newsletter, to have practical, actionable strategies and information delivered to your email inbox twice a month.

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