PBLWorks, the leading provider of professional development for high-quality Project Based Learning, has launched PBL School Leader Networks—two-year training programs that bring principals and their school leadership teams together to support the implementation of high-quality Project Based Learning at their schools, and sustain its momentum.
The PBL School Leader Network features a blend of face-to-face workshops, personal online coaching for each school, school site visits, and deep collaboration with a peer network of fellow local PBL leaders.
“Strong leadership is critical to implementing high quality Project Based Learning,” said Bob Lenz, CEO of PBLWorks. “Our PBL School Leader Networks help principals and their teams develop the skills they need to make their initiatives successful. The Networks also connect these leadership teams to a supportive community of like-minded peers, who will be with them throughout their PBL journey. This kind of support is invaluable.”
The first PBL School Leader Networks will convene in Los Angeles in February 2020, and in Boston in March 2020. Leadership teams from 8 to 10 schools will be selected to participate in each PBL School Leader Network. Additional locations are being planned.
PBLWorks created the PBL School Leadership Networks after achieving great success with a similar initiative, the Hawaii Innovative Leaders Network (HILN), implemented in Hawaii in 2018. Evaluated by McREL International, a not-for-profit education research organization, this program demonstrated the power of a network of school leaders to create larger regional change through shared learning, mutual accountability, and site visits that build and sustain the PBL work.
“These PBL School Leader Networks offer participants the opportunity to learn from one another, solve common problems of practice, leverage the learning experiences of other schools in their region, and sort out what’s working and what’s not, in a safe and collaborative space,” said Lenz. “The research and practice in Hawaii shows this very clearly.”
For more information about the Los Angeles and Boston School Leader Networks, including how to apply, visit https://www.pblworks.org/pbl-school-leader-networks.
About Project Based Learning
In Project Based Learning, teachers make learning come alive for students. Students work on a project over an extended period of time – from a week up to a semester – that engages them in solving a real-world problem or answering a complex question. They demonstrate their knowledge and skills by developing a public product or presentation for a real audience. As a result, students develop deep content knowledge, as well as critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication skills in the context of doing an authentic, meaningful project.
About PBLWorks
At PBLWorks (the brand name of the Buck Institute for Education) we believe that all students – no matter where they live or what their background – should have access to quality Project Based Learning to deepen their learning and achieve success in college, career, and life. Our focus is to build the capacity of teachers to design and facilitate quality Project Based Learning and the capacity of school and system leaders to create the conditions for teachers to implement great projects with all students. For more information, visit www.pblworks.org.
