Deeper Learning, Authentic Audiences, and the Bike Path Project with Steven Levy

Steven LevyDeeper Learning

“When student work culminates in a genuine product for an authentic audience, it makes a world of difference.” [podbean resource=”episode=nj765-8fc9a9″ type=”audio-rectangle” height=”100″ skin=”1″ btn-skin=”107″ share=”1″ fonts=”Helvetica” auto=”0″ download=”0″ rtl=”0″] In this conversation I had the opportunity to talk with my friend and fellow CACE Fellow, Steven Levy who was recognized as the Massachusetts State Teacher of the Year (1993), honored … Read More

Asking Questions Is Central to Project-Based Learning

Trent DeJongInnovationLeave a Comment

20 slides were projected one at a time for fifteen seconds each. I’ve seen students present under such circumstances, but this was new for me. I recently had an opportunity to deliver such a talk to a large crowd before Sir Ken Robinson took the stage at a Learning Revolution event. Because I was there as a representative of the … Read More

I Don’t Do Projects All the Time

Trent DeJongInnovationLeave a Comment

I don’t do projects all the time. But Project-Based Learning (PBL) has profoundly changed what happens in my classroom even when I am not in the middle of a project. For my first 10 years of teaching, I operated under the illusion that my energetic enthusiasm and sense of humor was engaging all my students. About 20 years ago, I … Read More

Project-Based Learning: A Christian Pedagogy?

Trent DeJongInnovationLeave a Comment

When she saw from my nametag that I was at the conference representing the PBL Residency, she said, “It’s so important that we provide more hands-on learning for some students.” Perhaps, but Project-Based Learning is not “hands-on learning,” at least not essentially. For the last 150 years or so, education was mostly about educating the head. This is a limited … Read More

What is Project-Based Learning?

Trent DeJongInnovationLeave a Comment

When one of my kids came home on a Friday and declared, “I have to finish my project this weekend,”  I was filled with dread. Weekend plans would have to be abandoned so I could try to achieve the impossible: learning the material the project was supposed to demonstrate, balancing my child’s expectations with reality, understanding the standards against which … Read More

Our Quest for Congruence, Part 2: Exciting Developments

Dan BeerensThe CACE Roundtable2 Comments

A student centered learning movement is emerging in North American Christian education – this is a very exciting development! Now you might say, “Hasn’t Christian education always been about viewing students as image-bearers of God and being student centered?” I would contend, however, from my perspective as a recipient, participant, and observer of Christian education for the past 50 years, … Read More