Welcome
Project-Based Learning (PBL) encourages students to develop deeper knowledge and skills through meaningful, real-world projects. PBL presents opportunities for deeper learning in-context, whether local or international, and for the development of skills important for life, work, and citizenship.
We are here to support Middlebury faculty as you learn about PBL and promote a community of practice as you build PBL into your courses – whether in-person or on-line – and as we grow PBL as an increasingly prominent feature of a Middlebury education.
New to PBL?
Want to learn more about PBL and how it will enhance your learning goals? Check out the Intro to PBL and FAQs, and the evidence on its effectiveness on a variety of success indicators. Familiarize yourself with the seven PBL Gold Standard Design Elements that represent best practice.
Examples
Explore the syllabi section for some ideas. Then dig into the Challenging Problem or Question section, or reach out to other faculty.
Start with the tools within Design and Plan, and work your way through each section of the seven PBL Gold Standard Teaching Practices.
Connect & Contribute
We want your voice! Hinc ceteri particulas arripere conati suam quisque videro voluit afferre sententiam.
You can also seek assistance by posing a question on the blog or submitting a request for technical assistance.
Learn Along with Us!
We will be posting new content on our blog as we continue our PBL journey. We invite you to join us as we learn and grow. You can see our most recent posts here or explore our archive.
PBL Updates
- Experiences from “Data Science Across the Disciplines” Today during the final PBL meeting of the semester, faculty who taught “Data Science Across the Disciplines” during J-term discussed their experiences. The course was devised by MiddData to teach applications of data literacy in various fields including art-history, sociology, linguistics, and other fields. Professor Alex Lyford lectured about data science and R coding language [...]
- PBL – What do students think of it? At this week’s PBL community meeting, the group discussed the reactions from students to different class projects. First, we looked at surveys from three First Year Seminars in fall 2021 that participated in PBL activities. The answers indicated that students had relatively similar levels of satisfaction and engagement with PBL and non-PBL assignments and activities. [...]
- The Role of Project Assistants in PBL During this meeting, the community of practice discussed skills that future project assistants will need to be successful in classes with community engagement aspects. At Middlebury, project assistants may not be needed to help with grading, but rather facilitate reflection, manage team dynamics, and communicate logistically with community partners. In Profess Magri’s first year seminar, [...]
