• MPG PBL Framework

    This PBL Framework and accompanying rubric supports educators in planning and assessing their project on each framework element. Teachers are encouraged to design projects that address at least four of the six elements; good projects need not address all six elements. An independent evaluation of PREP conducted by Education Northwest defined a well-implemented project as one that adequately addressed at least four of the six elements. .
  • Element Definition Design Questions
    Authentic Authentic projects seek to solve real problems or address real issues. Projects are relevant to students and adults in the school and community and consider unintended outcomes for those most impacted by systemic racism.
    • What issues are important to students, families, and the community?
    • How can students produce work that has value beyond the classroom?
    Challenging Challenging projects are framed by questions that require sustained inquiry and mastery of important content and skill standards. Inquiry examines and uses multiple perspectives as an organizing feature.
    • How can the project align with key learning goals?
    • What is a stretch for this student?
    • What are the strengths of this student?
    Personalized Personalized projects engage students in making meaningful choices—such as decisions about the project topic, steps, and goals—while meeting individual and collective learning needs and strengths.
    • Which aspects of this project are required and which are negotiable?
    • How will student choice be factored into key aspects of the project process?
    Collaborative Collaborative projects intentionally ask students to work productively with other students and adults in the school, community, and beyond, including those from historically marginalized people groups.
    • What roles are needed for the team?
    • Who in the community will students work with as content experts, project mentors, and audience members?
    • Who have you sought to work with?
    Applied Applied projects strategically include project management skills, tools, and strategies, such as scheduling, tech applications, and design thinking, as part of the intended learning.
    • What are the project skills, tools, and strategies that students will learn and share?
    • How will students expand their toolkit of project completion skills during this project?
    Public Public projects make student work visible and known beyond the classroom through formal exhibitions and various forms of project sharing, reflection, and defense. Project intentionally seeks to grow healthy relationships with the community.
    • What products or performances will students share beyond the classroom? How will the project be shared with all stakeholders?
    • How will the project exhibition incorporate student reflection and defense of learning?
  •  
    AUTHENTIC
     
    NO NO BUT YES BUT YES YES YES
    School-based task. The work only matters in the classroom to the teacher.
    (Ex: Book report)    		 School-based task but students are learning skills that may have real-world application.
    (Ex: Debate)    		 Task aligns with what people do in the world beyond school, but may be a simulation or not quite real.
    (Ex: Model bridge)    		 Task produces real work that solves real problems in the real world. People beyond the classroom care about the results.
    (Ex: Health fair project)
     
    CHALLENGING
     
    NO NO BUT YES BUT YES YES YES
    Task is short, easy, and has little connection to important standards or skills. Task may take more effort, but mostly requires recall and use of skills that should have been mastered previously. Task requires that the student persist and use what they know to solve a hard problem. Task is a real stretch. Requires sustained inquiry and application of concepts and skills that adults use regularly in the workplace.
     
    PERSONALIZED
     
    NO NO BUT YES BUT YES YES YES
    Standardized task that lacks opportunities for creativity or customization. Task asks everyone to solve the same challenge but different solutions are possible. Student choice is built into one aspect of the task—either what is studied or how mastery is demonstrated. Task is co-created with student. Both the problem and the solution are negotiable and can be customized.
     
    COLLABORATIVE
     
    NO NO BUT YES BUT YES YES YES
    Student can complete the task on their own with little or no support from peers or adults beyond the classroom. Task is structured so that students work in groups, but they may not truly need each other and they don't connect with anyone beyond the classroom. Students must work with each other interdependently to complete the task, but connecting with partners may be optional. Students must work productively with each other and with partners beyond the classroom in order to complete the task, and this process work is an intentional part of the learning.
     
    APPLIED
     
    NO NO BUT YES BUT YES YES YES
    Task is pretty simple and doesn’t ask students to develop or use new transferrable skills. Task may lead some students to learn and use a new skill, but only by chance or only some students benefit. Students clearly learn important project management skills, but this learning may be haphazard and not clearly taught and assessed. Project management skills, tools, and strategies are intentionally built into the project as part of the learning.
     
    PUBLIC
     
    NO NO BUT YES BUT YES YES YES
    Only the classroom teacher sees student work. A few individuals outside of the classroom see student work after the fact, but feedback is not solicited. Students present their work to people outside of the classroom and solicit feedback. Students share their work in formal public exhibitions that feature deep reflection and thorough explanations of their process, findings, and insights.