“Project Based Learning” appears on most teachers’ resumes, but this usually stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the difference between teaching a project and teaching through true PBL. This seminar explores the philosophy, history, and practical implementation of PBL. The goal of this seminar is to provide educators with the mindset, tools, and confidence to try their first PBL unit without sacrificing the rigor of the standards or the best practices in their classrooms. The main focus is on practicality and the realities of teachers’ classrooms instead of some idealized classroom.

Most PBL seminars shy away from math classes, but I offer some additional training and ideas specifically for math educators and interdisciplinary PBLs that include math.

Math teachers tend to perceive alternative assessment as unapproachable in math classrooms because of quick-footed pacing guides and the lack of resources available in most alternative education options – in fact, usually the presenter says that this structure works great “except in math.” The goal of this seminar is to provide low-impact, high reward structures that raise agency, engagement, and robustness of assessments. The main structures examined are menus, games, simulations, and flipped classes.

The most feared question in math classrooms is “When am I ever going to use this?” This seminar is aimed at understanding the history of math education, why most responses to this question are fueled by teacher misunderstandings, and how to develop a philosophy of mathematics for both educator and student.

Our society views math as the opposite end of the spectrum from language arts (and the fine arts). However, most student difficulties with mathematics are actually difficulties with language. Furthermore, this seminar investigates the ways in which ELA teachers are already addressing mathematical structures within their classrooms, explores a translation manual between the two disciplines, and then ends with how these disciplines may be tied together.

If math education may be compared to teaching students to swim the English Channel, this seminar might be best described as snorkeling – allowing educators and students swim in shallow waters, but granting the opportunity to see some cool stuff along the way. The ideas in this seminar are great for when educators and students need an opportunity to refocus and rejuvenate, reminding themselves why they do what they do in the first place.