Hacking Project Based Learning: 10 Easy Steps to PBL and Inquiry in the Classroom

Hacking Project Based Learning is a classroom essential.

-Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of Drive

It's time to say Yes to PBL

Project Based Learning can be messy, complicated, and downright scary. When done right, though, PBL and Inquiry are challenging, inspiring and fun for students. Best of all, when project-based learning is done right, it actually makes the teacher's job easier.

Now, you can demystify project-based learning

As questions and mysteries around PBL and inquiry continue to swirl, experienced classroom teachers and school administrators Ross Cooper and Erin Murphy have written a book that will empower those intimidated by PBL to cry, "I can do this!" while at the same time providing added value for those who are already familiar with the process. Hacking Project Based Learning demystifies what PBL is all about with 10 hacks that construct a simple path that educators and students can easily follow to achieve success.

Hacking Project Based Learning provides a simple blueprint for PBL that helps you:

• Establish a culture of inquiry and creativity in your classroom
• Teach the kind of collaboration skills that harness dissonance
• Turn High Impact Takeaways (HITs) into a project based plan
• Create Umbrella questions that drive the project
• Build a Progress Assessment Tool (PAT) that helps students inform and assess their learning
• Use formative assessment throughout the entire PBL experience
• Seamlessly integrate direct instruction to enhances the process, rather than interfere with it
• Practice the patience that inspires a productive struggle, which leads to better understanding
• Teach and embrace reflection during and at the end of the project
• Publish work the right way, so all stakeholders can see it

Experts rave about Hacking Project Based Learning

"HACKING PROJECT BASED LEARNING is a classroom essential. Its ten simple "hacks" will guide you through the process of setting up a learning environment in which students will thrive from start to finish."

-Daniel H. Pink, New York Times Bestselling author of DRIVE

"Ross Cooper and Erin Murphy have researched PBL from every angle and offer practical steps to make the PBL experience highly beneficial to students because they are practitioners who use it. This book is a very important "How-to" for every teacher and leader who is interested in PBL.

-Peter DeWitt, author/consultant, Finding Common Ground blog (Education Week)

"The challenge for educators with project and inquiry based learning is finding the time and having the knowledge to implement effectively. Cooper and Murphy provide a much-needed resource that addresses both of these pain points in a concise, clear manner.

-Eric Sheninger, Senior Fellow, International Center for Leadership in Education

Are you ready for an amazing productive struggle in your classroom?

Start Hacking Project Based Learning today.

Ross Cooper is the Supervisor of Instructional Practice K-12 in the Salisbury Township School District in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Previously, he was an elementary assistant principal for a year, and before that a fourth-grade teacher in the East Penn School District for six years. He is an Apple Distinguished Educator and a Google Certified Innovator. His passions are inquiry-based learning and quality professional development. He blogs about these topics at rosscoops31.com. He regularly speaks, presents, and conducts workshops related to his writings and professional experiences. When he is not working, he enjoys eating steak and pizza, exercising, reading books, playing on his computer, and provoking his three beautiful nephews. Please feel free to connect with him via email, RossCoops31@gmail.com, and Twitter, @RossCoops31.

Erin Murphy is the assistant principal of Eyer Middle School in the East Penn School District. As a certified literacy specialist, she coordinates the middle-level ELA department. Erin’s classroom experiences range from kindergarten through fifth grade. In college, Erin was a member of the Professional Development School at Penn State University; this full year collaboration between the university and State College Area School District focused on inquiry based learning, conceptual math instruction, and project based learning experiences. She has presented at numerous conferences on the east coast focused on Project Based Learning, Literacy, Technology, and Educational Leadership. Erin married her college sweetheart and has two beautiful daughters. Follow Erin on Twitter @MurphysMusings5 and check out her blog at psumurphette.com