Building PBL Coaches

So you’ve decided that your school or your district is going to Project/Problem/Passion-Based Learning.

You’ve even hired in the initial consultant(s) to kick off the movement and afterward, many of your teachers are energized ready to start.

BUT this isn't your first initiative... you also know that those teachers are going to need regular and customized follow-up support. Maybe even for some, they’re going to need an hour here and there of co-teaching. Or individual coaching in the moment of their planning periods. And you already have curriculum coaches on the job for all your school’s curricular needs...but...they’re not PBL trained any further than your teachers.

You’re left with a dilemma:

How will you afford to get your teachers the support they need without breaking your budget?

And what if you, as the coach who's supporting the teachers in this initiative don't have much background in Project/Problem/Passion-Based Learning?

After all, you already have coaches on salary but they aren’t specifically PBL-trained. They’re barely ahead of your teachers, and in some cases, may even be behind. Of course they’re great people and awesome trainers -- they just might not have any PBL experience as classroom teachers themselves. Past the initial training, you know, when the actual real struggles start, will they be able to answer these teacher-questions that at the next level of complexity?

The reality is, you can’t afford to bring in the f2f consultant every week -- or every month!

How can you get your coaches more deeply trained in supporting the PBL classroom so they feel comfortable supporting the teachers on a timely, as-needed basis?

This course is designed specifically for curriculum and instructional coaches who need support for themselves as they support their teachers.

How it works:
We'll meet LIVE two times a month, starting February 9 and running through May 22 (all dates listed below). You'll have a chance to suggest and vote up the topics burning in your brain and we'll tackle those questions each meeting.

Can't make a time/date? That's ok! You can watch/listen to archived meetings. You can also join our active Facebook group to ask your questions in real time with real practitioners.

As a world-wide PBL teacher and consultant for the past 12 years, Ginger is able to help curriculum coaches develop a deep and broad repertoire of experience and comfort with not only the basic and advanced concepts of PBL, but also have a strong set of resources for the top frequently-asked questions, problem areas, and misconceptions that teachers have when diving into PBL. She will open the playbook that she have developed in working with thousands of K12 teachers and higher-education programs.

• Where do new-to-PBL teachers stumble?
• What are the big questions teachers are left with when facing kids and a blank lesson planning document after a quick 2-day PBL training?
• How can we support a teacher trying to shift a favorite “project” into a “PBL?”
• Giving and receiving feedback for growth.
• Encouraging content integration.
• Shifting teachers from more content-driven to more universal skills-driven learning.
• Encouraging and helping to coordinate/facilitate collaboration between classes across school, district, state, nation, world-wide and between various age-groups.
• Moving from more school-flavored PBL into more outside world PBL.
• Moving from more teacher-ignited PBL to more student-ignited PBL.
• What happens when we need to communicate to parents what & why we’re doing school differently?
• How do we evaluate their progress not just for coaching, but also for supporting our administration in their teacher-evaluation process?
• What are top suggestions when a teacher is reluctant in moving forward?
• What are the best resources for a variety of teachers without pigeonholing a teacher or a unit into one silo of content or age-level, ie 5th grade math?
• How do I start to support PBL-style professional learning? How do I role model what I’m coaching?
• How can we start advocating for a better system structure that reflects learning instead of the old-style structures of “school?” ie, bell schedule? Grading system? Report cards? Grade-levels based on age? Adequate tech supports to enable student-centered learning?
• And more, customized to the needs of the coaches attending these trainings.