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In Project Based Learning (PBL), students build knowledge and skills through sustained investigation of complex, real-world problems. It’s often a shift from traditional methods of teaching and learning, so AP PBL resources include curriculum, instructional materials, and robust professional development supports that enable students to learn the required AP course content and skills through active engagement with five large projects that become the curriculum and pedagogical approach for these AP classrooms.
Get more scores of 3 or higher
Powerful new research shows that this approach can significantly improve student performance on the AP Exams. A randomized controlled trial that compared AP Exam performance of students whose teachers used PBL curriculum and professional learning to a control group showed that PBL students achieved higher results on AP Exams. Read the detailed summary of these findings from Lucas Education Research, a division of the George Lucas Educational Foundation.
What’s new in 2021
In Summer 2021, we are providing two separate offerings to support project based learning in your classrooms:
- Project Based Learning for AP Environmental Science
- Project Based Learning for AP U.S. Government and Politics
This series is appropriate for new AP teachers committed to using this project based curriculum for their AP course, and for experienced AP teachers interested in adopting this approach.
Bring PBL to the classroom
The AP Project Based Learning Series helps teachers adopt a project based instructional approach that anchors their AP course into five sustained projects, which collectively address all the content and skills required for college credit.
Workshops in the AP Project Based Learning Series are designed and delivered by PBLWorks, the premier organization in PBL teaching methodology, and will help teachers:
- Understand how to teach the AP course through the 5 projects that comprise this project based instructional approach.
- See how these projects help students achieve all the learning objectives in the AP course and exam description.
- Learn how to adapt these 5 projects to your students’ needs and implement them throughout the year.
What’s included in the AP Project Based Learning Series
Like other research-based workshops that are shown to have a positive effect on student performance, the AP Project Based Learning Series requires a more sustained commitment to professional learning than participation in a standard AP Summer Institute.
The $799 registration fee includes:
- 4 days of online professional learning during the AP Summer Institute (30 hours), including access to curriculum, unit plans, and ready-made projects for your students.
- 4 online sustained support sessions during the school year (timed with the expected completion dates of each project). Teachers will be able to choose from several different dates and times for each of these job-embedded sessions.
Accordingly, participants receive more continuing education units (CEUs) than participants who attend a standard AP Summer Institute.