What is this?

The PBL Guide is the (first ever?) design system for planning and implementing Project Based Learning (PBL) in the classroom.

...what the heck is a design system?

Design systems are SUPER common in the tech world for designing websites, interfaces, and experiences. Every company has one. Google has "Material Design," Apple has "Human Interface Guidelines," The BBC has the "Global Experience Language." Seriously, everybody has one.

So why are schools over here looking like losers without design systems? What? They think they can just give teachers PD where everyone reads some blog post and assume those ideas will magically transform into better learning experiences?

...okay. Yeah. They probably will. Because the teachers are cool and they care and we love them. But what if it was easier? What if, like most designers, teachers had a set of tools and guidelines that help them consistently make killer learning experiences without having to think about it?

Take it from me, the teacher who is making this website. You're good at a job. You don't need a system to make you better. You need a system to make your life easier.

How to use the guide

You do not need to learn everything all at once. Each section has ideas you can implement on their own. Try one thing at a time.

Or, read a section every night before bed. Use the guide as fuel to make yourself dream of how much easier your job will be. Realize how much time you'll save because you have a system you can (almost) mindlessly follow and end up with a killer project. Then, get out there and make your dreams a reality, kid.

Yes, I'm a regular every-day teacher writing this. No, I'm not using Grammarly or autocorrect and I'm not sorry. I put that extra period there because I'm a generous guy. And because I would have paused there if I was speaking (were speaking? uh oh).