Real-World Projects: How Do I Design Relevant and Engaging Learning Experiences? - ASCD Arias

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contributor Bio:  Boss, Suzie Suzie Boss is uniquely qualified to write this book. A veteran journalist and education consultant, she frequently profiles innovators who are solving global problems with breakthrough ideas. She also has hands-on experience developing programs that inspire and enable youth and adults to put innovation strategies to work in their own communities. She is familiar with the realities of the classroom, including the challenges that can get in the way of promising approaches. She is the co-author of Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age (2007). It has been a bestseller for the International Society for Technology in Education and was recently translated by a German publisher. Boss has written on diverse topics for a wide range of publications, including the New York Times, Edutopia, Worldchanging, Huffington Post, and the Stanford Social Innovation Review, which is a leading publication in the field of social change. (She is a contributing writer for SSIR and a regular contributor for Edutopia.) Boss also has considerable experience with the art of putting research into practice. As an editor and writer for the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (now known as Education Northwest), she conducted field research across a five-state region to showcase best practices in action. She was also a founding board member of Springboard Innovation, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Ore., that teaches "ordinary" citizens how to tackle local challenges with innovative, sustainable solutions. She has developed curriculum for youth leadership programs, including classroom materials for The New Heroes, a PBS series about social entrepreneurs, and Challenge and Change, a national teen leadership initiative for Girl Scouts of the USA. She is currently consulting on a new site for the U. S. Department of Education that will make ideas like project-based learning and STEM education more accessible to after-school audiences. Boss serves on the National Faculty of the Buck Institute for Education, an internationally recognized organization that promotes project-based learning. She travels nationally to present in-depth training for the Buck Institute on the topic of designing community-based projects that extend the benefits of service learning. She is a frequent presenter at conferences, such as ISTE and the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE). She is comfortable talking with the media and also adept at using social media tools for connecting with audiences. In the summer of 2010, for example, she was the facilitator of the first-ever "PBL Camp," sponsored by Edutopia. This online learning experience brought together educators from across the country (and beyond) who shared an interest in using the Gulf of Mexico oil spill as the starting point for designing high-interest student projects. More than 1,000 educators signed up for the experience. Boss incorporated a variety of technology tools to help build a community of educators. Plans for another PBL Camp are underway for 2011. Through her interviews and consulting work, Boss has become well-acquainted with thought leaders in education as well as the social change field. She is uniquely positioned to combine their "big ideas" with practical insights for the classroom.