Over a hundred educators and professionals from all around the tri-state area representing over 35 districts joined Rutgers CESP at its 2nd Annual Project Based Learning Summit. The full-day of professional development gave participants the opportunity to hear from nationally recognized speakers, and deepen their understanding of Project Based Learning (PBL).

This year’s keynote speaker, Thomas C. Murray, spoke about the 8 fundamental keys of effective PBL which he outlines in his most recent book, Learning Transformed. The rest of the conference built off this theme with a series of breakout sessions that offered PBL beginners strategies for success, and educators with PBL experience deeper insights to improve student learning-oriented outcomes.

Breakout sessions were hosted by educators from around the state who shared their experience and practices with PBL: Denis Sheeran discussed incorporating PBL into K-12 mathematics curricula, Dr. Robert Zywicki emphasized the importance of PBL in special education, Mark Wise showed educators how to take student projects to the global stage, and Ross Cooper shared the common problems (and solutions) faced when first bringing PBL to the classroom.

CESP was pleased to award The Watters School #24 as its 2018 exemplary school for their incredible work with students in PBL. The district was able to close their performance gap and appreciably increase student achievement by bringing effective PBL to their district. School Principal, Ms. Rosalyn Barnes, accompanied by Executive Director Dr. Rosette Wilson, and teachers Todd Jamni, Shantae Young, Judith McIntyre, and Nicole Tarantula shared their journey through the beginning years of incorporating PBL into their school. Educators shared personal challenges, and the administration shared ways of overcoming the obstacles of getting PBL started, including building school culture and effective communication with the entire school community.

CESP extends its gratitude to the sponsors that helped make the summit possible, especially platinum sponsors LinkIt! And MRA International. LinkIt! is a company working to empower educators in the classroom to make decisions that ensure the success of teaching and learning goals and serve as the state’s primary assessment partner. MRA International is a specialized information technology company working with public sector customers to plan, deploy, and maintain equipment. The center would also like to extend their thanks to silver sponsor ICLE, and bronze sponsors Achieve300 and STMath.

The third annual Tri-State PBL Summit is scheduled for March 12th, 2019. Join the CESP community to receive updates and ensure you don’t miss important registration information by subscribing to the mailing list at cesp.rutgers.edu.  CESP looks forward to working with you in the future!