Keystone Oaks School District

During their dedicated half-day professional development time on Monday, October 27, a group of Keystone Oaks Middle and High School teachers participated in the first of four training sessions on Project-Based Learning. This is the second cohort of secondary teachers to participate in this training, and by the end of the 2025-2026 school year, a majority of middle and high school teachers will have been trained on the essential elements of project-based learning and will have designed and implemented at least one PBL lesson in their classroom. 

Led by the Allegheny Intermediate Unit’s Brian Stamford, Program Director for Accountability and Innovative Practices, and Rachel McVeagh, Instructional Innovation Coordinator, the PBL training focuses on the seven essential elements of project design and guides teachers through the process of designing a PBL unit. PBL is a way of teaching that allows students to explore meaningful questions, engage in real-world problem solving, and empowers them to tackle challenges by designing or creating something.

Research shows that PBL improves students’ ability to think critically, increases motivation and active participation, allows students to develop a deeper understanding of content, enhances teamwork and communication skills, fosters creativity and innovation, and boosts academic achievement. 

Last year's cohort of teachers implemented several creative and impactful PBL lessons, including:

• Building model houses to learn about electricity circuits
• Managing a diverse portfolio of stocks to create a mutual fund
• Curating a playlist of music that would reflect the character Holden Caulfield in the novel Catcher in the Rye
• Learning about Spanish language, culture, and food by creating food trucks

This year's PBL lessons will be highlighted in future newsletters.