A project-based learning portfolio is an excellent strategy for demonstrating and showcasing evidence of learning, especially when student-led. 

​Project portfolios are great for evaluating project based learning projects as single experiences as well as on a more grand, comprehensive level. For this reason, I love to start self-directed project-based learning project experiences with the end in mind. I implement and design PBL experiences around these portfolios.

Project-based learning, especially when student-directed, is a compelling approach to learning. Students gain content knowledge, develop hard and soft skills, build character, and learn HOW to learn through the many phases of student-led PBL.

Students ultimately showcase evidence of these experiences and outcomes in a project-based learning portfolio. This blog post is about one project-based learning portfolio student example that reminds me of just how powerful student-led PBL can be. Let's take a look.

Experiential education is taking the world by storm, especially our mid/post-pandemic world. 

If you are an aspiring or even practicing experiential educator looking for more information about experiential learning or could use a boost of inspiration, I highly recommend that you start by reading some books about experiential education written by the experiential learning greats!

Right now is a great time to start. It’s the beginning of summer (for many of us), so head to the library, grab a few books about experiential education, and hit the beach or the park to get your experiential reading on!

But where to start? There are a ton of books out there about experiential education and not all are created equal. How do you know which ones to read? 

I’ve compiled a list of 10 experiential education books to start with. These books are just a few of my favorites, written by some of my personal heroes, all of which have paved the way for what it means to be an experiential educator in the 21st-century.

What are some examples of self-directed learning activities? This is a popular question among educators that have an interest in student-directed learning, and know the benefits, but aren’t sure about semantics.

Before getting into great self-directed learning activities, let’s review what student-directed learning is and why this blog post is worth reading.

I have been an experiential science educator for almost 15 years. I have a background in field ecology but eventually left the career to teach high school science in an experiential classroom, which is where I’ve been for the bulk of my professional life. But what does that mean?

Are you a parent, teacher or student looking for some plant science fair ideas that are easy and engaging for everyone involved?

It doesn't have to be hard, it doesn't have to take a ton of time, and no one has to be a professional scientist or even a trained science teacher to do these plant science experiments and projects.

Check out some of the plant science fair ideas here to make your lives a little easier. Build a plant science experiment or a research project around the ideas offered here while still making them your own! 

What is student-directed learning? This phrase and other variations of the phrase (child-led learning, self-directed learning, student-led learning, etc. etc. etc. ) imply that learning experiences are designed, coordinated, and led by students. Your students are self-directed learners, not passive receivers of information.

Okay, so student-directed learning means that learners lead their own learning experiences, but what does that entail? How can you apply self-directed learning in the classroom or at home, and what are some student-directed learning strategies that you can implement right now?

Let's find out!

Do you ever wonder how to use experiential learning in the classroom, and not just in any classroom, but in YOUR classroom? In YOUR school? In YOUR homeschool? How do experiential learning schools, homeschools, or programs, do it? How do they structure the day, the week, the year?