What Makes a “Good” Project? Podcast with Gary Stager

But somehow we always seem to overcomplicate them. (Myself included)

What if I told you that the BEST project prompts could fit on a single post-it note? 

Ones that have students coming in during lunch, working late hours in the evening, mastering curricular standards, and producing awe inspiring work that makes adult jaws drop. 

These are the kind of project-based experiences Gary Stager has educators around the world designing through his Summer Institutes and brilliant book ‘Invent to Learn’ on a regular basis. 

I sat down with Gary to discuss the book and how we as learning experience designers can: 

• Design curricular rich project prompts that fit on a single post-it note
• Create learning environments that resemble more cocktail party than they do classroom
• Design projects that are ‘sharable,’ and live on well beyond their expiration date
• Release the shackles of subjects, specialists, timetables, curriculum standards and assessment that often stand in the way of deep and meaningful project-based learning 
• Act more as ‘ethnographers’ to capture and document student learning, rather than as teachers who’s main job is to deliver instruction  

Listen on Spotify: What Makes a Good Project?
Listen on Apple: What Makes a Good Project? 

What powerful learning experience might you create that fits on a post-it note?