How to Sustain PBL Initiatives in Year 2 and Beyond

“Nothing sells the first one like the second” is a quote often used in the marketing and sales world. The saying suggests that a strong sequel can help confirm the validity, longevity, and success of the first endeavor and even encourage those who might have previously hesitated to take a second look at whatever it is you’re trying to sell—even if it’s project-based learning (PBL).

This is good advice as far as books, movies, and video games are concerned, but it even holds true in the world of educational initiatives like project-based learning. We know from seminal research done as early as the 1960s that new ideas, initiatives, and concepts take time to become schoolwide initiatives, and PBL is no different. You can’t expect everyone to jump on board right away. For proof that PBL has truly taken hold, it’s important to view it as a multiyear endeavor.

And yet, many school leaders implementing schoolwide PBL adoption focus almost exclusively on the first year of implementation and all of the support necessary to begin the change rather than what is needed to sustain it. What comes in the second year has equal if not greater importance if your goal is for PBL to become systemic. Research indicates that student achievement really begins to increase as a result of PBL in the second year. Yet, without a clear plan for what is expected during year two, you may run the risk of unintentionally communicating to your staff that what comes next isn’t as important.

There are many different ways that school leaders can reinforce the fact that year two is just as important as year one. You’ll help sustain and also grow PBL in your school.

5 Strategies to Promote PBL in Year 2

Consider adding these ideas and suggestions to your year two plan:

1. Articulate a clear and achievable goal. Clearly state a goal up front. Make sure that it feels achievable and builds on what happened during year one. You can do this by revisiting year one of implementation and considering what a next step would be. For example, if your year one goal was to have every teacher plan and implement a single project, a good year two goal would be for them to revise their first project and look for an opportunity for a second one.

Another goal to consider is better integration of a single element of your PBL model. For example, if you’re utilizing PBLWorks’s Gold Standard PBL: Essential Project Design Elements, you might lean into improving students’ public products by including more community members in the authentic audience or encouraging teachers to think of more diverse, real-world final products. Above all, be clear on what is nonnegotiable as far as the outcomes you’re looking to achieve in year two.

2. Emphasize student and staff voice. Voice and choice are important elements of PBL because they encourage buy-in through shared ownership, and shared ownership is something you’ll need in order to sustain your PBL work. Ask your students and staff what should be next, and openly share the answers. Have them consider the areas of greatest struggle as well as success, and use those ideas to inform the next steps and goals for your second year. Even if you didn’t get a chance to do any kind of debrief at the end of year one, you can definitely lead with this at the beginning of the year.

3. Highlight and share successes. Whether you do this during your first week back with staff or as a part of your first department meeting, professional learning community, or all-staff meeting, it is important to highlight stories of success from the first year where you can. These stories provide opportunities for teachers to talk about what they did and what their students accomplished, and they allow teachers to share what they plan to do in year two. Doing this can help win over late adopters by providing peer endorsements and also give other teachers ideas about what’s possible. Teacher leaders who are willing to make their practice public are key to expanding and improving your implementation of PBL in the second year.

4. Create a clear map going forward. The best thing about year two is that you have a full year of experience to inform what comes next—you can make more informed decisions with regard to scaling. Mapping when projects are taking place on a master calendar can help prevent overlap and student overload. Tracking timelines for when projects are going to be finished can also help you plan out schoolwide exhibition nights. Doing this can alleviate teacher planning requirements around making final products public. The second year is a great time to make evidence-based decisions about the future of PBL at your school.

5. Plan continuous touch points. You don’t need to find half-days or whole hours every week in order to keep PBL “on top” so that teachers feel supported and can maintain momentum. The key is to monitor things and provide support in a way that allows you to make adjustments or suggestions without policing. Your words and actions should communicate that even in year two, PBL is still important.

On your calendar, mark out when you want to collect additional data or artifacts of learning to keep yourself honest. Then, find a way to send regular reminders and additional resources to teachers as well as community stakeholders. Try periodically sharing out during staff meetings, sending regular resources and readings through a newsletter, or announcing when teachers are exhibiting their work.