Introduction
The start of the school year is always filled with hope and excitement. I always start off the year with high expectations that I am going to create amazing lessons and engaging units and projects throughout the year. But then reality hits, usually around this time. The challenge of creating units that not only cover content but also truly engage students and make learning meaningful can feel overwhelming.
This is a challenge I’ve encountered year after year, and the data only highlights what we already feel in our classrooms. According to the Walton Family Foundation-Gallup Voices of Gen Z Study (2024), less than half of Gen Z middle and high school students say their coursework challenges them or gives them an opportunity to do what they do best. Even more startling, only 10% of high school students feel prepared for the future. On the positive side, students who feel connected to their learning are four times more likely to feel optimistic about their futures. Despite this, fewer than 35% of students shared that they have teachers who offer practical, hands-on learning opportunities, such as PBL.
And let’s be real—there’s a reason why project-based learning (PBL) isn’t as common as we’d like it to be. Planning projects takes a lot of time and energy. With the constant demands of everyday teaching and the heavy lift of designing meaningful experiences, it’s no surprise that many students miss out on the deeper learning PBL can provide.
There’s a reason why project-based learning (PBL) isn’t as common as we’d like it to be. Planning projects takes a lot of time and energy.
So, how can we manage it all? In this blog, I will walk through a project I did in the second half of last year's school year. I'll demonstrate how I utilized specific tools and resources to illustrate how you can create transformative learning experiences and reduce the cognitive load on us when making them.
PBL Reimagined Workshop
In February, I found the help I had been searching for when it came to project planning. With the support of my school district and our teacher center director, I attended the virtual workshop “PBL Reimagined: Crafting Projects with AI Support” alongside my colleague and school librarian, Mrs. Vogt.
The workshop showed us how to use AI to assist in planning but not replace us and our experience as teachers. This approach was a game-changer for me. I struggle with using pre-made, even great, projects because I never feel like they would speak to my students. At the same time, I never have the time to design my own. By leveraging AI, I could streamline the design process to create a high-quality PBL experience personalized for my teaching context and students, allowing me to focus on refining the project without the usual overwhelming workload.
By leveraging AI, I could streamline the design process to create a high-quality PBL experience personalized for my teaching context and students, allowing me to focus on refining the project without the usual overwhelming workload.
Getting Project Ideas from News Headlines
After the PBL Reimagined workshop, I was eager to implement these new tools in my 12th-grade English class. I didn’t have to look far for inspiration—earlier this year, a local organization, Community Resource Collaborative(CRC), self-reported a mismanagement of Federal COVID funds. This was detrimental to some of Rochester’s most vulnerable populations, as 1.1 million dollars in aid was owed to at least thirteen organizations.
After the news broke in early February, our senior class took a field trip to the Monroe County Office Building. While on the trip, we had the pleasure of meeting with Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, who was in the process of beginning an investigation of the CRC. On our way home from the field trip, I reflected on our experience with the Participation in Government teacher. Based on our conversation and events, I wanted to use the field trip to provide purposeful discussion on the racial disparity issues facing our city and county.
Generating an initial idea comes easy when I lean on what is happening in the local community. The challenge comes in turning those ideas into a fully developed project. Without the mental space or time to flesh out the details, my ideas often remain just that—ideas. Thankfully, with the help of the Project Builder, I could input my initial concepts, which helped solidify my project idea and generate some ideas for the day-to-day. From there, I leveraged what I knew my students would be interested in, considered my classroom culture, and adjusted the plan the Project Builder gave me to ensure a smooth experience throughout the project.
Project Overview for Rochester Rising
In "Rochester Rising: Nonprofits Bridging the Divide," students investigated the mismanagement of $1.1 million in Federal COVID relief funds by the Community Resource Collaborative (CRC) in Rochester, NY. Through a field trip to the Monroe County Office Building and meeting with County Executive Adam Bello, students explored the impact of this crisis on local nonprofits and vulnerable populations. The driving question for the project was: "How do local nonprofit organizations positively impact the needs of the Rochester community?" The project lasted about 4.5 weeks.
Using an inquiry-based research approach, students examined racial disparities in Rochester, focusing on the role of nonprofits in addressing issues like poverty, homelessness, and addiction. Each student pair selected a local nonprofit to research and developed a presentation to educate peers on the organization's efforts to meet community needs.
With my project overview set, I further used the Project Builder to help solidify the flow through the various phases of a project, making the needed adjustments to ensure a high-quality experience for my students. The graphic below outlines the PBL Learning Experience, illustrating the project's steps, guiding students through the investigation cycles, and culminating in the final product showcase.
The details of each phase and how my students engaged with these steps are included below.
The Project Launch
To launch the project, I collected articles about the mismanagement of funds and county leaders' reactions. Students were paired up and given an article to read, tasked with finding the key details—the "tea" that their peers needed to know. This easily hooked students because high schoolers love gossip, especially when it doesn’t involve them, setting off their curiosity and making them want to know more. Naturally, students became curious about the finances: What happened to the money? Who took it? What was it spent on? One student even asked, half-jokingly, whether someone had taken the cash and fled to a beach under an alias.
As we wrapped up our partner and large group discussions, I introduced the driving question: "How do local nonprofit organizations positively impact the needs of the Rochester community?" This sparked deeper inquiry, and soon, we were developing our need-to-know questions that would guide us throughout the project.
Students focused on questions like:
What problems are local nonprofits trying to solve in Rochester?
How do nonprofits get the money they need to help people?
How do nonprofits know if they are really making a difference in the community?
How do they help with big issues like poverty, homelessness, or inequity?
These need-to-know questions became the foundation for our inquiry and set the stage for a meaningful exploration of how nonprofits play a crucial role in supporting our local community. The whole list is on our project wall below.
The Investigation Cycles
Round 1: Pairs began researching the equity gaps that exist in the city of Rochester through statistics on crime, poverty, the opioid crisis, housing, and food insecurity. The goal was for my students, who live primarily in a rural-suburban community, to understand the real challenges faced in our city—beyond what is portrayed on social media. This round focused on answering the need-to-know question from the launch: "What problems are local nonprofits trying to solve in Rochester?" I provided a handout with questions and links to scaffold their research and help them get started. A small sample is included here:
To start getting them thinking about their final product, I had students share which topics they found most interesting from their research. This encouraged them to reflect on the areas they were most passionate about, setting the foundation for their deeper investigation into the work of local nonprofits.
Through this process, students began to build an understanding of and respect for the organizations working directly within the city to improve the quality of life. To help guide this new inquiry process, I provided an initial list of resources for their investigation.
Round 2: Once the data on the challenges facing the city of Rochester was gathered and discussed, students began a deeper dive into city-based, human-serving organizations. Each pair was tasked with submitting a proposal on three nonprofits that directly addressed the needs identified in the first round of inquiry. This phase aimed to develop a deeper understanding of the creative and vibrant efforts of nonprofits working to support the community.
This round focused on answering a new inquiry question from their need-to-know questions: "How do nonprofits get the money they need to help people?" Students explored how these organizations secure funding and resources, learning about grants, donations, and partnerships that allow nonprofits to sustain their efforts. To help get them started in their initial research of nonprofits, they used a graphic organizer which you can see a sample of below.
To guide the process, I provided a model to ensure that students understood the expectations and purpose of their proposals. In addition to the organizations I introduced, students were encouraged to seek out other nonprofits that aligned with the needs they had identified, giving them ownership of their research and fostering a broader understanding of the variety of support systems available in the city.
As they gathered information on their selected nonprofits, students also considered how their research could shape their final presentations. This early stage of brainstorming and idea gathering focused on ensuring they were on the right track with their nonprofit choices. I facilitated brief check-ins, during which students presented their ideas informally to me, receiving initial guidance and feedback to make sure their chosen organizations were relevant and impactful for the project. You can see their proposals below:
Round 3: After choosing their favorite nonprofit, students thoroughly researched and interviewed individuals from that organization. This phase aimed to address the need-to-know question: "How can nonprofits determine if they are truly making a difference in the community?" Students delved into how nonprofits assess their success through impact reports, testimonials, and community feedback.
At this stage, students were tasked with creating presentations to educate their peers and the community about the nonprofit’s mission, the specific needs it addresses, and how it makes a positive impact in Rochester. At the end of their proposal meeting, each group was given a rubric, which served as a guide to ensure success and set high expectations for their final product.
As they developed their presentations, we made sure that feedback was occurring both formally and informally. Pairs swapped drafts with another group and provided feedback focusing on clarity, messaging, readability, and professionalism. The rubrics were used as a framework to guide their feedback. In addition, I introduced the“Ladder of Feedback” tool that I got from ACP’s website, which encouraged students to provide thoughtful, constructive criticism. This process allowed each group to reflect on the strengths of their work and identify areas for improvement before moving forward.
The feedback and revision loop not only helped students refine their presentations but also encouraged a collaborative atmosphere where they learned the importance of clarity and professionalism in communicating their findings.
Public Product Showcase:
The culmination of our project was students sharing their final products in small groups with their peers. While Project-Based Learning (PBL) often involves a public presentation to a larger community audience, we opted to keep this presentation in-house. This intentional decision allowed students to present their work in a more relaxed, supportive setting without the added pressure of a larger audience. For many students, this was their first experience with PBL, and the smaller format allowed them to focus on refining their communication skills and celebrating their learning.
By presenting in small groups, students had the opportunity to engage deeply with one another’s work. This format encouraged meaningful discussions about the community issues they had researched, leading to a collaborative and reflective atmosphere.
The presentations were not just about completing a project—they were a celebration of each student's growth and learning. One student shared, “Presenting in small groups felt more like a conversation. I wasn’t as nervous, and I was able to really explain what we learned.” Another remarked, “It was cool hearing what the other groups found out about different nonprofits. It felt like we were all helping each other understand how they work.”
Although the presentations were celebratory, I also assessed each group based on the rubric we had been using throughout the project. This allowed me to evaluate their content, clarity, and professionalism, while also observing how well they communicated their research and responded to peer questions. By focusing on celebration and learning, students felt proud of their accomplishments while still gaining valuable insights into their work.
These reflections highlight the core of engagement and collaboration in learning. Projects like these help students build the skills and confidence they need to face real-world challenges. This in-class celebration of learning marked the culmination of a project that not only connected students to their community but also empowered them to see the role they can play in making a difference.
See some sample slideshows that students used to help guide their presentations and discussions.
Conclusion:
The seniors who participated in this project, who have graduated and are entering the workforce, gained a much deeper understanding of the challenges facing our city—far beyond what they had seen on social media. Through rich discussions with their peers, they developed a renewed sense of empathy for issues like homelessness and opioid addiction and gained insight into how nonprofits play a critical role in addressing these challenges.
For me as a teacher, this project reaffirmed the value of project-based learning and eased my initial concerns about creating units that are both engaging and meaningful. When hope and excitement fill the air at the start of the school year, the reality of planning impactful projects can feel overwhelming. But, as this experience showed, the right tools—like The Project Builder—can turn that challenge into a rewarding and transformative learning experience. The Project Builder allowed me to focus on what truly mattered: facilitating my students’ inquiry and helping them connect their learning to real-world issues.
The Project Builder allowed me to focus on what truly mattered: facilitating my students’ inquiry and helping them connect their learning to real-world issues.
Looking ahead, I plan to adjust and reimplement this project with next year’s English 12 class, applying the lessons I’ve learned. The feedback from my department chair has been overwhelmingly positive, praising both the impact of the Project Builder and the expansion of high-quality PBL into our English curriculum. I’m excited to continue refining these projects to create meaningful, real-world learning experiences for my students. After all, when students are engaged in work that matters, they leave feeling empowered and prepared for whatever the future holds.
If you’re ready to streamline your project planning and engage your students in meaningful learning, sign up for ACP’s next online workshop. You won’t regret it!
References:
Walton Family Foundation-Gallup. (2024). Voices of Gen Z Study: Year 2 Annual Survey Report (pp. 8, 9, 12, 16). Gallup, Inc. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com/analytics/506663/state-of-students-research.aspx
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