Accelerate Learning with Project-Based Learning

Presented by Kathleen Fredette, Director of STEAM Initiatives, iLEAD Schools; Dr. Deirdre Pilch, Superintendent, Greeley-Evans School District 6 (CO); and Demetrius Reden, STEM Teacher and SmartLab Facilitator, Charles R. Drew Academy (TX)
Moderated by Rita Ferrandino, Innovation Consultant, Catalyst @ Penn GSE, and Founder, Arc Capital Development

Sponsored by SmartLab Learning

Watch the Recording Listen to the Podcast

Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation. Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more

Earlier this year, the George Lucas Educational Foundation released four new studies highlighting how project-based learning (PBL) helps accelerate student learning—across age groups, multiple disciplines, and different socio-economic statuses.

Whether a newbie or PBL master, with this year’s emphasis on unfinished learning it may be time to focus on developing your PBL acumen. Watch this edWebinar to gain insights from education leaders as they share:

• Strategies to develop and implement in your classroom
• Nuts and bolts for how to start or progress in your PBL journey
• How to implement individual and whole-school PBL programs
• The gains—academic, social, and emotional—they’ve seen since implementing PBL
• Gateways and entry points to authentic PBL experiences

This recorded edWebinar is of interest to K-12 teachers, librarians, and school and district leaders.

About the Presenters

Kathleen Fredette is the director of STEAM initiatives at iLEAD Schools. As an experienced STEAM educator, Kathleen has worked in the primary and secondary education industries with a focus on aerospace. She is a skilled curriculum developer and instructional designer and is an expert in project-based learning and educational technology. She has a Master of Arts with an emphasis in STEM curriculum and design from Adams State University/NASA Endeavor STEM.

Dr. Deirdre Pilch has spent more than 30 years working in public education, from serving as a middle school Language Arts teacher to leading a 2,700-student high school, to serving as the Superintendent of Greeley-Evans School District 6.

Deeply committed to equity and access for all students, Dr. Pilch has led the development of two strategic plans for District 6—Innovation2020 and the new Innovation2030. These plans focus on improving achievement, including the development of personal learning plans, creating career and college plans, and improving access to learning opportunities for every student in District 6.

Demetrius Reden is a STEM Lab Facilitator in the Aldine Independent School District. For the past 5 years, his main focus has been to introduce students to the concepts of creative thinking, problem-solving, and acquiring 21st-century skills
through project-based learning (PBL).

Before coming to Aldine ISD, he spent more than 30 years as an Electrical Engineer in the oil and gas industry where he designed high-speed data acquisition systems for major oil companies.

He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering Technology from the University of Houston, Texas, and a M.Ed. in STEM Curriculum & Instruction from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon.

About the Moderator

Rita Ferrandino has built an international reputation as one of the most effective strategists and coalition-builders in the education entrepreneurship community. She is a recognized STEM education expert, an authority on U.S. education policy and politics, and a leader in Future of Work strategies. Rita currently is the innovation consultant at the Catalyst @ Penn GSE Innovation Center at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. She was the lead capstone instructor at the Education Entrepreneurship Graduate Program for four years. For three years, she was President of the Education Design Studio, Inc. Incubator funded in collaboration with the Milken Family Foundation and University of Pennsylvania.

Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.

Join the Accelerate Learning community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

Created by educators, SmartLab Learning develops comprehensive K–12 project-based learning, STEM-focused solutions. Whether whole classroom SmartLab HQ environments or our SmartLab Rover that brings in-depth learning into individual classrooms, our research-based solutions keep your learners engaged in hands-on, minds-on activities that reinforce science, technology, engineering, and math concepts.