Thank you for your comments and careful review! In regards to your question about stand-alone units, yes, Project-Based Inquiry Science (PBIS) teachers can implement the units in any order. We often make customized recommendations based on sequencing based on state or district standards or any other criteria requested. In terms of the “online community of practice,” we have used Edmodo to set up district learning communities. But, our research has informed us that sustaining a learning community is extremely difficult, and will not be successful unless it is district-driven.

Hi, I’m Ruta Demery, and I was the development editor of PBIS as well as the PBIS CyberPD system. Our initial grant period ended last August, and we are presently wrapping up a supplementary grant. We are pleased to say that we accomplished everything that we set out to do and more.

One thing we learned during this study was that although project-based learning has the potential to engage students in science and engineering, project-based learning requires fundamental changes in the way teachers facilitate student learning in the classroom. Teachers must understand and reliably implement the curricula for any learning gains to be realized. A CyberPD system such as ours is able to support teachers make this shift in their classroom practices.

We feel that journaling and reflection are very important components of a teacher’s professional development. In one of our field-test sites, teachers were provided with district PD credits to answer the reflection questions. This was an excellent incentive for teachers to find time to allocate for reflection.

We were privileged to work collaboratively with Tamara Sumner and Heather Leary at CU as well as Holly Devaul at UCAR.

Thanks Ruta. Tamara and Holly are wonderful! I know of Heather, but I have not worked with her in the past. Thanks so much for all the detail here. It’s too bad that you have to offer incentives to get teachers (really anyone) to take the time to reflect. We all know it’s good for us and has positive results on our own practice. Still we put it aside! And yet I’m glad you found a way to “make us eat our vegetables.” Thanks for all your efforts. I’m sure it will be extremely beneficial to many! Kudos.

The CyberPD System enhances and extends the technique of a traditional wraparound teacher edition page to a digital format. In print, the amount of content that can be provided is severely restricted by the limited space that is available around the student page. In the digital format, all the educative material needed can be placed directly beside the corresponding student page without any space restrictions. Whether on a computer, a tablet, or a smartphone, teachers have all the material they need to prepare for or teach a lesson at their fingertips.
Unlike traditional print materials, the electronic just-in-time support permits teachers instant access to multimedia assets, such as videos, URLs for additional teacher resources, extensive correlations, and the professional-learning community on any electronic device, including smartphones, tablets, and computers. For example, a teacher may wish to listen to the audio portion of a Walkthrough Video en route to school in the morning. Electronic, just-in-time support provides student-page support assets that teachers can access anytime and anywhere as needed before or during their actual teaching experience.

Unfortunately, although teachers express the desire in having a learning community, from our experience, there is very little interest in maintaining the community. In several districts, we have provided facilitators to answer teacher questions, however, this also did not prove to be successful. We welcome any and all suggestions.