Why Project-Based Learning Is Well Suited to Pandemic Teaching and Learning Environmental Science

James Fester (@saintfester) is a teacher, educational consultant and instructional coach who helps teachers harness the power of authentic, experiential, technology-infused approaches to classroom instruction. His writing has been featured on well-known educational sites such as Getting Smart, TEDex, and KQED. His recognition as a Google Certified Innovator and a National Geographic Certified Teacher led to the creation of Park Based Learning, a project that encourages teachers to connect learners to national parks and public lands. As a member of PBLWorks National Faculty, Fester has consulted internationally, helping schools and teachers shift to a more student-centered, inquiry-based form of teaching and learning based on the same approach to education he has used as a state and National Park volunteer.

Jorge Valenzuela (@JorgeDoesPBL) is an education coach, author and advocate. He has years of experience as a classroom and online teacher, a curriculum specialist and a consultant. His work focuses on improving teacher preparation in project-based learning, computational thinking and computer science integration, STEM education, and equity and SEL integration. Valenzuela is an adjunct professor at Old Dominion University and the lead coach at Lifelong Learning Defined. His book Rev Up Robotics and its companion jump start guide Ready, Set, Robotics! are available from ISTE, and his next book, which dives deeper into the Equity and SEL Integration Framework, is forthcoming from Solution Tree.