2026 JEFF TECH York
Head Teachers & Expedition Leaders
Experiential, Project Based Learning (PBL) should be actively designed by teachers, who need to create exemplars, set deliverables, and design demonstrations to guide students.
PBL contrasts with Project-Oriented Learning, which lacks authenticity, only mimicking projects without clear outcomes.
PBL contrasts with Project-Oriented Learning, which lacks authenticity, only mimicking projects without clear outcomes.
Why Experiential PBL Matters
Students (all of us) don’t remember lectures for very long—we remember working with others, creating ideas that resonated, and feeling successful. Students talk years later about developing passions and forming communities while making and doing.
Conversely, poorly executed project-based learning (PBL) is worse than traditional instruction. Students end up sitting around, and projects land in the trash. The difference? Planning and doing the work yourself first.
The Five Essential Steps
1. Do the Project Yourself First
Before asking students to do anything, complete the entire project yourself. This is non-negotiable. Create an exemplar that shows students, administrators, parents, and the community what's possible. Your exemplar sets the floor—it demonstrates what the classroom will accomplish.
You don't have a textbook or store-bought materials. If you're teaching experientially, you must develop your own curriculum. This takes planning and effort, and it's far more rewarding.
You don't have a textbook or store-bought materials. If you're teaching experientially, you must develop your own curriculum. This takes planning and effort, and it's far more rewarding.
2. Identify Deliverables and Create a Calendar
Break the project into concrete deliverables—these are the checkpoints that scaffold learning and let you monitor student progress. Deliverables can teach necessary skills or serve as components of the final project.
Create a calendar with due dates for each deliverable. This structure prevents students from falling through the cracks and ensures they stay on track.
Create a calendar with due dates for each deliverable. This structure prevents students from falling through the cracks and ensures they stay on track.
3. What the classroom looks like
The Teachers will work with students individually or in pairs—never larger groups.
Start class with a brief 10-minute introduction and demonstration, then circulate to check in with each team.
Provide individual critique and support. Avoid long lectures that address the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
"How many times have you listen to a teacher or leader and they are addressing a problem that one person has anonymously to the group? This is not efficient it is divisive and destructive."
Start class with a brief 10-minute introduction and demonstration, then circulate to check in with each team.
Provide individual critique and support. Avoid long lectures that address the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
"How many times have you listen to a teacher or leader and they are addressing a problem that one person has anonymously to the group? This is not efficient it is divisive and destructive."
- Conduct formal weekly check-ins and casual daily ones.
- Document progress and set expectations for the next check-in.
- Know which student is doing what work—never group grade if you can't distinguish individual contributions.
4. Backfill for Content Knowledge
When students finish their project work, use that time strategically. Have them prepare presentations and teach others about what they learned—teaching solidifies understanding (metacognition).
This is also your opportunity to Backfill standards not fully covered by the project. Now that students have context, they'll absorb lectures and information much more effectively (the "YouTube phenomenon"—content makes more sense when you already know something about it).
*** REMEMBER If you Backfill first that is Front loading and that is traditional education.
XP is not the place for traditions that do not work.
This is also your opportunity to Backfill standards not fully covered by the project. Now that students have context, they'll absorb lectures and information much more effectively (the "YouTube phenomenon"—content makes more sense when you already know something about it).
*** REMEMBER If you Backfill first that is Front loading and that is traditional education.
XP is not the place for traditions that do not work.
5. Exhibit Student Work
Have students prepare, practice, and present their work publicly. Everyone should see what they learned—parents, other students, administrators, teachers, and the community. This is when you can also discuss any follow-up assessments you gave after the project.
Public exhibition creates pride and accountability. Post work prominently so the learning is visible.
Public exhibition creates pride and accountability. Post work prominently so the learning is visible.
Common Obstacles
"Every year we need to do the same expedition."
False, Repeating projects year after year stifles teacher growth and student engagement.
"I have to do the expedition my teaching partner wants."
This hurts students, teachers, and the school.
If Teachers content expertise and interests don’t aligned in an authentic way don’t force it.
"Testing pressure keeps expeditions in the background.”
Worrying about testing keeps expeditions in the background,
while lecturing, quizzing, and testing become center stage.
"I planned an expedition for year 7 with a partner,
and then I was told I would be teaching year 9 and with a different partner."
Trying to program a teacher for every class is not easy. Give priority to teachers that have a plan and an expedition. School will get better if we are meritocratic.
“Simple structures create complex outcomes, and complex structures create simple outcomes.”
For Head Teachers & Expedition Leaders
Front of the Project Card Teachers Exemplar |
Back of Card: Project Deliverables |
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Student Deliverables
Learn to Illustrate
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Illustrate Physics Standard
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Exhibition
Book or Student's Illustrations Link to Test
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Model what you're asking teachers to do:
- Post project cards in your office showing each teacher's exemplar and deliverables
- Keep copies of their project calendars
- Before classroom visits, ask: "What deliverable are you working on?"
- When you visit, talk to students about their progress on specific deliverables
- Conduct regular check-ins with teachers just as they do with students—ask about goals, planning, struggles, and future outlook
- Use meeting time for meaningful check-ins, not irrelevant announcements everyone already knows
Students feel honored when you know what they're working on.
Teachers feel supported when you engage with their work authentically.
The Bottom Line
"Sometimes it's not what you put into a school, it's what you keep out."
Keep out:
Keep in:
"Sometimes it's not what you put into a school, it's what you keep out."
Keep out:
- Long lectures for everyone when individuals need targeted help
- Group grades that mask individual effort
- Projects without exemplars, deliverables, or calendars
- The temptation to let students "just do what they want" without structure
Keep in:
- Your own completed project work
- Clear deliverables and timelines
- Individual student conferences
- Public exhibitions of learning
- Teacher autonomy to lead projects they're passionate about
Crew Checkins -
After the success, positive vibes, and excellent planning developed at Jeff Tech High last November 2024 in San Diego, JTH and XP are opening up submissions for JTH 2025.
Email Me with questions and ideas as soon a you can!
I can help you before the deadline on July, 4th 2025
[email protected]
The First step is creating an Exemplar, doing the expedition . . .
Creating an Exemplar
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There are many ways to create an exemplar. As teachers, you know your subject area, the curricular requirements of your class, and the level at which you teach.
Combining your class requirements in an open-ended student-centered expedition with a teaching partner and their class's educational requirements, making an exemplar that you can present to both your classes to illustrate the kind of cross-disciplinary work they will do, sounds difficult. That's why scaffolding the production of your exemplar into steps is necessary, the same way you would do for your students. There are many ways to do this, and I suggest two pathways; however, if you have a successful process to create an exemplar, I am interested. You need an exemplar to attend Jeff Tech High 2025 in La Jolla. I want to help you flesh out an idea and an exemplar. We can do this through Zoom this summer. |
Pathway to Exemplar #1 (one way of making an Exemplar )
Can you make something that represents the learning and skills your students will do in your class? This task is obvious, and it might not be that easy.
Example:
As an Art teacher working with a Humanities teacher, my students needed to investigate the 20th century, learn to research, find their own topics, work with primary sources, and write fictional prose for Humanities.
For the Art requirement, students needed to create a portfolio of original artwork, combine images and writing, make an art presentation, and use their artistic skills to tell a story.
Example:
As an Art teacher working with a Humanities teacher, my students needed to investigate the 20th century, learn to research, find their own topics, work with primary sources, and write fictional prose for Humanities.
For the Art requirement, students needed to create a portfolio of original artwork, combine images and writing, make an art presentation, and use their artistic skills to tell a story.
Twentieth Century Box Expedition:
The first thing I did was look at books for inspiration, something to riff on.
Next, I did the project myself first. I had to revise and start over many times because my original ideas were not always doable or reasonable.
Next, I did the project myself first. I had to revise and start over many times because my original ideas were not always doable or reasonable.
Insperation: McSweeny's 19 a book in a box about the interwar years.
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Another inspiration Marcel Duchamp Box
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My Exemplar
My Exemplar: Subject Man Ray https://www.jeffrobin.com/my-examples.html
I showed my exemplar to my collaborating teacher and used their critique to make my exemplar better. I then had them make their exemplar, which is an important step. If your partner doesn't do the expedition, they will not know how to finish or support the students.
Then we compiled the steps of the expedition with our exemplars onto a website and in real life, and showed them to the students. They followed an expedition path, adding their subject, style, and personalities, making it their own.
Then we compiled the steps of the expedition with our exemplars onto a website and in real life, and showed them to the students. They followed an expedition path, adding their subject, style, and personalities, making it their own.
Pathway to Exemplar #2
We can meet on Zoom first.
Prepare a summary:
Student Year
Class Title and some curricular requirements
Your personal story of why you are teaching this subject
Any ideas about the expedition you would want to go on if you were a student in your class?
Ideally, both you and your co-teachers can present together.
I will give you some directions that might take you to the perfect exemplar of your expedition, or you might instinctively reject my ideas and devise your direction. We can meet several times during this process.
Prepare a summary:
Student Year
Class Title and some curricular requirements
Your personal story of why you are teaching this subject
Any ideas about the expedition you would want to go on if you were a student in your class?
Ideally, both you and your co-teachers can present together.
I will give you some directions that might take you to the perfect exemplar of your expedition, or you might instinctively reject my ideas and devise your direction. We can meet several times during this process.