The PBL Playbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Actually Doing Project-Based Learning

Shameful, A.J. Juliani. I am sending the book back and I encourage all educators to be leery of purchasing this book as it falsely advertises the PBL framework. This book is a huge disappointment as it falsely advertises PBL support to teachers. As a practitioner of PBL for the past 7 years, I was looking for a PBL book to help mentor a fellow-teacher with the process of PBL - this book is not it. All this book does is provide testimonials and arguments for the practice of PBL with no academic substance or direction for teachers who are looking to implement the PBL process. Instead of being kind and providing teachers with information and understanding in the PBL steps, the author hides behind narratives and anecdotes as a form of ethos in order to financially prey upon curious teachers. Regardless of what the book advertises, this is not a step-by-step guide but rather a ploy to trick educators; this book does not contribute to authentic pedagogy. Again, shameful that the author - a fellow educator - would go to such great lengths to sell a falsely advertised book in order to profit off of educators who are looking to better their practice for the sake of children.

Nothing really useful here. I read through it, but there was no real information on how to create and plan a project. Lots of testimonials, no real guidance. Went to the website. Templates. Brief descriptions. Would've liked to have seen at least one project from beginning to end: the plan, any revisions along the way, and especially reflections on how it went.Really disappointed.

Just started reading this book. Very good information and with teacher stories makes it relatable.

Lots of project examples

Ignore the 1-star reviews. It is telling that "Guest" did not use their real name. This person obviously has a grudge against the author, and I urge you to ignore this inappropriate 1-star review for such a good book. This critique is way off the mark. I found many very specific and useful pieces of advice on how to implement PBL in Juliani's excellent book --- and I have been doing PBL teaching for decades. Yes, there are other books with more organized step-by-step instructions for those who need to be led by the hand. But this book is still well-organized and packed full of inspiration and specific steps and advice to implement PBL. These come both from Juliani's own substantial growth process in moving toward PBL, and from the many others whom he quotes, with their own personal stories. The reader is excellent, never distracting. Juliani's tone sometimes comes from his years of sports coaching, sounding like a cheerleader. But that is just what some hesitant teachers may need to get excited about trying more authentic learning projects in their classroom.

I met A J Juliani and began using his LAUNCH and EMPOWER books to reshape my classroom and my teaching. Project Based Learning was something only our "gifted" students were given the opportunity to do, but now EVERYONE can participate. This book offers an amazing guideline as to how to get started and what to do. Plus, there are many examples of projects. I have used PBL with my 4th language arts, math, science and social studies classes. The student engagement is high and the pride in their work is unparalleled. Buy and use this book! Elevate your classroom!

The PBL Playbook is a great resource for teachers wanting to implement PBL into their classroom. Juliani shares his mistakes that he learned from and what to do to avoid making the mistake yourself. (Not that we won't make our own mistakes to learn from.) He also shares what worked. It helped me to realize where I could improve on what I have already tried. I love that it is written by a teacher, who at the time was in the trenches and not just theory.

A very well written book! Interesting ideas appear throughout and the PBL is layer out very nicely for 1 classroom of students. Thanks!