Of all the Essential Project Design Elements in Gold Standard PBL, you could argue it’s “Public Product” that most makes PBL stand out as different from traditional instruction. In some non-PBL classrooms you might find, say, a challenging problem, some degree of authenticity, student voice and choice and even, occasionally, sustained inquiry. But when students make their work public – that is, when it’s seen by people beyond their teacher, classmates, and maybe parents – it probably means a project is happening. (The exception to this is the public nature of traditional exhibitions of student art or performances in music or drama, which are not "projects" per se.)

Of course, not all so-called “projects” have a public product. Students might just present their work to each other and the teacher, in which case they’re not up to the Gold Standard. Why is having a public product so important? I asked this question to kick off our Hangout on Nov.17, 2015 with former and current PBLWorks National Faculty members Kali Kurdy, Al Summers, and Mike Kaechele.