Dive Brief:

• Middle school teachers in Virginia’s Goochland County Public Schools used Scrum, an organization tool, to get 5th-graders collaborating on a semester-long coding project, helping them reach goals without chaos and confusion. The framework ensures projects are completed by having constant reviews on their steps.

• The experience was so successful, the district’s instructional technology coach, Bea Leiderman, invited educators across the district to watch Scrum in action, working with other teachers who wanted to adopt the program for their classes. Scrum is now used in all five schools in the district

• Students who used Scrum say “they feel valued, welcome and in control,” writes Leiderman for EdSurge.

Dive Insight:

Project-based learning — or PBL — gives students a way to see their lessons physically bloom. A class on the history of the United Nations may task students to design their own family flag. An engineering class may build a catapult — and use it to gain an advantage during a dodgeball game.

Keeping students on track, however, is a challenge on its own. Educators not only assist students on their projects, but act as mediators to ensure there’s teamwork. PBL can also carry the risk of bringing on teacher burnout.

As curriculum administrators look to weave PBL strategies into classes, tools like Scrum can provide crucial support for teachers, with framework that helps to organize projects, and more support can lead to more enthusiastic teachers — and more engaged students.