List of PBL Ideas

1. Create an interactive family tree with voice-overs from living family members.

2. Design an app with a specific purpose for a specific audience.

3. Inventory the world’s most compelling ideas in an elegant and browsable interface.

4. Problem-solve ‘screentime’ for yourself and family (identify problem, overcome those
challenges, monitor progress, evaluate effect of changes, etc.)

5. Solve the problem of negative and/or ‘fake news.’

6. Using the best thinking of major world civilizations, design the perfect civilization. Identify
critical characteristics, resources, and habits, etc.

7. Mash any three social media apps and explain the purpose and features of the new app.

8. Help local businesses increase environmental sustainability (e.g., reduce waste).

9. Identify, analyze, and visualize recurring themes in human history; then contextualize those
themes in modern society.

10. Make a compelling case for a viewpoint other than your own on any issue.

11. Create ‘visibility’ for something beautiful, useful, or otherwise deserving of attention (e.g.,
music, parks, people, acts of kindness, effort, movies, nature, etc.)

12. Leverage the wisdom of people living in nursing homes.

13. Artfully express, analyze the causes-effects of, or otherwise evaluate population growth.

14. Debate the relationship between technology and humanity from a historical (Mary Shelley?)
or modern (Steve Jobs?) perspective.

15. Reimagine major coastal cities in light of 6 degrees of warming.

16. Measure the sociological impact of social media on local communities (using a self-selected
parameter).

17. Design an alert system to publicize the spread of viruses/disease.

19. Solve a personal problem.

20. Analyze the impact of architecture–or lack thereof–on a community.

21. Dissect the ‘anatomy’ of viral web content, memes, or social media arguments.

22. Help a local business that does ‘good work’ market itself to younger audiences. Create a
proposal, present to business, refine proposal based on feedback.

23. Artfully illustrate the global history of human/civil rights.

24. Visually demonstrate the galaxy’s behavior from changing a single parameter (e.g., the gravity
level of a single planet).

25. Design the next Google (the next method of content and data discovery).

26. Start and run a profitable business that is ‘aware’ of its impact on the world.

27. Plan a Mars colony using current data of the Martian landscape and atmosphere.

28. Create a photo documentary, then turn that into a film documentary, then turn that into a
short eBook.

29. Define, Analyze, and Visualize an Abstract Concept (Wisdom, Freedom, Conflict, etc.).

30. Develop a feasible response to potential asteroid–> earth collisions.

31. Analyze the cause and effect of low voter turnout on both democracy, and the health of the
local community.

32. Re-imagine the American Constitution–or similar governing documents–as if they were
designed today.

33. Perform a cause-effect analysis on consumerism (or any self-selected topic)

34. Create and publish a weekly or monthly podcast on a self-selected topic based on market
data.

35. Film a documentary on an under-served social issue few people see.

37. Design a better book (physical/printed) that’s affordable and accessible to a wider range of
readers.

38. Identify an emerging musical genre, then write/perform a song that fits in that genre.

39. Design a school, including new content areas, grading, collaboration, and community
involvement.

40. Create and manage a YouTube channel for a self-determined and authentic purpose.

41. Solve a problem your parents have (scale is important here–choosing what to try to solve
that’s worthy of an entire project and your best thinking and design).

42. Analyze, visualize, and socialize the long-term impact of coal on the environment.

43. Revise the United Nations in some way, shape, or form to better respond to international
crises.

44. Answer the following: What would (insert historical figure) say about (insert relevant social
issue)?

45. Re-conceive YouTube as an aggregation tool and player for traditional literary forms (e.g.,
poetry, fiction).

46. Redesign your city to reduce the need for extended commutes.

47. Research all modern tools sued to provide clean water access, then design a better tool.

48. Study local land regions and resources to identify a geological-based response to the Zombie
Apocalypse.

49: Design a 21st-century library by first analyzing macro-purpose of a library, then reimagining
one in a modern context.

50. Design a modern bookstore by integrating both physical and digital media and categorizing
them all by something other than traditional genres.

Shrinking potato chip bags in the microwave. Students can learn about polymers through
hands-on activities using some of their favorite products, like shoes and sporting equipment. As a
culminating activity, they can put a wrapper from their favorite chips or candy bar into the
microwave for five seconds to learn about how polymers return to their natural state when exposed
to the heat.
Design an app. Students love using the newest apps and games, so take it to the next level by
having them design their own! With Apple developer tools, kids can learn how to create an app or
online game. They can learn about technology and problem-solving skills while engaged in what
they love.
Student farm. Students will learn lessons about science, social studies, math, and economics
through planting their own organic farm. They can begin by researching the crops they want, figure
out what kind of care is needed, and then use a budget to determine what materials they must
purchase. They can even sell food from their farm to contribute to a cause or fundraiser.
Geocaching. If you’re not able to take your students off-campus to engage in some real-life
“geocaching,” you can always create your own geocaching treasure hunt for them. It can
incorporate all kinds of skills and knowledge: geography, math, and even essay writing.
Research project: negativity in the media. Begin with a discussion about what “media” is,
and bring in examples. Talk about what each kind of media (newspapers, music, news sites, etc.)
is used for. Move on to examples of the messages conveyed by certain types of media, and how
this message is articulated. Then assign groups to create their own “media” (a website, a newspaper
article, a commercial, etc.). Have each group work on generating a message (positive vs. negative).
Write to your Congressman. Ask groups of students to identify problems in their community.
They must then do research to come up with information about this problem and come up with an
“action plan.” Assign students to write to their government representatives with their facts and
their action plan.
Bridge building. Students begin by studying the engineering of bridge building, comparing the
construction of famous bridges such as the Golden Gate Bridge or Tower Bridge in London. Then
they work in teams to construct bridges out of Popsicle sticks. The challenge is to get their bridge
to hold five pounds (for younger students) or twenty pounds (for more advanced students).

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