Student Agency and PBL Symposium

View All > 21st Century Schools Workshop

Explore successful models for unleashing student agency though project based approaches.

Purpose

21st Century Schools recognize that students today need agency and ownership of their learning, and this can be activated through intentionally designed project- based approaches.

Overview

This engaging and thought-provoking 2.5-hour symposium is centered around building student agency through project-based learning (PBL) in the educational landscape. The symposium will bring together educators, administrators, and thought leaders who are passionate about empowering students to take control of their learning experiences.

School vision and mission statements often naturally suggest using a teaching and learning approach that fosters greater student agency and project based approaches. However, the reality of putting this into practice is often times harder than it looks. Curricular requirements, timetabling, assessment measures, and fixed learning spaces can present significant barriers. This session will explore a variety of approaches that turn these barriers into opportunities that unleash student agency within the context of high performing schools.

The symposium will kick off with a keynote, and then an opportunity for participants to attend three breakout presentation sessions, each showcasing a unique approach taken by schools to foster greater student agency and effectively integrate PBL into their curriculum. A dynamic panel discussion featuring thought leaders in the field will dive deeper into the challenges and successes of implementing student agency and PBL.

This exchange of ideas will enable participants to gain valuable insights and practical strategies for enhancing their own educational practices.

Symposium Highlights

Understand the key principles and benefits of fostering student agency through project-based experiences
Identify various approaches schools have taken to foster student agency through PBL Gain insights into the challenges and successes faced by schools when enabling student agency and adopting PBL.
Fostering student agency through PBL in the context of high stakes exams and/or high academic expectations.
Develop strategies to effectively build student agency and PBL into their own educational practices.
Engage in critical discussions with thought leaders in the field, fostering a deeper understanding of student agency and high efficacy project-based learning.
Connect with like-minded educators and administrators, building a supportive network for ongoing collaboration and professional growth.

Workshop Structure

HK Time (GMT+8)	Length	Agenda Item
16:00	15m	Introductions
16:15	20m	Guest Speaker Keynote
16:35	25m	Showcase 1
17:00	5m	Transition
17:05	25m	Showcase 2
17:30	25m	Panel Discussion
17:55	25m	Showcase 3
18:20	5m	Transition to Social
18:25	35m	Social
19:00	...	Social room open for anyone who wants to continue chatting

Confirmed Presenters

School	Description	Area of School	Presenter/s
Living School	Integrated PBL for Authentic and Purposeful Student Learning: Building Active Contributers to the Community	Elementary, Middle School, High School	Emma Wilson
Beaconhouse Group	Guiding Student-Led MYP Personal Projects: A Student's Journey Unveiled	School Wide	Kanwal Malik
TNS Beaconhouse	Building a school culture for PBL to Fly: How to empower students, equip young educators, and foster a culture of innovation"	Early Years	Amina Usman
Fountainhead School	Mindfully infusing PBL pedagogy in an IB school (PYP as well as MYP)	Elementary, Middle School, High School	Shezin Siganporia
ZPD School and Curriculum Design	Bold scheduling for purpose-based curriculum, teaching and learning	K-12	Barbara Smith
ISKL	Our PBL School within a School: An Overview of the Interdisciplinary PRAXIS program at ISKL	High School	Amber Kotcher
Chinese International School	Supporting agency through portfolio based assessments.	Middle School, High School	James Wilson
Vis@betterworld lab Experimental Education	Tackling Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through PBL: How implementing PBL into high school homeroom/advisory has helped create deeper understanding	High School	Byron Clarke
Verso International School	How to support students and build student agency through Individualized Explore/Passion Projects.	Elementary, Middle School	Jonathan Campbell
Hawai'i Preparatory Academy	The Power of Capstone Projects: Reinvigorate teaching, deepen student learning, and embody learner profiles and core competencies in student-initiated projects	School Wide	Dagan Bernstein
VERSO International School	Curriculum Leadership Approach to PBL: Organizing and Infusing Curriculum in Interdisciplinary Learning Lab Experiences	Elementary, Middle School, High School, School Wide	Ashley Durdle
Yew Chung International School Hong Kong	Simplifying PBL planning with AI: How to use AI to generate rubrics and facilitate seamless student/ parent communication.	Middle School	Craig Billington
Yew Chung Yew Wah International Education	Supercharge agency through meaningful assessment in PBL	Middle School, High School	Deborah McNally
Colaiste na Sceilge / SMARTlab Skelligs - Future Focus21c (also working with oher schools in Ireland	Our approach to developing PBL through place-based STEAM projects	High School	Anita McKeown
Perkiomen Valley High School	An alternative to grades: Student Documentation and Evidence of Learning in PBL	High School	Garreth Heidt
Discovery College Hong Kong	Managing student projects: Tips and Tools from a School- Wide Entrepreneurship Fair.	Middle School, High School	Alison Yang
KPIS International Bangkok	Leading PBL in Primary/Elementary: How to build excitement and gain buy-in	Elementary	Mari Simpson

Who Should Attend and Why?

Curriculum Coordinators
Directors of Learning
School-Based Leaders
Director of Education for School Groups
Teachers
Instructional Coaches
STEM and Makerspace Coordinators

We encourage teams to attend the workshop so they can take advantage of hearing the multiple perspectives presented. This will support schools and their teams in subsequent internal engagements including discussion, design, and undertaking team reflections.

Who's Presenting

Melissa Daniels

Director of Leadership Development, High Tech High Graduate School of Education

Melissa joined the Center for Love + Justice in 2020, where she co-leads the New School Creation Fellowship, supports the School ReDesign team, and leads coursework in the M.Ed program. Melissa joined High Tech High as a humanities teacher in 2006 after seven years of teaching at international schools in Cairo, Egypt and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2011, she became the founding director of High Tech Middle Chula Vista (HTMCV) and later served as Director of High Tech Middle Media Arts (HTMMA). After nine years of leading schools, Melissa transitioned into the role of Director of Leadership Development in the HTH GSE.

In addition to her work with the Center for Love + Justice, Melissa enjoys supporting international schools around the world to strengthen their work around Project-Based Learning. She has worked with NIST International School (Bangkok), the American International School of Budapest, and the American School of Barcelona, among others.

Originally from North Carolina, Melissa earned her B.A. in Secondary English Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and an M.Ed in Teaching English as a Second Language from George Mason University. In 2010, she earned another M.Ed in School Leadership from HTH's own GSE.

Amina Usman

"As an Early Years Coordinator and Project-Based Learning Expert, I bring with me years of expertise in the field of education. Having worked in the industry for over a decade, I have honed my skills and developed a deep understanding and passion for early childhood education. My work experience ranges from being a classroom teacher to working closely with the curriculum team and other professionals to design and implement innovative and effective teaching approaches.

As an Early Years Coordinator, I am responsible for the overall coordination of early childhood education programs. My duties include designing and implementing curriculum, collaborating with teachers and parents, conducting professional development sessions, and ensuring that students are achieving the necessary milestones in their developmental journey. I possess a strong background in child development and use this knowledge to design age-appropriate learning experiences that meet the needs of all children.

I am also an expert in Project-Based Learning (PBL). This educational approach focuses on giving students the opportunity to learn through hands-on projects, which are centered around real-world problems. I have worked on various PBL projects, ranging from designing and building a community garden to creating a stop-motion animation film. I believe that PBL fosters critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills that are essential for children to succeed in today's world.

In summary, as an Early Years Coordinator and Project-Based Learning Expert, I bring a wealth of knowledge, skills, and experience to the education industry. My passion for child development and innovative teaching approaches has enabled me to help transform the learning experiences of many students, empowering them to become lifelong learners and contributing members of society."

Barbara Smith

Barbara Smith is a passionate educator who challenges the boundaries of ""sameness"" in schools. Smith's background includes over forty years in public, charter, independent and international schools. Barbara has started three schools and has been a teacher, principal, consultant, trustee, and teacher educator at OISE, McGill and the University of Saskatchewan teaching faculties and graduate schools. She has published the following books through Rowman & Littlefield and Brill Publishers:
• Teachers Shortages and the Challenge of Retention: Practices that Make School Systems and Cultures More Attractive and Empowering (June, 2022, in press)
• Assessment tools and systems: Meaningful Feedback Approaches to Promote Critical and Creative Thinking (2022)
• How much does a great school cost? School economies and school values (2021)
• A Charter School Principal’s Story: A View from the Inside. (2017)
Barbara supports schools committed to improving engaging and purposed-based teaching and learning for all.

James Wilson

PBL Director, Chinese International School

James is the Program Coordinator for ‘PBL for Impact’ at Chinese International School in Hong Kong. The program uses PBL to anchor learning that is authentic, personalized, and focussed on building a more sustainable world. Integrating generative AI with PBL to empower his students is something James tinkers with regularly.

He has an Ed.D in Information Technology from The University of Hong Kong.

Amber Kotcher

Amber Kotcher is the Program Coordinator for PRAXIS, ISKL’s innovative Grade 9 learning program which reimagines the school experience and anchors learning in complex, real-world challenges. The program fosters creative exploration, effective collaboration, and active problem-solving through a differentiated and flexible thinking space that enables students to reflect deeply and act with agency and empathy to make a positive difference in our world.
Amber holds a B.A. in Art Education K-12, National Board Certification, and a Masters in Education Leadership. She has taught Art and Design K-12 in the USA, South Korea, Vietnam, and Israel for the past 15 years. Along with teaching, Amber has held various leadership roles in schools and is an advocate for student leadership, student voice, and student agency in learning in high schools.

Shezin Siganporia

Assistant DP Coordinator and Maverick Learning Centre (PBL setup) Coordinator, Fountainhead School

"Shezin is Assistant Diploma Programme Coordinator, TOK Coordinator and Maverick Learning Centre Coordinator at Fountainhead School. Maverick Learning Centre is the Project-Based Learning (PBL) setup within Fountainhead School. She has also worked closely with MYP as Integrated Humanities Team Leader and is also currently a part of PBL task force team that works on planning PBL units across PYP and MYP.

She has been in education field for more than a decade. She has participated in various workshops to understand the Project-Based Learning approach in depth. She is an IB TOK Examiner and has also conducted webinars on TOK for teachers across the globe.

She is a Chartered Accountant by qualification and a passionate leader as well as a teacher who is constantly striving to learn more about project based learning approach. "

Byron Clarke

Byron Clarke is the Project-Based Learning Director at VIS@betterworld Lab Experimental Education High School in Taipei, Taiwan. Byron also teaches entrepreneurship, marketing, economics, personal finance, and project management.

Yahya Khan

Yahyaa Khan is a student of grade 12 at TNS Beaconhouse DHA, Lahore. He started his social
entrepreneurial journey in 2016 as a 5th grade student when he co-founded Be A Friend, a social
organization to help students with disability. The team raised funds to purchase 200 braille books by
selling used books at carnivals. He is the founder of TNS Monologue Slam, Pakistan's biggest acting
competition. In 2018 he performed in the Annual School Play, School of Rock where he discovered
his passion for the performing arts. That summer he attended EXPLO in USA where he learnt
Improv, theater special effects and costume making. He returned with an initiative to give back to
the community and conducted a drama workshop for the students of Aziz Jehan Begum Trust for the
Blind in 2019 and a cricket workshop and match with the students the following winter.

Kanwal Malik

Kanwal is leading the Education Operations Department at Beaconhouse Head Office as the Deputy General Manager of Education Operations. She has over 15 years of experience in education. She has been associated with Beaconhouse School System for over 11 years as Early Years leader and Reggio and PBL Practitioner at TNS Beaconhouse. In addition to this, she has also served as the Deputy Head of School at TNS Beaconhouse. Kanwal is also a workshop facilitator and coach for Project-based Learning for teachers and school leaders, both locally and internationally. She facilitated the launch of the Beaconhouse PBL Model with the HO Education Team for six PBL pilot schools at BSS and is now leading the implementation of project-based Learning in over 30 schools in the Beaconhouse Network. She is an accredited Programme Leader for the Cambridge Certificate and Diploma in Educational Leadership and Franklin Covey Leader in Me Programme and has been involved with many International Baccalaureate training as a school leader.

Emma Wilson

Classroom teacher, pedagogical innovator and lifelong learner, Emma Wilson has spent the last decade guiding students through Project Based Learning experiences in response to community and individual needs. Emma’s methodology involves a trans-disciplinary approach, fully integrating all Key Learning Areas while also aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Through this, student agency, motivation and engagement is activated, as a learning community is developed by socially conscious citizens. Emma has been awarded both the Australia Day Children’s Champion Award and the Bishop’s Award to acknowledge innovative contributions to the educational landscape of school settings. Examples of student achievement and learning has been reported on in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph, the Today Show, Sunrise, Win, Prime and ABC News, ABC Radio, Triple J and various local media publications. Most notable of these are Bust the Dust and Climate Change Your Tune. In 2022, Emma was awarded the National Excellence in Teaching Awards (NEITA) Apple Award and Terry O'Connell Regional and Remote Teachers' Award. This year, Emma is leading the establishment of Living School’s Middle School Project Based Learning Curriculum.

Kyle Wagner

Kyle is a project-based learning coach and founder of Transform Educational Consulting, helping forward-thinking educators create socially, emotionally and globally aware citizens through project-based learning. He has worked with over 1,000 educators in schools across the globe to design and deliver transformative learning experiences for students.

Kyle has twelve years of teaching experience and project-based learning leader at High Tech High. (school featured in 'Most Likely to Succeed’). He is Co-Founder of the innovative ISB Futures Academy in Beijing and spent two years developing programs at International Montessori School in Hong Kong.

His book: ‘Power of Simple,’ provides school leaders and teachers simple strategies for school transformation and to improve student learning

He has an A M.Ed. in Teacher Leadership and is based in Hong Kong.

Dagan Bernstein

Passionate about transforming education through collaboration, creativity, and joy, Dagan is building a future where young people thrive in learner-centered environments. He is dedicated to reshaping education to foster empowerment and agency through the application of futures thinking and harnessing the power of emerging technologies like AI and blockchain.

Dagan has witnessed the potential of reimagining learning to cultivate deep engagement and student agency through his diverse experiences in developing pedagogy and curriculum across various subjects, including mathematics, digital media, and music. By embracing inquiry-based approaches, project experiences, and student-driven exploration, he unlocks students' full potential and fosters their lifelong love for learning.

Ashley Durdle

7/8 Cohort Leader (Middle School Vice Principal in other schools), VERSO International School

Ashley Durdle is the Lead Learning Designer for the 7-8 Cohort at VERSO International School. She has a diverse educational background, holding two Bachelor's degrees in Biology and Secondary Science Education, a diploma in Holistic Nutrition Counseling, and a Master's degree in Educational Leadership. Throughout her career, she has taught learners Grade 5 through Grade 12 in international schools in five countries and finds joy in community wherever she goes.

Craig Billington

Student Progress Leader for Year 7, Yew Chung International School Hong Kong

I have been in education for 10 years, mainly from a British curriculum, but I have been specialising in PBL over the last 3 years. Currently in an international school in Hong Kong, where PBL is the main medium through which the curriculum is delivered in Years 7,8 and 9.

Deborah McNally

I have been in education for 25+ years, and I am still as passionate today as I was at the beginning of my career about creating joyful learning experiences. I have taught in the UK, the US and in Hong Kong. My current role allows me to work remotely from the UK where I support all Yew Chung and Yew Wah secondary schools implement and develop best teaching and learning practices. I also work independently with schools outside of the YCYW network to embed PBL into their curriculum.

Anita McKeown

Director / Co-founder, Colaiste na Sceilge / SMARTlab Skelligs - Future Focus21c

An award-winning artist, curator and educator guided and motivated towards co-designing values-based leadership through education and community processes. Working at the intersection of art, equitable placemaking and technology: Open Source Culture and Technology (ethical and ecological implications) and STEAM education, across a range of interdisciplinary projects, processes and partnerships.

As Art Services Unincorporated (ASU) an itinerant strategic platform, she employ a range of tactics including situated / embedded arts practice, publication and education to co-create local-scale interventions that are context-responsive and ecologically sensitive, which arise from extended relationships with people and place. With over 110 exhibitions and performative projects to date, she continues to present her work locally, nationally, and internationally.

Garreth Heidt

Teacher, Perkiomen Valley High School

For 30 years, Garreth Heidt has designed classes at the middle, high school, and college level. He engages his students through a unique instructional approach employing design-and project-based learning.

Mr. Heidt’s classes blend traditional and progressive methods to develop learner’s skills in mindful observation, critical viewing, civil discussion, project management, and self-assessment and reflective practice..

In addition to his work in the classroom, Mr. Heidt spent 27 years coaching speech and debate and has helped start his district’s Robotics and Esports Teams. He was the Director of Learning for the design firm “Form & Faculty” and is currently doing a deep dive into AI for Education

Alison Yang

I come from a country that used to be called Formosa. I have been an IB educator since 2003 and have experienced teaching in the PYP, MYP, and DP. I like collaborating with teachers, students, and parents, and I enjoy participating in various learning communities. I love travelling with my family and have been to close to 30 countries. In my spare time, I enjoy cooking, spending time with my friends and family, and exercising.

Mari Simpson

Elementary Principal, KPIS International Bangkok

With two decades of rich experience in the field of education, I have honed my expertise as an International Elementary Principal with a special focus on fostering social and emotional intelligence through project-based learning methodologies. My passion lies in orchestrating inquiry-driven, transdisciplinary units that bridge academic disciplines, stimulating holistic educational experiences for students.

Having lived and worked across diverse educational landscapes such as China, Taiwan, and Thailand, I bring a global perspective to educational leadership. I prioritize the establishment and nurturing of impactful relationships, serving as a catalyst for community growth. By engaging, inspiring, and empowering all stakeholders—students, teachers, parents, and staff—I help transform educational environments into collaborative, learner-focused ecosystems. Through this approach, I elevate educators from traditional roles to become collegial facilitators who are centered on student learning and well-being.

Justin Hardman

Justin has a passion to support schools in better integration of technology into school programs with a focus on strategy, leadership and planning for systemic change. He has a background in programming and web development including development of a customized learning platform that was featured in conferences from Washington DC, Shanghai and Singapore and in international ed-tech publications.

He was previously Director of Technology at Hong Kong International School where he led the school through a variety of digital learning initiatives including development of a customized solutions, leading a technology planning process and implementing at 1:1 laptop rollout.

Justin has a Bachelors in Economics from the University of Queensland, is a Google Certified Trainer and an Apple Distinguished Educator. He is a New Zealand and Australian citizen but has lived in Hong Kong longer than anywhere else.

Benjamin Sheridan

Ben Sheridan has been a proud educator for 18 years. He has taught in international schools in Thailand, India, Cambodia, Korea, and Indonesia. Ben has worked as a classroom teacher, learning innovation coach, technology coordinator, instructional designer, university lecturer, and consultant. Ben is passionate about using sound pedagogy together with innovative technology to accelerate learning. He feels technology can be leveraged to enhance literacy, increase student motivation and engagement, and empower students to take control of their learning. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership with a focus on professional learning.

Dates: Tuesday, 28 November 2023

Location: Online

Time: 16:00 - 18:30 - Hong Kong Time (GMT+8)

Price: $88USD - $150USD; $150USD for one ticket
$125USD for two tickets
$99USD for three to five tickets
$88USD for six or more
(prices per ticket)

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	AI For All Symposium	September 20, 2025

21st Century Schools Workshop - Tuesday, 28 November 2023

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Justin Hardman

CEO & Founder

Lii Jing

Marketing Manager

Kelly Gurung

Events & Marketing Coordinator

Butch Balsomo

Design Specialist

Henry Dela Cruz

Executive Assistant

Fiona Chee

Finance & Operations

Judi Dela Cruz

Administrative Assistant

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