Project Based Learning Expert, Writer, Editor

John is a passionate, innovative educator and long-time advocate for progressive school reform, dedicated to making learning more meaningful for all students. He is currently senior PBL advisor for Defined Learning, contributing to its curriculum development, blog, white papers, professional learning programs, and promotion of PBL.

As a key builder of Buck Institute for Education (now dba PBLWorks), John served as its editor in chief, director of publications, and director of product development. He co-developed the model for Gold Standard PBL that is the foundation of PBLWorks’s products and services, and oversaw the quality of its written materials and website content. John edited the acclaimed PBL Blog, wrote widely-used rubrics for 21st century success skills, and problem-based curriculum units for high school government and economics. He contributed to PBLWorks’s research, online project library, and in-person and online professional development programs including the flagship PBL 101 workshop and workbook.

John is the author of several books on PBL (see below) for K-12 teachers, school leaders, and parents, which have been translated into Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, French, and Portuguese, as well as many articles and blog posts. He has presented sessions and keynotes at conferences and events across the U.S. and in other countries.

Before joining the Buck Institute for Education, John worked at the Western Assessment Collaborative at WestEd. For ten years John taught high school social studies and English, and co-founded a restructured small high school. He was a member of the National School Reform Faculty and a school coach for the Coalition of Essential Schools.

Recent projects include writing a forthcoming book on civic education for K-8 teachers for Teacher Created Materials, and writing project-based U.S. history curriculum units for Educurious.