Project-Based Learning Spotlight from Valley New School

Valley New School is a project-based learning school in Appleton, WI, that serves grades 7-12. The school developed a checklist to help students navigate their project from brainstorming to the final output. As the school began exploring how students can use AI, they revised the project checklist to include specific suggestions AI use. See the full checklist and select examples of integrations below:

To capitalize on AI to enhance projects, Valley New School students used AI in several ways:

• Thought-Partnering with AI: Students used AI to suggest subtopics and essential questions for their projects and to help identify connections across different subject areas.

• Practice-Interviewing with AI: Students prepared for interviews with experts and community members for research on their projects. Students simulated these interviews by having AI take on the persona of the interviewees. This practice helped students prepare for the interview and adjust any questions for the real interview.

• Editing with AI: Students developed a written product for their projects. Students asked AI to evaluate their writing and to get specific improvement ideas.

This structured integration ensures that students use AI effectively for each step of the project and helps support the project as a whole.

Valley New School advisor Nicole Luedtke reflects,

“By making the project process more efficient, students can push the edge of the critical thinking and redefine depth of learning with the time they have created with the help of AI.”

Apply This Strategy in Your Context

Project-based learning provides an engaging, impactful way for students to access learning with real-world applications. AI can be a valuable tool in project-based learning as long as it is thoughtfully integrated to enhance rather than replace human-driven learning experiences. Here are ways to integrate AI into project-based learning:

1. Partner with Students: Engage students through surveys, conversations, and/or focus groups to understand how students use AI and what challenges they face with their projects. Identify if there are ways that AI can support these challenges.

2. Embed AI into Checklists and Rubrics: Checklists and rubrics are powerful guides for students working on projects. Help students use AI effectively and responsibly throughout the project by providing clear phases and steps with specific ways that students can use AI in each phase.

3. Balance AI with Human Input: Reinforce the importance of peer and advisor feedback alongside AI-generated insights. Build in time for students to consult with peers, community members, and staff members to ensure that students keep humans in the loop.

4. Support Students’ Use of AI for Research and Brainstorming: Encourage students to use AI to generate ideas, identify relevant resources, and synthesize information on their chosen topic. AI can help students explore different perspectives and refine their project focus.

5. Guide Students’ Use of AI for Drafting and Iteration: Students can use AI tools to draft written components of their projects, such as reports, scripts, or presentations. AI-generated feedback can help them refine their work before seeking input from teachers or peers.

6. Incorporate AI into Students’ Prototyping and Design Thinking: For projects that involve product design or problem-solving, AI can assist in generating design ideas, predicting potential challenges, and even testing solutions through simulations.

7. Gauge the Impact of AI on the Projects: Collect data on the impact of AI on projects. For example, see if students who use AI on their projects produce higher quality than those who do not. Ask students to reflect on their use of AI and share how AI impacted their work, if at all.

This AI-enabled strategy was developed by a member of the School Teams AI Collaborative — a partnership between Leading Educators and FullScale. The Collaborative was developed to bring together innovative educators from schools across the country to share ideas and discover effective ways to use AI in the classroom.

Get the Project Checklist