The First Ever Northern Indiana PBL Educator Network Meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 3, 2012

The First Ever Northern Indiana PBL Educator Network Meeting

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Were kicking off Northeast Indiana's participation on a much larger state-wide scale in the Project-based Learning (PBL) Network at Ivy Tech--Northeast on Wednesday, December 5. The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership's Talent Initiative, University of Indianapolis' Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) and Region 8 Education Service Center (ESC) joined forces to co-sponsor this first ever meeting of the Northern Indiana PBL Educator Network.

This day-long professional development opportunity for teachers in grades K-12 will feature a number of presentations and breakouts on best-practices for practitioners of PBL. The event was designed and will be facilitated by local PBL experts and practitioners who volunteered their own time to help ensure that PBL continues to be used throughout Indiana's educational system.

Some of the presentations and breakouts include discussions on the following:

• PBL 101- Where do I start?
• Scaffolding & Assessment- What do these look like?
• Classroom PBL Culture- How do I build a culture in my classroom for PBL?
• Project Design- What does project design look like?
• Elementary: Primary & Intermediate learning
• STEM/ Electives learning
• Special Ed learning
• Administrative learning

The Talent Initiative and regional educators have been working diligently to grow talent in Northeast Indiana. With the sponsorship of six New Tech high schools throughout the region and delivering PBL training to about 1,300 educators, this group of people has proven that Northeast Indiana is serious about developing, attracting and retaining our regional talent.

"At the Regional Partnership, we understand that the 21st century skills that PBL emphasizes and encourages are the same skills that Northeast Indiana employers need to succeed, to grow, and to expand in our region," says associate director of the Talent Initiative, Ryan Twiss.

This teacher-driven and designed event proves that regional teachers are embracing PBL, are interested in promoting it to their peers and have enough support from their districts to ensure that our future workforce is trained with the skills necessary for growing a truly 21st century economy in Northeast Indiana.

The next Northern Indiana PBL Educator Network will be held March 6, 2013 at Plymouth High School.

To join Northeast Indiana's PBL Network, or request more information, please email the Talent Initiative's associate director, Ryan Twiss at ryan@neindiana.com.

The Talent Initiative, established by a $20 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., is a 10-county regional program focused on accelerating education and training initiatives in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The primary goals of the Talent Initiative are to increase the base of highly skilled workers to meet the needs of the defense/aerospace and advanced manufacturing industries, while increasing job quality and reversing the current decline in regional per capita income. The program receives financial oversight from Community Partnerships, Inc., a supporting organization of the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne and operational oversight from the Northeast Indiana Fund, a supporting organization of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Courtney Tritch
Director of Marketing
Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
260.469.3460
courtney@NEIndiana.com

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