Igniting Passion to Purpose: Through Project-Based Learning with AI Literacy

Outline

Outline

Content & Engagement (15 min): Begin with an interactive poll and discussion on how students currently use AI and technology. Share real classroom examples to ground relevance. Participants reflect on how passion-driven projects can boost engagement.

Content & Engagement (20 min): Introduce the PBL+ framework for integrating AI literacy. Educators work in small groups to map passions and interests to standards-based projects. Peer-to-peer discussions will generate practical connections to their classrooms.

Content & Engagement (20 min): Facilitate a hands-on design sprint where participants draft a project outline that includes student choice, AI customization, evaluation, and impact measurement. Each group receives guiding prompts and shares one big idea with the room.

Content & Engagement (5 min): Whole-group reflection—participants identify one actionable step they will implement immediately. Closing Q&A reinforces application and builds momentum.

Time: 60 minutes total (15 + 20 + 20 + 5).

Process: The session blends mini-lessons, small-group collaboration, peer-to-peer exchanges, and device-based activities. Participants will engage every 8–10 minutes through discussion, digital tools, or project drafting to maintain energy and ensure practical takeaways.

Outcomes

Attendees will leave with a draft action plan for a student-centered project that integrates AI literacy. The plan will guide students in connecting passions to purpose, aligning projects with academic standards, and designing activities that personalize AI use, evaluate outcomes, and measure impact—linking learning to sustainability and future careers.

1. Discover how students can turn their passions and interests into purpose.

2. Explore how project-based learning empowers students to connect their passions with academic learning.

3. Build student AI literacy through projects that customize use, design, evaluate, and measure impact—connecting learning to sustainability and future careers.

Supporting research

1. Project-Based Learning+: Enhancing Academic Learning and Essential Life Skills (2025)
Author: Dr. Jorge Valenzuela

Why it supports: This second edition introduces the PBL+ Framework, blending academic rigor with emotional intelligence and career readiness. It directly supports all three session outcomes—especially the “Build” phase focused on AI literacy and sustainability.

2. Environmental Science for Grades 6–12: A Project-Based Approach to Solving the Earth’s Most Urgent Problems (2022)
Author: Dr. Jorge Valenzuela

Why it supports: Anchors sustainability within PBL and STEM pathways. Perfectly complements the “Build” outcome’s emphasis on impact measurement and career relevance.

3. Using AI Tools to Support Project-Based Learning

https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-ai-tools-support-pbl

This article directly supports the Build outcome. It shows how generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Adobe Express can empower students to customize, design, and evaluate their projects. It introduces the Digital Promise AI Literacy Framework (Understand, Evaluate, Use) and includes a downloadable rubric for measuring impact—perfect for connecting learning to sustainability and future careers.

4. Teaching the Environmental Impact of AI

https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-environmental-impact-ai-pbl

Through PBL Also aligned with Build, this piece guides educators in designing interdisciplinary projects that explore AI’s environmental footprint—energy use, water consumption, and carbon emissions. It encourages students to create awareness campaigns and design “Greener AI” solutions, linking academic content to sustainability and career pathways in green tech.

5. Using Social and Emotional Learning to Guide Students From Passion to Purpose

https://www.edutopia.org/article/sel-students-sense-purpose

This article is a direct match for the Discover outcome. It introduces a five-step SEL-informed activity that helps students reflect on what brings them joy and stress, identify passions, set goals, and ultimately use their passions to serve others. The framework is emotionally intelligent and deeply participant-centered—perfect for guiding students to turn interests into purpose.