Looking for a passion project template that helps high school students design meaningful project-based learning experiences around their own interests?

This student-led passion project design workbook guides learners step-by-step through designing their own high-quality project-based learning experience from start to finish.

Designing and leading their own PBL experiences allows students to pursue learning that genuinely interests them and connects to their lives. This sense of ownership makes learning more meaningful and encourages intrinsic motivation.

At the same time, this framework helps shift the teacher’s role from planner and lecturer to mentor and facilitator, reducing planning demands while increasing student engagement.

Why This Resource Is Valuable:

• Helps students design meaningful and purposeful project-based learning experiences
• Increases intrinsic motivation and engagement by connecting learning to student interests
• Encourages deeper thinking before projects begin
• Builds student ownership and agency in learning
• Saves teachers time by shifting project ideation to students
• Creates stronger, more thoughtful passion project-based learning before execution begins

Who This PBL Design Workbook Is For:

• Teachers new to project-based learning who want structure for student-designed projects
• Experienced PBL classrooms where students regularly design their own PBLs
• Advisory programs, passion project classes, and independent study programs
• Subject-area teachers who want students to design interest-based PBLs that are aligned with standards, subjects, or themes
• Middle and high school students

I am a high school advisor and life science teacher, and my students use this workbook to design their own PBL experiences.

What This Resource Helps Students Do:

Students use the templates to design high-quality PBLs by exploring:

• their interests, goals, strengths, and challenges
• potential project topics (interest-based or standards-based)
• inquiry questions and driving questions
• potential community experts
• authentic audiences and final product ideas

Students then summarize their thinking in a Project Design Summary, which becomes the blueprint for their project.

This Resource Includes:

Each section includes clear instructions, a PBL example, and a visual organizer to help students refine their ideas.

Sections Include:

• Clickable table of contents for easy navigation
• Brainstorming strengths and challenges
• Skills inventory
• Goal setting
• Interest exploration
• Interest-based project topic development
• Standards-based project topic development
• Inquiry question development
• Community expert brainstorming
• Authentic audience and final product brainstorming
• Driving question development
• Final Project Design Summary

Skills Students Develop:

Designing their own learning experiences helps students build skills such as:

• critical thinking
• creativity
• communication
• problem solving
• self-direction
• planning meaningful work

These skills are foundational to successful project-based learning and real-world problem solving.

Timeframe:

Most students can design a project using this workbook in 30 minutes, depending on how deeply they explore their ideas.

Standards:

This resource does not include specific standards. However, it includes templates that help students design passion projects around any required standards or learning targets.

Format:

• Printable PDF version
• Google Slides digital version
• Not editable at this time

Ready to help your students design meaningful passion project-based learning experiences? Check out the preview for details!

Use this workbook to guide students through the process of developing thoughtful, purposeful PBLs that they are genuinely excited to pursue.

Bundle and Save! This Project Design Workbook is Included in the Following Bundles:

• Student-Led Passion Project-Based Learning Starter Kit
• Student-Led Passion Project-Based Learning Design Mini-Bundle

Try Pairing These PBL Resources!

• Student-Led Project-Based Learning Tool Kit
• Personal Learning Plan
• Classroom Culture-Building: Student Workbook for Community and Personal Growth

FREE PBL resource from ELD

• Free Mini-Course: How to Get Organized for Student-Led Project-Based Learning

PBL Blog Posts from ELD

• What is Student-Led Project-Based Learning Anyway?
• Student-Led Project-Based Learning in 7 Easy Steps

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