FOR EDUCATORS WHO'VE CHOSEN PBL — AND KNOW SOMETHING'S MISSING
PBL Gets Students to the Project. GID Gets Them to the Learning.
Guided Inquiry Design® is the learning framework that makes Project-Based Learning work the way you always hoped it would.
If any of this sounds familiar, you're in the right place.
- Students rush to their research question before they know enough to ask a good one
- The projects look great but the depth of understanding isn’t there
- You find yourself stepping in more than you’d like — re-directing, re-explaining
- The milestones get met but the learning doesn’t feel genuine or lasting
These aren't signs that PBL isn't working. They're signs that something underneath it is missing.
THE CORE ARGUMENT
PBL organizes the experience. It doesn't structure the learning inside it.
Project-Based Learning creates authentic experiences, organizes work around real questions, and gives students voice and choice. It’s a meaningful shift from the traditional classroom cycle — and that matters. But PBL is a project management framework. It tells you what to produce and when.
Guided Inquiry Design® is a learning design framework. It’s grounded in decades of research on how humans actually move through inquiry — and it gives educators the design cues to meet students where they actually are, not where the milestone timeline says they should be.
“GID is not a program. It’s a way of thinking about learning design — one that honors the human doing the learning, regardless of the initiative surrounding it.”
GID is the Learning Journey. PBL Organizes Milestones Within It.
The relationship, made visible
PBL organizes the work. GID designs the learning. Together they create meaningful learning.
THREE CRITICAL GAPS
What gets left behind when GID isn't there
Even in a beautifully designed PBL project
01
02
03
Metacognition is summative only
FROM THE FIELD
What practitioners discover when they add GID
BEFORE — PBL ALONE | AFTER — PBL + GID |
• A school in its second year of PBL implementation | • She redesigned the project using the GID stages deliberately |
• The librarian felt her first PBL project “wasn’t really successful” | • Students could articulate which resources were best — and why |
• Students completed the milestones — but the learning didn’t go deep | • They made transfer. They were engaged. The learning was visible. |
• She went back. She reflected. She redesigned. | • The librarian used a modified GID tool as an exit ticket — and it worked |
“Just had to share another example of how this works and makes PBL that much stronger.”— District Library Leader, reflecting after observing a redesigned PBL unit
THE DIFFERENCE THAT MATTERS
GID is designed for the learner —not just the project.
Every GID phase addresses the whole human doing the learning
Thoughts
COGNITIVE
Feelings
Actions
BEHAVIORAL
Each GID phase has concrete educator moves — what to do, when, and why — to support the learner’s actual experience rather than the project timeline.
FREE RESOURCES
Everything you need to see it clearly — and share it with your team.
Download any or all. Use them in meetings, workshops, or professional development.
The GID + PBL Relationship Visual
The timeline diagram showing GID as the learning journey and PBL milestones within it. Perfect for meetings.
The Full Argument – 7 Slides
The complete case for GID in a PBL district. Ready to present to administrators, teachers, or library teams.
GID in Any Learning Context
The transferable framework overview — works for PBL, GT programs, independent research, or any inquiry-rich context.
A Well-Designed PBL Project – And What’s Missing
An annotated case study showing exactly where GID phases would transform a thoughtful PBL project.
WORK WITH LESLIE
Ready to bring GID into your district's work?
Professional development, workshop facilitation, curriculum consultation — grounded in decades of research and practice.