By Ryan Steuer
CEO, Magnify Learning
What if the solution to some of Career and Technical Education’s biggest challenges has been sitting right under our noses the whole time?
Here’s the thing: CTE programs are already rich with real-world application. Students are welding, wiring, cooking, and caring—and often, they’re doing this better than most adults you know. But just because learners are doing projects, doesn’t mean they’re experiencing Project Based Learning.
PBL is the missing link that can solve three massive challenges in CTE:
- Learner engagement
- Teacher clarity and structure
- Community visibility and validation
Let’s dive into each of these and show how Project Based Learning doesn’t replace what’s working in CTE—it enhances it. Like putting better tires on a high-horsepower machine, PBL takes the powerful authenticity of CTE and gives it structure, direction, and purpose.
1. Engagement Isn’t Automatic—PBL Makes It Inevitable
CTE is authentic. We get it.
Learners are elbow-deep in automotive grease, laying pipe in HVAC class, or designing logos in digital media labs. But even with all that hands-on work, engagement isn’t always a given.
Why?
Because while learners may be doing work, they often don’t know why they’re doing it. That spark of purpose—the emotional connection to the task—is what PBL injects into the CTE classroom.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say your learners are doing brake jobs in Auto Tech. That’s good work. But now imagine this:
You start the unit with a visit from a local nonprofit that serves single mothers in your community. They share the challenges of unreliable transportation and safety concerns. Then you ask your learners:
“What if we could be the team that ensures these moms have safe vehicles to drive?”
Now you’re not just doing brake jobs—you’re solving real problems for real people. You’re building empathy, purpose, and motivation.
The brakes still get done. The technical standards still get met. But now, learners see why their work matters.
That’s the power of a strong Entry Event—a staple of Project Based Learning. It creates an emotional hook and launches a unit not with content, but with a problem to solve. The content follows the curiosity.
And for CTE learners—many of whom haven’t traditionally thrived in “points-and-packets” school systems—this shift is magnetic.
2. CTE Teachers Deserve a Framework That Works for Them
Let’s name a reality: many CTE teachers didn’t come up through traditional teacher prep programs.
We’ve got master electricians, nurses, chefs, and engineers who now teach—but who weren’t trained to build rubrics, connect lessons to standards, or plan backwards from learning outcomes.
So what happens?
They default to what they know: demo the skill, walk the class through it, and let them try it. But without structure, things can fall into chaos—or worse, become boring.
Enter PBL.
The six-step process from PBL Simplified gives CTE educators a simple, repeatable way to design rigorous, engaging, authentic projects. It removes the guesswork and gives structure to what they already do well.
The six steps:
- Define the problem
- Set solution criteria
- Research solutions
- Choose a solution
- Create and inspect
- Reflect and share
Instead of “teach, demo, repeat,” now you’ve got a path that starts with curiosity and ends with mastery. You’ve got a framework that works just as well in a culinary arts kitchen as it does in an HVAC lab.
As Ashley Curtin from a Maryland CTE program put it:
“They’re already doing the real authenticity piece… but many of those folks came straight from the industry. So they’re not traditional educators. The pedagogy that we presume teachers know? They may not.”
And that’s OK. PBL doesn’t require perfection—it offers scaffolding. We tailor planning templates and rubrics for CTE so your teachers aren’t stuck trying to translate an AP Bio resource into a welding class.
When the tools fit, teachers use them.
3. Let the Community See the Magic
CTE often operates in a bubble.
Incredible things are happening every day—students rewiring homes, preparing meals for first responders, interning at hospitals. But if it’s all happening behind closed doors, the community never sees it.
Worse, CTE can carry a stigma—like it’s the “other” path.
Project Based Learning bursts that bubble.
In PBL, public presentations of learning are a core component. When learners share their solutions with real audiences—be it a panel of industry pros, the local school board, or the neighborhood news outlet—it changes everything.
Suddenly:
- Learners take pride in their work.
- Community partners get invested.
- The district sees the CTE program as a crown jewel, not a side hustle.
Imagine this:
Your culinary students don’t just practice plating for their teacher. They design and cater a luncheon for the local senior center. They research dietary needs, design menus, calculate food costs, and deliver a service that matters.
That’s PBL. That’s what transforms learning from “good enough” to game-changing.
What’s at Stake? Everything.
CTE is already the future. It offers clear pathways to high-wage, high-demand careers. But without engagement, structure, and visibility, we risk leaving that potential untapped.
Let’s recap how PBL solves that:
🛠 Problem 1: Learners aren’t always engaged
✅ PBL Solution: Start with a real problem. Give the work purpose.
🛠 Problem 2: Teachers lack a clear structure
✅ PBL Solution: Use the six-step process to simplify planning and maximize learning.
🛠 Problem 3: Amazing work isn’t being shared
✅ PBL Solution: Make learning public. Let the world see what your learners can do.
When done right, PBL doesn’t make CTE more complicated—it makes it more powerful. It aligns with what CTE is already good at: real-world learning, problem-solving, and preparing learners for life after graduation.
A Final Challenge
If you’re leading a CTE program, ask yourself:
- Are my learners just completing tasks—or are they solving problems?
- Do my teachers have a framework that supports them, or are they winging it?
- Does the community know the amazing work our learners are doing?
If any of those questions gave you pause, then it’s time to bring in PBL—not as an extra, but as an enhancer.
You don’t have to go it alone. At Magnify Learning, we’ve worked with CTE educators across the country to tailor Project Based Learning to their world. Welding, nursing, culinary, construction—every content area can be a launchpad for authentic, purpose-driven learning.
Because Here’s the Truth…
CTE programs are already building the workforce of tomorrow. With PBL, they can build citizens, problem-solvers, and leaders too.
Your learners are capable of more than you can imagine.
Your teachers are ready to lead—once they have the right tools and the right process.
Your community is hungry for good news. Let’s give them something to talk about.
The projects are already happening. Now, let’s make them Project Based Learning.