The Challenge-Based Learning Playbook: Engage, Investigate, Act | ISTELive 26

Fun is not the goal of challenge-based learning. It's the tool. At ISTELive 26, Mission.io's Skyler Carr and Jordan School District's Tracy Rindlisbach spent an hour breaking down the full challenge-based learning playbook: what it actually is, how it's different from project-based learning, and the four checks (uncertainty, collaboration, failure, and journey-before-destination) that separate a real challenge from a question with a fancy backstory. You'll see the framework (Engage, Investigate, Act) applied to real examples: turning a 4th-grade area worksheet into a Mission to save an aquarium, turning ten weather vocab words into a storm-tracking rescue, and turning a "design a chair" craft project into building a throne for a king who keeps breaking his furniture. Then Skyler runs a live demo of a free Mission.io digital citizenship simulation built to teach kids (and let's be honest, plenty of adults) how to spot a phishing scam before they fall for one. What's covered: – Why "fun" is a tool, not a metric, and what to measure instead – Challenge-based learning vs. project-based learning: the actual difference – The four checks: uncertainty, collaboration, failure, and journey-before-destination – Turning any worksheet or lesson into a challenge using AI as a planning partner (free prompt guide linked below) – A live walkthrough of a free Mission.io digital citizenship simulation (grades 4–12) – Audience Q&A: transfer of learning, scaffolding without overwhelming kids, and what the research says Free resources mentioned in this session: → The worksheet-to-Mission AI prompt guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13... → Try Mission.io free, teacher accounts always are: https://login.mission.io/sign-up About the presenters: Skyler Carr is the CEO of Mission.io and a former elementary STEM teacher. The first version of what became Mission.io started in a repurposed supply closet, running "missions" for the kids his other lesson plans weren't reaching. Tracy Rindlisbach leads elementary computer science for Jordan School District in Utah, where she uses challenge-based learning to teach computational thinking without turning every lesson into a coding drill. Mission.io is a whole-class, teacher-led simulation where students use what they're learning to solve a real problem together. Over 1 million students have used it so far, with research funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. Try it free at mission.io. #ChallengeBasedLearning #ISTELive26 #ProjectBasedLearning