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February 6 , 2012

National project aims to inspire the model classroom

Pearson Foundation's New Learning Institute invites state Teachers of the Year to
a workshop exploring effective ed-tech use
South Carolina is at risk of a water shortage.
With $500,000 in grants available for
innovative conservation projects, its up to
the students in Bryan Coburns introduction
to engineering course at Northwestern High
School in Rock Hill, S.C., to devise solutions.

Engineering students Allison Jenkins, center,

and Hanna Maghsoud talk with Coburn about
their project. Coburn, South Carolina's Teacher
of the Year in 2009, is participating in a genrebending "Model Classroom" project.

Armed with smart phones and an array of edtech tools, the teens spent much of last
semester on that hypothetical assignment. By
the projects end, they had created elaborate
online portfolios showcasing their research,
3D designs, and multimedia packages.

Students said they never felt so enthralled by schoolwork. Some were inspired to
become engineers.
It was amazing, freshman Parker Hooten said. We didnt just sit there and learn. We
actually did stuff. It made the class much more fun and involving. You want to be there.
Thats the kind of school experience that Coburn, the states Teacher of the Year in 2009,
and the founders of a national program want to replicate.
Coburn is among a cadre of celebrated teachers rethinking how to prepare students to
excel in an age of rapid innovation and global uncertainty. The project is called The
Model Classroom.
Run by the Pearson Foundations New Learning Institute, the two-year-old program
invites Teacher of the Year winners from around the nation to Washington, D.C., during
summers for workshops on making better use of ed tech to inspire a new generation of
students.
While schools wrestle with how to regulate online access, often requiring students to
shut off cell phones, the Model Classroom says, Get with the program.
Educators learn to tap into smart phones and mobile apps in a way that empowers
students to explore, experiment, and discover solutions to problems, Model Classroom
Co-leader Brian Burnett said.
But its not a technology training course. And it doesnt prescribe rigid guidelines.
The Model Classroom teacher is more of a guide who lays a foundation, then helps
students along as they learn on their own.
Its really removing the teacher from being this didactic downloader to being a facilitator
and a coach, Burnett said.

A group of educators each year try project-based lessons with support from the Institute.
Since taking part, I look at things differently, said Christopher Poulos, a Spanish
teacher at Joel Barlow High in Redding, Conn.
For more Best Practice news, see the Best Practices section of eSN Online.
After a field trip to El Museo de Barrio in New York City, Poulos students performed
interpretations of artwork, which they filmed, edited, and uploaded to YouTube. They
created a virtual tour of the museum and a website for their project. They designed QR
codes, which visitors print, then scan with a smart phone to view students videos.
It was interesting to see that the school was finally catching up to technology, a former
Joel Barlow senior said in a class interview posted online.
Rock Hill schools havent shied away from technology.
Classrooms are outfitted with interactive whiteboards, digital touch screens the size of
their dusty, chalk predecessors. Students are testing district-issued netbooks and iPads.
Principals keep up with work through iPhones and BlackBerrys.
Superintendent Lynn Moody often calls students 21st-century learners who must be
prepared for jobs that dont yet exist.
Yet, schools tread cautiously.
Few classrooms issue mobile devices or tablets. While Coburns students were free to
use their phones and sites such as Weebly and Prezi, they couldnt access YouTube,
which the district blocks.
That was limiting, sophomore Chris Costley said.
Technology can really play an important role, he said.
Still, Coburns approach was refreshing.
It would be great if it could spread around to other classes, senior Lakwasa Heath said.
Heath was so inspired by the project that she spent a weekend learning to write web
code to enhance her groups website.
Coburn long has shunned rote learning in favor of hands-on projects. He prefers to teach
fundamentals, then turn teens loose to learn on their own.
They dont write definitions; thats crazy, Coburn said. Which is more valuablehaving
them memorize a definition, or know how to use the word?
By Shawn Cetrone (SCentrone@HeraldOnline.com)
Copyright (c) 2012, The Herald (Rock Hill, S.C.). Visit The Herald online at
www.heraldonline.com. Distributed by MCT Information Services.