{"id":4520,"date":"2014-08-13T11:46:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T18:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/loc.educatorinnovator.org\/?page_id=4520"},"modified":"2018-04-04T09:49:21","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T16:49:21","slug":"lrng2014","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/lrng2014\/","title":{"rendered":"2014 Innovation Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In 2014, the LRNG Innovation Challenge posed the question: What if learning had no bells, no walls? Teams of educators developed inspiring proposals to expand the time and space young people have for interest-driven learning in schools, and those educators have shared the successes, lessons, and struggles from their work in the posts below.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"large-heading\">No Bells, No Walls<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KOMwn4-TBVY?rel=0\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;\">\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/lrng_partner_logos_horizontal-1024x168.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" data-no-retina \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Through the\u00a0<a href=\"\/lrng\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LRNG<\/a>\u00a0Challenge, a project supported by the National Writing Project, John Legend&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/showmecampaign.org\">Show Me Campaign<\/a>, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, <em>Educator Innovator<\/em> is investing in teams of teachers who are working to expand the time and space students have to create, explore, and follow their interests and passions.<\/p>\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/clalliance.org\/why-connected-learning\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connected Learning<\/a> research and practice has shown that young people can achieve and learn when given support and opportunities to follow their interests and the time and space to create work that is meaningful to them.\u00a0In most schools today, however, time and space are precious commodities, and students and teachers are both challenged to find time for deeper learning or the space to create. As a result, we may be missing a chance to support the innovators of tomorrow.\u00a0Following the theme of &#8220;No Bells, No Walls&#8221;, teacher teams proposed approaches to expand access to rich creative opportunities for the young people they work with and committed to sharing their solutions and lessons learned\u00a0with educators across the country.<\/p>\n\n<p>The 2014 LRNG Innovation Challenge\u00a0grantees were selected in October\u00a02014 and are now hard at work on their projects, described below:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><strong><a href=\"\/grants-stimulate-a-summer-of-science-learning-for-kids-in-new-mexico\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-9629\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/summer_science.jpg\" alt=\"summer_science\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" data-no-retina\/><\/a> <\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Creating After School and Summer STEM Labs<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Silver City, NM\u2014Laura Larisch, Scott Knight, Mark Cantrell, Steve Blake, Dave Chandler<\/em><br \/>\nAldo Leopold Public Charter School in rural New Mexico will offer a community-wide extended day program and an eight week summer program focused on STEM education. Students in grades 6-12 will have the opportunity to join After School STEM Labs, and the summer STEM Labs will also afford students the opportunity to devote longer segments of time to learning, skill building, projects, and products. An end of summer community showcase is planned to celebrate student work and efforts. <strong><a href=\"\/grants-stimulate-a-summer-of-science-learning-for-kids-in-new-mexico\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/middle-school-youth-research-create-and-take-action-to-affect-change\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-8407\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/lrng_castle_hill_bronx.png\" alt=\"lrng_castle_hill_bronx\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Connected Learning and Youth Participatory Action Research<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Bronx, NY\u2014Martin Sanders, James O\u2019Neill, Khalia Wesiner, Reggie Howard, Danielle Filipiack<\/em><br \/>\nThis project will allow Castle Hill Middle School students to develop their capacity as civic agents and will build opportunities that will allow them to gain greater understanding of the social and political issues impacting them and their communities. Students will conduct critical community inquiry projects that combine Common Core literacy skills with their interests. Ultimately, the team will work to create an online platform where different groups of young researchers can come together to share their research and resulting multimedia products and plan new projects. <strong><a href=\"\/middle-school-youth-research-create-and-take-action-to-affect-change\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/live-from-petaluma-its-the-junior-high-school-news\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-9786\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/live_from_petaluma.jpg\" alt=\"live_from_petaluma\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Expanding Access to Digital Arts\/Media Production<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Petaluma, CA\u2014Laura Bradley, Isaac Raya, Emily Dunnagan<\/em><br \/>\nKTV, a student- and teacher-run morning show at Kenilworth Junior High airs for ten minutes at the start of the school day. This project envisions expanding the brief time and access students have in the studio to learn and build stronger skill sets around broadcast journalism, media production, and communication. By shifting Digital Arts\/ Media Production from an early morning club to an elective course in a space with professional equipment and the time to explore, more students will be able to participate, nurture interests, and strengthen skill sets in areas such as film and photography, graphic design and production, and script writing. <strong><a href=\"\/live-from-petaluma-its-the-junior-high-school-news\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/for-students-in-d-c-history-comes-alive-for-the-year\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-9422\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/history_comes_alive.jpg\" alt=\"history_comes_alive\" width=\"200\" height=\"150\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Inspired Teaching: Real World History with the City as Classroom<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Washington, DC\u2014Cosby Hunt, Suzanne Katz, Aleta Margolis, Robyn Sperling<\/em><br \/>\nReal World History, a multifaceted, production-centered course designed to help high school students across Washington, DC build literacy, research, and critical thinking skills by modeling the habits and practices of historians. Divided in two semesters, students spend the first part of the year learning interviewing and research methods, and the final half of the year in a hands-on internship at one of sixteen historical sites. Center for Inspired Teaching, the organizational home for the Real World History course, works to make learning an engaging, relevant and rigorous endeavor for young people. <strong><a href=\"\/for-students-in-d-c-history-comes-alive-for-the-year\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/leading-an-orchestra-of-learning\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-9026\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/learning_studio_lrng.jpg\" alt=\"learning_studio_lrng\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>School as Learning Studio<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Saint Paul, MN\u2014Marc Patton, Kent Sall, Billy Chan<\/em><br \/>\nThis project centers around the creation of a learning studio in Eastern Heights, an elementary school geared toward a school-wide focus on personalized learning. The learning studio will serve as a small, differentiated connected learning space and would ultimately replace the traditional library and media center as a place where students can explore interests, conduct research, and create presentations.<br \/>\n<strong><a href=\"\/leading-an-orchestra-of-learning\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/central-catholic-high-school-network-puts-compassion-and-service-into-practice-through-stem-projects\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-8698 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/LRNG_pittsburgh.jpg\" alt=\"LRNG_pittsburgh\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Linked Communities and STEM<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Pittsburgh, PA\u2014Dr. Michelle Zuckerman-Parker, Dr. Laura Roop, Dr. Fritz Yambrach, Shelly Brown, Mahender Mandala, S. Andrea Sundaram<\/em><br \/>\nCentral Catholic High School will create a micro-network of educators, entrepreneurs, and middle and high school students focused on STEM, design, and communication to design and develop assistive devices and products to improve the quality of life for Veterans returning from war with disabilities. Educators will participate in professional learning to create a community of practice and support for students entering their plans and prototypes in a regionally sponsored competition. The aim is to instill an ethos of empathy, excitement, and passion for learning, where science, engineering, creativity, and caring intersect. <strong><a href=\"\/central-catholic-high-school-network-puts-compassion-and-service-into-practice-through-stem-projects\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/at-birch-school-students-reimagine-learning-by-creating-a-room-of-their-own\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-8033 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/birch_school_2_19_15.png\" alt=\"birch_school_2_19_15\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Maker Rings to Promote Interest-driven Maker Activity<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Rock Tavern, NY\u2014Kate Fox, Edward Helbig, Gaye Sable, Harry Sweet<\/em><br \/>\nThe Birch School seeks to develop collectives and networks that embrace play and discovery, and believes in the educational benefit of working, tinkering, and making collaboratively. To that end, they have designed \u201cMaker Rings,\u201d small groups of five to seven students that will work together on a bi-weekly basis and engage as an authentic community. Mentors will design a portable maker space to store and utilize resources, and will facilitate team building challenges and skill-strengthening activities using tools of collaboration, creation, and social media. <strong><a href=\"\/at-birch-school-students-reimagine-learning-by-creating-a-room-of-their-own\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/lrng-making-worlds-with-student-hactivists\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-9387 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/LRNG_Making_Our_Worlds.jpg\" alt=\"LRNG_Making_Our_Worlds\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Making Our Worlds<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Charlotte, NC\u2014Steve Fulton, Randy Kurstin, Erin Pfahler, Mary Kendrick, Cindy Urbanski, Lil Brannon<\/em><br \/>\nThe Making Our Worlds team will demonstrate how student energy, imagination, and concern for their community can be harnessed to address issues of interest to them and their families. They will create an innovative space for students to follow their interests as makers of the language arts: digital storytelling, filmmaking, poetry, music, visual design, and more. Students will engage in creative dialogue within a network of connected classrooms, engage with the greater community, and position themselves as digital citizens by sharing their language arts \u201cmakes\u201d through an online platform. <strong><a href=\"\/lrng-making-worlds-with-student-hactivists\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/lrng-passion-projects-encourage-creativity-connected-learning-and-stem-interests\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-9559\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/lrng_riverside.png\" alt=\"lrng_riverside\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Passion Projects: An Engaged Curriculum<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Riverside, CA\u2014Norma Rodriguez, Tuesday Ramunni, Kristin Karrow, Kristi Forsythe, Mindie Driskel, Esther Garcia<\/em><br \/>\nStudents at Liberty Elementary School will have the opportunity to work on their interest-based \u201cpassion projects\u201d in three designated areas or \u201cstations\u201d around the campus: the Maker Station, the Green Screen Production Station, and a Garden to Cultivate Learning through nature. The project will implement and highlight personalized learning, giving students rewarding hands on experience with digital technology, engineering and construction, and science exploration. <strong><a href=\"\/lrng-passion-projects-encourage-creativity-connected-learning-and-stem-interests\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/what-a-game-jam-taught-los-angeles-teens-and-their-teachers\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-9219\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/cdags_game_jam.jpg\" alt=\"cdags_game_jam\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Supporting Game Design for Students, Teachers, and Parents in South Central Los Angeles<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Los Angeles, CA\u2014Antero Garcia, Marc Gomez, Andre Hargunani<\/em><br \/>\nAt the Critical Design and Gaming School in South Central LA, an educator-led team will offer both in school and after school opportunities for production and game-play. Teachers will support interest-driven game design within the formal schooling context by developing a teacher \u201cplayer professional development\u201d model. The team will also launch a game design center for afterschool and weekend youth and community engagement. Community involvement will also be addressed by the development of biannual \u201cgame jams\u201d that celebrate youth game design. <strong><a href=\"\/what-a-game-jam-taught-los-angeles-teens-and-their-teachers\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/multimedia-journal-helps-students-heal-and-be-heard\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-8247\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/tilden2.jpg\" alt=\"tilden_talks\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Tilden Talks<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Chicago, IL\u2014Maragaret Conway, Sharon Holmes, Kelsey Leonard, Suzanne McBride, Dawn Ramos, Luke Sequiera, Krista Wortendyke, Kathleen Tieri, Maurice Swinney, Mindy Faber<\/em><br \/>\nTilden Talks will allow students participating in Tilden High School\u2019s community journalism ELA literacy units to have opportunities to apply what they&#8217;ve learned in informal and afterschool settings. By piloting a new connected learning strategy, Chicago students will have the resources to deepen their engagement in civic and social media production, and will develop roles as \u201ccritical investigators,\u201d able to inform their communities and networks. The team will build learning pathways in community journalism through Tilden Talks, an online, student-led multimedia journal. <strong><a href=\"\/multimedia-journal-helps-students-heal-and-be-heard\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/lrng-we-too-are-connecticut\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-9121\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/LRNG-post.png\" alt=\"LRNG-post\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>We, Too, Are Connecticut: Promoting Digital Ubuntu to Engage Student Production<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Connecticut\u2014Shaun Mitchell, Kim Herzog, Megan Zabilansky, Kate Bedard, Jennifer von Wahlde, Paula Fortuna, Bryan Ripley Crandall<\/em><br \/>\nThe Bantu philosophy, Ubuntu, which means \u201cI can be me because of who we are together\u201d speaks to building strong communities. The We, Too, Are Connecticut team envisions a variation called Digital Ubuntu, or \u201cWe can be us, digitally, because of how we compose together with 21st Century tools.\u201d A year-long, inter-district collaboration, the project will bring together more than one hundred students from diverse backgrounds and perspectives to exchange knowledge about writing in digital spaces, and produce personalized inquiry-based digital products shaped around the following units of instruction: TedTalks, Digital Scrapbooks, and Podcasting and Ethnography. <strong><a href=\"\/lrng-we-too-are-connecticut\/\">Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/making-way-for-makerspaces-with-pop-up-and-make\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-10318\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/pop_up_and_make_11_12_15.jpg\" alt=\"pop_up_and_make_11_12_15\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>Pop-Up and Make<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Greenville, NC\u2014William Banks, Stephanie West-Puckett, Michael Flinchbaugh, Monica Jacobs<\/em><br \/>\nThe J.H. Rose High School team will build upon Project Connect, an existing program that engages students in production-centered, multimodal inquiry that fosters and deepens student interests, by creating \u201cpop-up\u201d maker spaces. These maker spaces will increase student time and opportunities for connected, production-centered learning. Teachers will gain professional development supporting the idea of making as pedagogy, students will continue to explore creating diverse digital products, and community members will be engaged by serving as maker-space mentors. <a href=\"\/making-way-for-makerspaces-with-pop-up-and-make\/\"><strong>Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"vertical-align: top; padding: 10px;\" width=\"200\"><a href=\"\/immigrant-teens-in-the-south-bronx-learn-the-art-of-online-discussion\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-9820\" src=\"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/NYCWP_Team_760.jpg\" alt=\"NYCWP_Team_760\" width=\"200\" data-no-retina\/><\/a><\/td>\n<td style=\"padding: 10px;\"><strong>International Community Voices: Including Our Newest Immigrants in Youth Voices<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>New York, NY\u2014Jane Higgins, Nick Deming, JoAnn DiLauro, James Nine, Glencora Roberts, Paul Allison, Renee Ehle<\/em><br \/>\nThis project will bring a group of fifteen immigrant teens together with teachers and New York City Writing Project teacher-consultants to create an online community called International Community Voices. The online space will be housed on YouthVoices.net and will be used to share students&#8217; interest-driven projects aimed at building their English Language capacity and academic skills. In the two phases of the project, educators will develop tasks for students to complete that combine academic and interest-driven learning, and host an after-school program for 15 students of varying ages and levels of literacy to create multimedia projects, share them, and earn badges. Students will interact collaboratively with leaders and each other as peers and mentors while having the time to strengthen language development and academic learning while engaging in meaningful play. <a href=\"\/immigrant-teens-in-the-south-bronx-learn-the-art-of-online-discussion\/\"><strong>Read More\u00a0\u203a<\/strong><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2014, the LRNG Innovation Challenge posed the question: What if learning had no bells, no walls? Teams of educators developed inspiring proposals to expand the time and space young people have for interest-driven learning in schools, and those educators have shared the successes, lessons, and struggles from their work in the posts below. No [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":7038,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4520"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4520"}],"version-history":[{"count":73,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4534,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4520\/revisions\/4534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/educatorinnovator.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}