Generation YES Blog

Today’s Christian Science Monitor has an article about students providing tech support for teaching in US schools.

In US classrooms, ‘tech sherpas’ assist teachers with computers: In a role reversal, students provide the tech support, creating a ‘culture of respect’ between teachers and teens by Stacy Teicher Khadaroo, staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor.

It’s a very nice article and I’m quoted!

As American schools look to incorporate 21st-century technologies into everyday lessons, some teachers are intimidated by technical glitches or the prospect of being left behind in a generational divide. Teachers have even become targets of cyberbullying, with students taking secret videos of an angry or embarrassing moment in class and posting them on popular websites such as YouTube.

But this district and many others are trying to foster more collaboration – staving off problems by putting students’ enthusiasm to constructive use.

It “creates a culture of respect” says Sylvia Martinez, president of Generation YES in Olympia, Wash., which is hired by about 200 schools each year to set up curricula in which students assist with technology. “A lot of kids have a very empowering experience when they teach someone something…. And teachers see the kids as not these scary tech-savvy aliens,” Ms. Martinez says.

It’s funny that out of a very long interview, this is the one thing that made it into the article. But maybe it’s not so odd. The notion that respect might be one of the byproducts of collaboration about technology seems almost old-fashioned and quaint next to gaining mastery over powerful 21st century tools. Yet that is often what teachers and principals talk about as the one thing that stands out in their experiences with our GenYES curriculum. It shows that there is more going on than meets the eye; it’s more than just kids helping out. Students share their knowledge and enthusiasm for technology and teachers share content knowledge and their expertise in teaching. Both learn, both teach, and new respect for everyone’s important role is born.

Also quoted in this article is my Twitter-buddy Kern Kelley, the district tech integrator in MSAD #48 in Newport, Maine.

Love this next part:

Kelley says the most valuable assignments he can give are “authentic” tasks – of real use to the school or the community.

Project-based and student-driven learning have been an emphasis in this district for about 15 years, adds [district technology coordinator] Ms. Gee, so teachers here are generally open to the creative options offered by new technology.

Project-based, authentic, student-driven… it all goes together with technology.

There’s some evidence that having students teach teachers in this way is linked to improved academic performance. A study of the Generation Yes model, for instance, found that over the course of three years, students in the program had higher increases in math and language-arts test scores than their peers.

It’s hard for some people to imagine that having students work on projects instead of drilling them for a test actually can increase test scores. Yet this is often the case, and validated by independent research. It is a leap of faith for teachers and it’s hard to explain to people who haven’t seen project-based learning in action. That’s why it tends to work best in districts that have clear policies supporting project-based learning.

Thanks to Stacy Khadaroo and the Christian Science Monitor for taking a look at this subject and creating a compelling case for student empowerment, technology, and authentic learning! (Article link)

Update: Stacy sent along a link to some multimedia on the CSM site – click on the links below the picture for 4 audio “snapshots” of student/teacher interaction.

Sylvia

PS I’m smartinez on Twitter if you’d like to folllow me.

PPS Kern recently posted that he suggested that his district provide graduating seniors with their own domain linked to their digital portfolio. “Better than a pen.” Neat idea!