Learn by doing, learn by … Teaching
Did you know that research supports the idea that teaching is one of the best methods for learning and also going a step further — formalizing knowledge? At Uncharted Learning, we believe that effective educators are expert learners who model exploration of new content, skills and behaviors with students.
To bring this to life at Uncharted Learning, and to encourage proficiency in the skill of teaching students entrepreneurship and app development, we have formalized opportunities for the Uncharted Learning community of educators to contribute to our PLC and in turn, earn credit for their professional development.
For the first time, we’ve included middle school, mxINCedu Teachers in our community of teachers eligible to participate in the recognition program. Similar to their high school instructor peers, these educators model entrepreneurial and learning mindsets for their students.
Professional Development Rewarded
Each year we officially recognize these stellar educators and spotlight them at our annual national summer summit, where we come together for a week of learning, collaboration and inspiration.
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All of the Uncharted Learning professional development experiences are aligned with state standards for teaching and learning so that educators can earn continuing professional development credits (CPDUs).
Collaboration and learning take time, effort, and commitment. That was never more true than for this year as we were all adapting on the fly.
Here are just some of the PD activities and opportunities we offer teachers throughout the year:
- Participation at the annual Uncharted Learning National Summit conference by leading a session or contributing to training
- Timely meetups throughout the year focused on specific curriculum topics
- Virtual and immersive workshops on instructional best practices e.g., distance or project-based learning.
Opportunities for Recognition and Growth
We recognize educators with three different levels of distinction based on their investment in the community: Certified, Leader, and Master. Here is a description of each, and a list of educators who earned new recognition this year. We've spotlighted a few!
Certified Teacher
These teachers demonstrate commitment to ongoing learning by attending multiple learning events in an academic year. They are active learners who model continuous learning and actively participate in a program-specific professional learning community.
Cheri Whalen is a first year MobileMakersEdu high school teacher at Cedar Park High School in Leander ISD, the first MME teacher in both her district and the state of Texas! She seized multiple opportunities to learn with others. She attended just-in-time coding sessions, actively shared questions and learnings with our professional learning community via Slack, and is actively collaborating with her district to launch a second program at another high school in Leander.
Leader Teacher
These teachers go beyond learning to share their experiences with others in one of our Slack communities, lead an onsite or virtual learning event, or showcase their students and school on social media. This group inspires our community to take that measured risks by exposing their best practices and failure stories to others.
After only one year as an INCubatoredu member school, Michael Archbold of Rich Township High School, D227, earned Leader Teacher recognition. Michael presented his INCubatoredu experience at our National Summit to an audience of school administrators and new teachers. He looks forward to sharing his story at ACTE in December. Here's his guest blog post connecting Failure with Increased Equity in Getting Smart.
Master Teacher
These educators have gained more confidence and skills in teaching innovative and constantly changing content areas, like entrepreneurship and mobile app development. We encourage them to lead the learning of others as a mentor or trainer to new teachers, or contribute to curriculum development, or co-facilitate professional development. These dynamic educators contribute to the robustness of our educator professional learning community and are models for new teachers and schools.
Here is the complete list of those who have been honored as part of our Teacher Recognition Program.
The 2021-2022 school year will be the fifth for Spanish teacher, Courtney Douglas, to embrace mxINCedu. She will again lead her 7th and 8th grade students at McClure Junior High School, Western Springs School DIstrict, through developing and selling their own product or service. Courtney's work has helped to refine the curriculum and explicitly connect it to the essential skills of collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. She has always opened her door (virtual and physical) to interested schools and teachers to get a glimpse of the program in action.
Educators Making a Difference
The craft and art of teaching took on new demands (and patience, creativity, and stamina!) this year as we explore new tools and instructional methods to drive engagement and impact for students.
Educators have a unique and important role with our young people to support skill development around agility, perseverance and agency, as lives have been changed, and stability has been upended. Keep up the good work!
We're here to support you!
We honor all educators as they strive to meet the challenge, express an 'entrepreneurial mindset', and advance their own skills in the spirit of supporting students in learning and growing. Check out our new workshops - professional development for teachers.
RELATED:
New WORKSHOP SERIES: Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum
BLOG POST: Three Traits of Good Teachers
VIDEO: Teacher Perspective on INCubatoredu Impact
