Teachers

STEM Collaborations

The Barrow County School System submitted a grant proposal to Georgia’s Race to The Top Innovation Fund aimed at meeting Priority 1 Goals established by the request for proposal (RFP). Under these priorities, Georgia awarded funding to applicants who aimed to achieve positive student outcomes through innovative applied learning opportunities and experiences tied to at least one subject matter content area.

But What Does “Applied Learning” Mean?

According to the RFP, applied learning:

• Is the process of integrating one or more subject matter content areas  (disciplines) under study with authentic (personal, home, career, community,  society) learning experiences.

• Emphasizes the importance of what is being learned in the classroom and
helps students develop higher order thinking skills.

• Happens when students and teachers work with organizations and individuals  outside of the school on a variety of project-based learning experiences, which  develops the student in a holistic manner.
• These experiences take into consideration students’ varying learning styles, personal strengths, interests, goals and previous experiences.

• When applied successfully, applied learning experiences support the develop ment of strong problem solving, critical thinking, communication, and self- management skills, which ultimately, improves student achievement.

Essential Components of Applied Learning Experiences

Applied learning experiences involve three essential components and expose students to:

1) Heightened academic rigor, such as:
a. Challenging classroom curriculum;
b. Increased access to accelerated coursework based on individual need;

2) Enhanced self-management skills, such as:
a. Problem solving skills;
b. Communication skills and techniques; and

3) Increased opportunities to apply new knowledge and skills within a  real-world setting.
Now that we have a working definition of applied learning, we can take a look the grant’s goals. Each RT3 grant application had to determine which set of priority goals they would seek to address. Our grant, 21st Century STEM Collaborations: Applications of the Direct-to-Discovery Model, is aligned to the Priority 1 Goals outlined in the RT3 request for proposals.

Priority 1 Goals

Innovative applied learning opportunities and experiences should help students develop strong:

I. Problem solving skills. Students should learn how to solve problems by (but not limited to):
A. Using content knowledge to design or improve a product, service, or system to meet an identified need;
B. Planning and organizing an event or activity from concept to completion;
C. Teaching a skill or planning a sequence of learning activities; and/or
D. Satisfying a client’s needs.

II. Communication skills and techniques. Students should learn how to  apply communication tools and tech- niques by (but not limited to):
A. Making oral presentations
B. Preparing written reports; and/or
C. Translating information from one format to another.

III. Self-management skills. Students will learn how to manage and direct   their own learning by (but not limited to):
A. Participating and/or leading teams;
B. Taking responsibility for the evaluation of one’s own work; and/or
C. Planning and managing one’s work activities.

Tools & Resources
D2D Activities Overview
Grant Evaluation