Coding, robotics, drones, and fun! Beginning this fall, Shelton School will team with Tech EdVentures to expand its computer science curriculum with comprehensive programming that will eventually touch students at every grade level, Pre-Primary (PP) through Grade 12. Dallas-based Tech EdVentures offers a platform designed to cultivate technology skills through programs whose core competencies are:
1) Problem-solving – developing solutions to real challenges
2) Automation – writing computer code
3) Collaboration – working effectively with peers
4) Ethics – evaluating technology’s impact on individuals, groups and societies
Shelton first heard of Tech EdVentures through its board member Terri West, then a Shelton parent and a Texas Instruments (TI) executive. West shared with Shelton Executive Director Suzanne Stell that TI was challenged to find enough Science / Technology / Engineering / Math (STEM)-qualified candidates for their job openings, and Stell replied that she was interested to expand computer literacy to Shelton’s younger students. West put Stell in touch with Tech EdVentures, and from there, exploration of a collaboration began. Shelton brought Tech EdVentures on board through after school activities beginning in the fall of 2016. The partnership now formally continues via a three-year initiative. For 2017 – 18, a curriculum pilot will focus on Grades PP – 5. In 2018-19, Middle School and Upper School will be added. In 2019 – 20, all grades will have completed revision and expansion.
“It’s no secret that everyone is clamoring for 21st Century students grounded in the STEM approach,” says Suzanne Stell. “We are excited to enrich Shelton’s current educational process and explore new approaches together with Tech EdVentures, particularly at our lower grade levels and interfacing with our Montessori approach. We know our students will work in a world where technology is changing with exponential speed. We’ll be a dynamic duo in teaching to the future. ”
“Prowess in STEM opens doors to great colleges and great jobs, and research shows that the earlier students start, the more likely they are to develop a deep confidence in their own abilities with math, science and computer programming,” says West. “Tech EdVentures makes STEM fun, and that’s a crucial step toward making students successful.”
Says Tech EdVentures CEO Allen Selis, Ph.D. at a back-to-school in-service for Shelton staff and faculty, “ We’re going to be a branch grafted onto the tree of Shelton. We plan to show and teach in partnership with Shelton, ultimately returning all leadership to Shelton at the end of our joint-venture learning process.”
A Shelton team has worked with Dr. Selis and his associates to lay the groundwork for the three-year project. Team members include:
Tina Larson, Director of Technology
Linda Kneese, Head of School
Christine Davis, Assistant Head of Upper Elementary
Blair King, Technology Advisor
Leigh Taylor, Faculty Member / STEM Instructor
Clare Stein, Faculty Member / STEM Instructor
Says Selis, “Engineering is a mindset. We’ll be encouraging third-graders to take things apart, put them back together, and give them high-fives when they make a mistake and learn something from it. We want to give children their voice in the world as they step outside boundaries and ask, ‘how?’ “
Says Head of School Linda Kneese, “Critical thinking skills are key to our students’ successes. With Tech EdVentures, our talented students will have additional avenues to embrace computer science, and our teachers will be able to Engage, Enrich and Empower themselves and their students through this new joint-venture.”
“Tech EdVentures’ programming complements Shelton’s multisensory approach beautifully, and our students will thrive on the creative possibilities it offers,” says Stell. “The world and the workplace have changed dramatically, and we need to give our students better skills for adapting to their rapidly-changing future. Many of those skills will be highly technical.”