This post is sponsored by The Grable Foundation
As we start a new school year, how will your kids engage in STEM learning this year? Last week my teens received their class schedules that are filled with STEM classes. The teacher in me knows that the most way to engage students in learning skills they need for the 21st century is to provide innovative, student- centered, and personalized experiences that captivate them through hands-on learning. The parent in me knows that the teachers in our area push the limits of learning through the programs our county offers its students much like Pittsburg teachers do through their innovative education system.
Photo courtesy of Ben Filio
Pittsburgh? For more than a decade, educators in the Pittsburgh region have been taking risks, reaching higher, and pushing the limits of learning.
Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash
Pittsburgh is home to a deeply connected and highly coordinated education innovation ecosystem that helps students flourish through regional network of more than 600 schools, libraries, museums, and other sites of learning. Called Remake Learning, this collaboration champions engaging, relevant, and equitable learning practices that support of young people navigating rapid social and technological change.
Photo courtesy of Ben Filio
With the growth of Remake Learning over the past 12+ years, Pittsburgh has become a recognized leader in learning and education innovation nationally and internationally. This November, 12 Pittsburgh programs will travel to Helsinki, Finland to present their education innovations at the annual HundrED Global Innovation Summit.
Innovative STEM Education from Pittsburgh to be Presented at HundrED Global Innovation Summit
HundrED is a global not-for-profit organization based in Finland that aims to research and share education innovations across the globe. They believe education is already being improved all over the world and are committed to helping others find out about their work to help young people have the best start in life.
To do this, HundrED researches innovations in K-12 education from around the world. HundrED Spotlights create partnerships between HundrED and local partner organizations to focus on a location or theme to research, understand, and share impactful and scalable educational innovations.
They selected Pittsburgh as their first North American city 12 Pittsburgh-area programs (from 82 submissions) to spotlight and share as models and inspiration for education innovation around the globe. HundrED has been collaborating with The Grable Foundation and Remake Learning this year to highlight the unique educational innovations coming out of the Pittsburgh region.
Photo courtesy of Ben Filio
One of the innovations to be shared by Pittsburgh educators is The Finch Robot that teaches programming languages from Scratch to Java.
Photo courtesy of Ben Filio
Students in grades K-12 program The Finch in five different coding languages from Scratch to Java to complete a maze, dance to the music, and perform plays. The variety of programming languages provides access to computer science through engaging coding experiences for all ages.
Created by Birdbrain Technologies, The Finch Robot is a technology learning tool borne out of research at Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Mellon University about improving access, motivation, and interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Photo courtesy of Ben Filio
The Finch Robot is available through a free loan program. Teachers receive access to resources that allow them to easily integrate it into their core computer science curriculum taught during the regular school day. It enables a diverse set of students to envision the possibilities that come from being a computer science.
Photo courtesy of Ben Filio
Pittsburgh is the first North American city selected by HundrED for a spotlight of the education innovation happening here, to find and share the most inspiring ideas in K-12 education with an international audience.
To learn more about these incredible innovations:
- Visit https://hundred.org/en/collections/pittsburgh
- Follow HundrED on Facebook and Twitter
This post was written in partnership with The Motherhood and sponsored by The Grable Foundation. Photos courtesy of Remake Learning and Ben Filio.
