Allowing students to solve real-world problems that are relevant to their everyday lives is key to keeping them engaged in online learning.
With that in mind, educators in North Carolina’s Rowan-Salisbury School System are assigning projects that students can work on outside of synchronous online sessions, Superintendent Lynn Moody says.
The district is offering ongoing professional development and has also created a library of resources, videos and instructional strategies that teachers can tap into when assigning these projects.
Students can also apply to a local Rotary Club to get funding for their projects. For example, a student could get funding to set up a social justice website.
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“The idea is to incentivize students’ passions,” Moody says. “When you talk about equity in a community, some students have the means to do these projects but, often the students who are closest to the need in the community are the least likely to have the funds.”
Project-based learning in Rowan-Salisbury is one example of among the many ways districts are innovating to shift academics, social-emotional learning and other approaches to the new reality of hybrid learning.
Click on the links to see more innovations:
