Overview

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, teachers are constantly seeking innovative ways to engage students and enhance their learning experiences. Students 4C-ing the Future (S4CF) will develop a scaffolded approach to project-based learning that will foster the 4C’s of 21st Century Learning: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. S4CF will build on the notion of vintage innovation, an inclusive mindset that is a practical overlay of the tried and true and the never tried, a repurposing of timeless skills in relevant contemporary contexts. S4CF will be an instructional redesign, a mash-up of proven successful hands-on classroom practices with purposeful use of some cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented reality (AR). The Bridgehampton school serves a population of approximately 200 students K through 12 that are year-round residents living an NCES a designated ‘fringe rural’ district. The school meets three of the NYSED priority preferences of this opportunity. The Bridgehampton school serves a population of 58% Hispanic and 15% African American students of whom 87.6% are from economically disadvantaged families. S4CF will feature specific strategies in personalized learning to support the 27% of students with disabilities (SWD) as well as the 25.4% of the district’s Limited English Proficiency (LEP) students that are newcomers, learning English as a new language. S4CF will impact 11 classroom teachers and 5 teacher specialists (technology, library media, arts, academic intervention specialists) and at least 85 students annually, grades K through 6 over a 2.5-year period. Teachers will work with students in a team-building approach where students participate as designers, documenters, and strategists creating real world multimedia projects that integrate creative arts and literacy aligned with core curriculum standards. S4CF will serve as the catalyst for changing the practices of school with opportunities for student agency and learning by discovery, combining tried and true current teaching practices elevated by new technologies. S4CF will develop a scaffolded approach to project-based experiences fostering the 4C’s of 21st Century Learning: critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication as a much-needed pathway to college and career readiness. The program will feature a scaffolded 3-prong approach to planning, implementation and evaluation leading to the building, curating, and publicizing of materials and artifacts including teacher and student exemplars featured on the district LTG website, monthly school-based news casts highlighting current projects by grade level and podcasts aligned with core subject themes. The goals of S4CF are:

• To develop and disseminate instructional materials as regional and state-wide public resources supporting the expansion of a blended learning model that integrates AI enhanced and AR technologies with literacy development throughout the core curriculum

• To provide ongoing, sustained professional learning opportunities to targeted administrators, teachers, and specialists that build capacity to offer a standards-based blended learning approach that integrates successful school practices with innovative technology tools

• To build student voice and 21st century learning skills using a blended learning model to address students’ academic needs and develop projects that integrate AI enhanced and AR tools with literacy learning across the core curriculum

The Digital Age Learning  team will partner with district and school administration to provide ongoing professional development and classroom support throughout all program phases.