Creating a Stronger Learning Community through Virtual Field Trips Creating a Stronger Learning Community through Virtual Field Trips Success Stories Verona Area School DistrictVerona, WI Discovery Education’s Impact Verona Area School District was looking for fresh, innovative ways to engage students with learning that extends beyond the traditional classroom setting. The teachers wanted to offer rigorous academic content while also elevating their students’ sense of community and leadership skills. They found an invaluable resource in the Discovery Education Experience learning platform and its included Virtual Field Trips to bring an exciting, hands-on learning experience to K-12 students. Edit Content Popular among Discovery Education educators, Virtual Field Trips take students on a unique journey to make real-world connections: like meeting Olympic Gold Medalist swimmer Katie Ledecky and learning about STEM careers, visiting the arctic tundra to observe polar bears, or going behind the scenes at the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, TN. These resources make an impact by creating connections between educators within a district, between subjects like music and physics, and between students and their community. Since 2016, the district has been creating a new kind of interactive, hands-on learning activity that incorporates Virtual Field Trips and a little magic from its dedicated Educational Technology Coach, Rita Mortenson. What started out as a simple collaboration between teachers has evolved into a cross-curricular, cross-grade level learning experience. Now high schoolers are brought to the younger grades, and vice versa, to collaborate and experience the Virtual Field Trip together in engaging ways that they themselves have a hand in designing. I’m very passionate about bringing joy to all spaces and elevating teachers. For instance, when we used Discovery Education to create an experience pairing a 2nd grade class with an AP Physics class, the AP Physics teacher said it was some of the greatest learning she has ever helped facilitate. It was amazing to see her students teach younger students about science experiments and watch them be leaders. We love to be champions for the teachers by helping create these moments. Rita Mortenson Educational Technology Coach Lightbulb Moments These Virtual Field Trips are more than just a video to add into a lesson or show to students. The first example of this innovative collaboration among Verona Area School District students used the NFL Play 60 Virtual Field Trip, created in partnership with the National Football League and the American Heart Association. Students from different high school athletic and academic programs were brought in to help design hands-on learning activities stemming from this digital resource to connect with elementary students and engage them in skill building. Edit Content Today, there are a multitude of lightbulb moments showcasing how students connect through engaging, hands-on learning with these collaborative activities, and their impact extends beyond the classroom, too! High school students are empowered to make an impact on the younger generation and sharpen their leadership skills, which builds a sense of community. Creating joy for students through these hands-on activities can help them learn new things or show what they have learned throughout a unit. For example, when elementary students completed a unit on weather, we set up an Extreme Weather Virtual Field Trip experience using Discovery Education Experience, with different stations students visited with high schoolers. This experience helps teachers visualize what they can do with online content and how to make it fun and exciting for their students. Making that connection between students and staff, but also between the curriculum and grade levels is really important! Lisette Venegas Secondary Multilingual Programs Manager Looking Ahead According to teachers in the district, these collaborative Virtual Field Trips are “the best learning experience for their class,” and it’s been gaining more traction every year. The interest has expanded beyond the topics represented in Virtual Field Trips, which leaders like Rita see as an opportunity to lean on Discovery Education’s high-quality, diverse content to create even more collaborative learning opportunities.With the support of district leadership and principals, Rita, Lisette, and other teacher-leaders are planning 10 or even 20 events a year, all while encouraging the participation of more teachers. Lastly, bringing in community leaders and outside industry leaders would open the door to Virtual Field Trips focused on careers to help prepare students for the future workforce and overall success. Quick Facts School Details 10 schools serving 5,700+ studentsPartnered with Discovery Education since 2011 Solutions ExperienceMystery ScienceScience Techbook for Middle School Classroom Application Core and supplemental instructionCross-curricular hands-on learning Share This Story Embark on Your Journey with Discovery Education Get Started Learn How Discovery Education Can Help You Achieve Your Goals Contact Us
Focus on STEM Drives Student Engagement and Achievement Focus on STEM Drives Student Engagement and Achievement Success Stories Park Ridge Elementary SchoolPark Ridge Schools Broward County, FL A shift in focus to STEM learning results in improved student testing scores and engagement at Broward County Schools, according to a recent report.A two-year study of Park Ridge Elementary School in Broward County, FL showed marked improvement after education leaders implemented the STEM focus supported by two services from Discovery Education — Science Techbook, a digital science textbook, and STEMformation, a standards-based professional development program.The gains at Park Ridge followed an initiative at six elementary schools in Broward County designed to improve student outcomes by focusing on STEM studies. Students at all six schools demonstrated improvement on state assessments, but Park Ridge’s students in particular saw significant gains in their reading and math scores. Researchers attributed some of that success to Discovery Education’s implementation at the school. The [STEMformation] program at Park Ridge ES, specifically, the integration of Discovery Education digital content and instructional practices into classroom instruction, has produced positive impacts on teaching and learning over the past two years. Report by Metis Associates National Research and Consulting Firm Student results were measured based on their performance on the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) between 2016-2017. Park Ridge students showed a 6.1 percent increase in their reading scores, and a 3.1 percent increase in their math scores during the course of the study. Learn More about Park Ridge Elementary School’s Incredible Advancement Listen to this Blog Talk radio interview with Principal Joe Balchunas, who was Principal of Park Ridge Elementary at the time, as he discusses his experience, as well as the experience of the student and teachers under his leadership. Share This Story Embark on Your Impact Journey with Discovery Education Get Started Learn How Discovery Education Can Help You Achieve Your Goals Contact Us