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Two Rocket New Tech projects nominated for national awards
Two lessons plans used at Irvin High School's Rocket New Tech have been nominated for New Tech’s Best in Network awards for their innovation and forward-thinking approach.
World studies teachers Melissa Saldaña and Emma Weatherly and bio-wellness teachers Jennifer Simmons and John Hernandez received nominations for their projects "The People v. Columbus" and "Cancer Awareness," respectively.
"For us just being a year two New Tech school it was really awesome to be nominated for this award. We are super excited," Saldaña said. "We worked very hard on the project and the end product was very cool."
For "The People v. Columbus" project students were grouped and assigned different historical figures to research, such as Christopher Columbus, Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro.
"We put Christopher Columbus and these other men on trial for their crimes against history, so our students were either defendants or they were prosecutors," Weatherly said.
"They got to learn through hands-on work. They found journals and letters written by these men. Instead of us just telling them what to read, they researched it and found the information themselves."
To prepare for the mock trial Saldaña and Weatherly brought in a judge and courtroom reporter to talk to the students, teaching them about the inner workings of a courtroom – from the proceedings to proper attire and etiquette.
Freshman Maggie Morales really enjoyed the project. She represented the Aztecs in the case against Hernan Cortes.
"It was really fun because I got to feel like an actual lawyer and go up and say 'he did this and this' to give it an element of emotion," Morales said. "Instead of having the teacher go up to the front of the class and explain it, it was more hands-on."
New Tech Network coaches nominate projects that exemplify the New Tech mantra of engaging and inspiring students through hands-on learning. Nominees must then submit a self-assessment video, detailing the project, as well as a student work samples, rubrics and other pertinent evidence to demonstrate an exemplary learning experience.
Simmons and Hernandez were excited to receive word of their project's nomination, which focused on teaching students about the different types of cancers and their impact. Students also received a visit from a community member undergoing treatment for cancer, giving them a personal connection to the project.
Freshman Nicholas Aragon learned a lot about skin cancer, which he didn't know was one of the most common types of cancers prior to the project.
"It was nice to raise awareness for skin cancer because although it's not the deadliest it's good to provide information on how to help prevent it," Aragon said. "The biggest takeaway for me was learning about how common skin cancer was but that there are ways to help prevent it."
Hernandez and Simmons think making real-world connections is how students can really grasp concepts that are typically taught out of a book.
"I think it's important to provide students with real-world experience because it gives them the 'why' of what they are learning because sometimes they are thinking 'why am I learning this?'" Simmons said. "If you show them how it's related to the real world then it gives them more meaning in the content."