Q&A with Generation YES President Sylvia Martinez on STEM and ways for parents to be involved

Check this out! I’m interviewed in the current issue of Washington Exec. Here’s the interview.

Sylvia Martinez is President of Generation YES. Prior to joining this non-profit, she was VP of Development at Encore Software, a publisher of game and educational software on PC, Internet, and console platforms. For seven years, she was also the executive producer at Davidson & Associates/Knowledge Adventure, an educational software developer.

Martinez has an M.A. in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles.

WashingtonExec got the chance to speak with Martinez about her role at Generation Yes, how to get involved, the future STEM holds, and more.

WashingtonExec: What is your background and how did you get involved in STEM?

Sylvia Martinez: I have an electrical engineering degree and worked in aerospace on the GPS satellite navigation system development right out of college. After I had children, I became interested in using computers in education. I got a masters in education, then worked as an executive producer for Davidson & Associates, of MathBlaster software fame and other software and console game publishers.

WashingtonExec: Please describe your day to day responsibilities at Generation Yes.

Sylvia Martinez: Generation YES is a non-profit with a mission to empower young people to make a difference by using technology in education. We have curriculum and online tools that help teachers and students collaborate to use technology in the classroom. As president, I speak, write, and evangelize about our mission. It encompasses product development, PR, marketing, development, grant writing, and working with educators all across the US.

WashingtonExec: The U.S. is not turning out the engineering students that we need to in order to compete as an innovative country. Why is this issue so important to you?

Sylvia Martinez: For me personally, becoming an engineer was the intellectual turning point in my life. I was always good at math and science in school, but learning to solve real problems that could make the world a better place meant that I could make a difference. I want everyone to have that feeling.

Children need to have those powerful experiences at all ages, to prove to themselves that their ideas are valuable and can turn into positive action. Those experiences are key to innovation.

WashingtonExec: What’s your view to get more parents involved in STEM?

Sylvia Martinez: I think schools need to be more open to the whole community, not only parents. We need children and parents to see that science is around them everyday. STEM isn’t worksheet problems or vocabulary words.

WashingtonExec: What are some simple ways to get their kids more involved in STEM at an early age?

Sylvia Martinez: Parents can seek out experiences where their kids get to make and do things. The Maker movement has exploded recently. Get a copy of Geek Dad or Geek Mom and make something with your kids–anything from cooking and sewing to building a fort. Sometimes moms do not realize that the crafts they do have terrific STEM connections. The act of making something reinforces learning, and also teaches habits of persistence, willingness to “have a go”, and mindfulness. Parents should not accept schools where science and math only happen on paper and are only measured with multiple-choice tests.

WashingtonExec: What’s the best STEM success case study/project that you have been personally involved in?

Sylvia Martinez: For the past 5 years I’ve been on the faculty of Constructing Modern Knowledge, a summer institute for teachers. Every year we bring amazing resources like Legos, robotics, wearable computers, and more for teachers to play with and learn to use. Many teachers are a bit unsure of themselves as scientists and it’s crucial that they have experiences just like ones that are good for kids. Every year, teachers amaze themselves with the projects they do in a few short days. Our graduates report this changes the way they teach and that to me is a huge success.

WashingtonExec: What’s the future of STEM? How can other like-minded people get involved?

Sylvia Martinez: I am hopeful that students will get more hands on, experiential learning, with modern materials and more engaging projects. I also hope that we can empower younger students to experiment with the digital world. So much is possible these days with very inexpensive microcomputers, 3D printing, robots, and other fascinating technology.

However, I worry that the US is too focused on test scores and simple standardized assessment. The future will be about who can be creative and innovative, not who gets the best test scores.

People need to speak out about what’s important for education. We need all kids to have access to engaging, experiential learning opportunities, not just test prep.

WashingtonExec: What blogs/resources are useful to check out?

Sylvia Martinez: I post a lot of resources on our Generation YES blog https://blog.genyes.org and there is more information about the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute at https://www.constructingmodernknowledge.com. Our website https://www.genyes.org has many free resources such as how to start a student-run “Genius Bar” at your school. We hope that people take these ideas and work with students to make them happen. It’s only by working collaboratively with young people that education will improve and move forward.

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Guest post: Youth and Adults Transforming Schools Together

This guest post below is by Helen Beattie of YATST, a fantastic Vermont-based organization that helps schools create youth/adult participatory action research teams.

Like Generation YES, YATST engages young people in leadership roles with a focus on creating models and evaluation studies to show what active youth involvement looks like. There are real gems in here for anyone looking for startup advice on creating a youth-adult partnership on any topic. One of the many noteworthy ideas - ask students AND adults about the impact of educational initiatives.

Honestly, it’s tough to convey how much support these programs need - it sounds so easy, yet it’s a profound change in attitudes and relationships. It’s also tempting to soft-sell the work required because if you make things sound difficult, people won’t try it at all. But like YATST, we here at Generation YES are doing our best to spread the gospel worldwide.

So please read on for Helen Bettie and download the study (PDF) for some great advice -

Sylvia


The “Youth and Adults Transforming Schools Together” Vermont initiative has accrued five years of experience in guiding the work of school youth-adult teams engaged in participatory action research to increase engagement in learning. The organization has evolved from the four original pilot schools to 11 member schools, ranging from one to four years of on-going commitment to this work. YATST provides the training and support to facilitate transformation spearheaded by these youth-adult teams, continually fine-tuning tools and strategies to guide this complex endeavor.

Dr. Dana Mitra conducted a comprehensive 2011-12 year-end evaluation (download PDF), assessing the following areas:

1. Fidelity to the YATST theory of change
2. Training and support for participants
3. Longitudinal understanding of the YATST group life cycle
4. Outcomes
5. Sustainability and scale

In the course of her research, Dr. Mitra and her research assistant Catharine Biddle, interviewed nine principals and 14 YATST lead teachers, reviewed over 150 documents and attended a three day summer orientation for YATST teams. She also interviewed several key staff members from the Vermont Department of Education. This research suggests that YATST is on the right path:

“”Few models of youth-adult partnership exist in the United States and of these, YATST has one of the most sophisticated visions of this work…The strengths of the YATST program include a clearly articulated theory of change, strong support for relevant skill-development that is differentiated for participating youth and adults, as well as a reflective, research driven organizational culture….The forms of technical assistance provided by YATST staff are highly sophisticated and a model nationally and beyond for how to provide support to a youth-adult partnership process. ” (p. 1-3).

While Dana focused primarily on adult perspectives of the YATST experience, Dr. Dick Corbett explored the experiences of students on YATST teams by interviewing a sampling of 18-20 team members from four different YATST schools, for each of the past two years. His report summarized:

1. How and why students joined YATST
2. The evolution of student empowerment
3. Student reflections on their impact on school change
4. Reflections on the implications of “theories of action” within YATST schools

Dr. Corbett’s conclusions were similarly encouraging:

“To say that the students had found their voices would be an understatement; the second section describes an evolution into empowerment that appeared to surpass simply being confident with sharing opinions and facilitating discussions. The students entirely expected to make a difference, especially because all of them had had firsthand experiences with provoking thought among their peers and instructors”. (p. 1)

Both reports also delve into the challenges of this work. How do we engage and sustain a truly heterogeneous mix of students in this work, reaching out to those most disenfranchised? How do we institutionalize these youth-adult teams so that they are not marginalized or vulnerable to administrative shifts or re-prioritizing? How do we document the subtle markers of change when provoking a youth-adult learning partnership paradigm shift? What can be done to sustain team commitment in the face of the sometimes “glacial” pace of school change?

-Helen Bettie, YATST

Download the evaluation (PDF)

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The longer students stay in school, the less engaged they become

“The drop in student engagement for each year students are in school is our monumental, collective national failure.” Brandon Busteed, Executive Director of Gallup Education

Here’s what he’s talking about:

Read more about why the longer students stay in school, the less engaged they become.

Sylvia

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Student tech support for high access environments

Tom Vander Ark writes this week in his Ed Week column, Vander Ark On Innovation, about Supporting High Access Environments.

Here’s is a summary of advice to district CTOs from the experts:

  1. Publish a short list of devices the district agrees to support
  2. Build/buy a thick layer of DIY support online and phone
  3. Hire a rational number of tech support specialists with loads of less than 1:500 devices
  4. Engage secondary students in a formal way in tech support roles
  5. If you encourage BYOD, don’t promise support; and
  6. Show parents and community members how technology is improving learning.

Highlight mine, of course!

Full disclosure, Tom emailed me for advice on this list, but he already had number four on the list. I didn’t have to tell him that students could provide amazing service to teachers using technology, because when he was a school superintendent back in the 90′s his district whole-heartedly embraced our GenYES model of student support for teachers and technology. We’ve come a long way since and the need has only become greater.

There is more technology, more choices, a faster pace of change, and yet, this amazing untapped resource called students is still not at full potential. And who out there can afford to ignore available resources!

Check out our GenYES model of students supporting teachers with technology here.

Sylvia

 

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Where Will Future School Leaders Come From?

Great leadership is inclusive leadership, yet the largest stakeholder group in schools is often forgotten: students. Students are 92% of the population at most every school site. To be a leader, you have to lead 100% of the population, not just the 8% who look like you.

Wonder where the future leaders of education will come from? They sit in front of us everyday. Thinking that “school” doesn’t understand who they are. Wondering what their role will be in changing the world. Wishing that someone would give them the opportunity to make a difference.

Students can be leaders of the future by being leaders today. Leadership lessons cannot be learned in a vacuum. Including students in every aspect of school can be done if caring adults make it a priority. Students can learn to teach others, be on real decision-making committees, provide services like tech support, or run for the school board. Students who take on real and important responsibility learn to trust themselves as they show they can be trusted. Empowerment isn’t something you “do” to people; it’s an outcome of being valued, respected, and listened to. Adults can learn to see young people in a new light as essential partners in creating better learning opportunities for all.

Enabling youth voice in K-12 schools isn’t simple. Once empowered, young people might not say or do what you expect. It takes time to teach them how to speak their minds effectively and to work collaboratively. And they keep growing up and leaving, so the effort never ends. Youth voice is about much more than listening to young people, although that’s a start. It’s about long-term commitment to action, because in action, young people find their voice.

I’m not talking about the kind of token youth panel you see at educational conferences, where students who can be counted on to say acceptable things are trotted out for an hour. Everyone nods and feels good about listening to youth voice, and then lunch is served while the kids are conveniently bused back from whence they came.

Ignoring youth leadership potential is a lose-lose situation. We lose their input, convince them we don’t care, and miss the teachable moment. We enable dependence in youth by not allowing them to participate in the process of school decision making. We create alienation and then blame young people for not caring. The curtailing of student press freedom and the blocking of online discussion creates fewer opportunities for young voices to be heard in every avenue and fewer opportunities to practice these skills.

Leaders of today should be worried about where the leaders of tomorrow will learn how to be informed, involved citizens of the world. Those of us who believe that modern technology is a key to changing schools also know that this digital generation has more direct experience with technology than any other group. They could be powerful allies and advocates–if adults make the choice to listen and provide expertise as needed. When students aren’t included in the effort to improve education, we lose more than their technical know-how; we lose the opportunity to shape the leaders of tomorrow.

Sylvia

Cross-posted on GETideas.org’s Featured Thought Leaders Series as part of a webinar. Here is the link to the archive: https://youtu.be/c77ET5-EX9E

And audience comments: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115848119890273950575/posts/WH1Nko4yhNv

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Cultivating Leadership: Building Capacity for Future Schools Hangout

Join me on Wednesday, January 9, 2013 for a Google Plus Hangout hosted by GETideas.org. 3PM - 4PM PST.

Link to Google Hangout Event Invitation: https://goo.gl/9PTzK

Where to Watch: Observers can watch and comment on this Google Hangout on Air at GETIdeas.org’s Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115848119890273950575/posts

Cultivating Leadership: Building Capacity for Future Schools Hangout. What are the characteristics of effective 21st-century education leaders? How do systems leader manage change? What is the role of communication when pushing new agendas to a school community?

To explore these issues, GETideas.org is hosting this GooglePlus hangout on Cultivating Leadership: Building Capacity for Future Schools. The hangout features this panel of education experts:

  • Michelle Bourgeois and Joe McBreen, instructional technology coordinators, St. Vrain Valley School District
  • Patrick Faverty, faculty, UC Santa Barbara
  • Sylvia Libow Martinez, president, Generation YES
  • Dale Truding, assistant superintendent, Arlington Heights School District 25
  • Tony Wagner, Harvard University

Update: Here is the link to the archive: https://youtu.be/c77ET5-EX9E

And audience comments: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115848119890273950575/posts/WH1Nko4yhNv

Here’s my companion blog post for this event - Where Will Future School Leaders Come From?

I’ll cross post that here tomorrow.

Sylvia

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2012 Most Popular Posts

It’s that time of year again! Here are the most popular posts (according to WordPress, anyway) from the Generation YES blog.

  1. Khan Academy and the mythical math cure
  2. Games that encourage student teamwork and collaboration
  3. Happy Birthday Logo!
  4. 8 Big Ideas of the Constructionist Learning Lab
  5. Engagement, responsibility and trust
  6. Halo 3 shines harsh light on games in education
  7. Khan Academy – algorithms and autonomy
  8. Back to school – games for collaboration and teamwork
  9. Compare and contrast: using computers to improve math education
  10. Treasure trove for constructivist classroom projects

Google screen shot

These are a mixed lot - for example, #3, “Happy Birthday Logo!” is about the 40th anniversary of the Logo programming language. As much as I’d like to believe that there is a massive resurgence of interest in children programming in Logo, it’s MUCH more likely that people are searching for birthday clip-art and stumble on this post. It’s also the case that for #6, “Halo 3 shines harsh light on games in education“ the mere mention of the immensely popular game “Halo” drives a lot of traffic. There are some interesting statistics in that post comparing the sales figures of Halo to the expectations for educational software, but I’m assuming that’s not the primary draw.

However, the traffic for #2, 4, 8, and 10, are all pretty on target. I believe that these articles do reflect interest in constructivism and a yearning for information about how to make classroom activities more authentic. I can see that the time spent on these articles by the “average” visitor is much higher. Someday I’ll get around to calculating a different popularity metric for my posts, something like page views multiplied by viewing time so that the really popular posts reflect viewer interest, rather than just Google searches gone astray.

And of course, two of my Khan Academy posts made the top ten. The debate about Khan Academy is still going on strong, and has made it into the mainstream of American mass media. Although it’s nice when an educational topic does make it into the mainstream, it’s not so good when it reinforces the blandest and least interesting teaching myths. Oh well, I suppose we could all be reading more about the Kardashians!

Sylvia

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Happy Holidays from Generation YES

We wish you all happy holidays! May the New Year bring a renewed commitment to empowering young people to take charge of their lives and learning. We are grateful to the community of students, educators, and learners of all ages who work with us every day to help young people become agents of change rather than objects to be changed.

Peace.

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Bring your class on an amazing scientific expedition through the jungles of Nicaragua

From Exploration Nation -

In April of 2013, join Team XN - a team of kids, Special Forces veterans and surgeons who will travel from around the world to San Jose, Costa Rica to begin a 14 day scientific expedition through the jungle that will culminate in setting up a surgical clinic for the Rama indians in Nicaragua.

Sign up for the free, live broadcast and access to archives.

Who: Exploration Nation is a team of elementary and middle school students who travel the world doing real science research and recording these adventures on video for students.

What: Expedition Central America. A free, live broadcast of kid-led expedition to deliver medical services, curriculum and water purification equipment to the Rama people of Nicaragua.

Why: To inspire and motivate elementary and middle school students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for the betterment of mankind.

How: For each of the fourteen days of the expedition, Exploration Nation will broadcast live to hundreds of thousands of classrooms around the world. Students can follow Team XN as they trek through the jungles of Central America, perform valuable scientific research and work side by side with doctors to deliver badly needed medical services and supplies.

Exploration Nation will also create a series of lesson plans from the Expedition on topics including sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, ethnobotany and medical innovation.

When: Expedition Central America will take place April 2 - April 16th. However the broadcast is free to educators who subscribe to Exploration Nation between December 1, 2012 and February 1, 2013.

Sign up for the free, live broadcast and access to archives.

Not an educator and just want to help out? Contributors to the project receive free subscriptions and more - Click here to contribute

Team XN: Expedition Central America from Team XN on Vimeo.

This sounds exciting!

Sylvia

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How do teachers make informed decisions in choosing technology?

Larry Ferlazzo writes a column “Classroom Q&A” for Teacher Magazine (part of the Ed Week family of publications) on teaching and technology. A few months ago he asked for my response to a question: How do teachers make informed decisions in relation to a balanced use of technology in the classroom?

This is a really interesting question for two reasons:

1. Because it transcends the “what” to tackle the “why”. Teachers have to balance a lot to create the best learning environment for their students and it’s not always clear how to do that. Especially with technology, it seems that any choice you make will be obsolete too soon as product after product and app after app appear, with new exciting announcements made every day.

2. Because it presumes that teachers CAN and SHOULD make these decisions. Too often, technology decisions are made by people who aren’t in the classroom without consulting teachers. Teachers and students are the stakeholders in this equation, and should be involved in choosing appropriate technology.

Be sure to read the responses Larry collected in this multi-part article. Besides my response, Tina Barseghian, the editor of MindShift, and Scott McLeod, an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Kentucky weigh in.

Here’s my contribution:

The best way to use tech in the classroom is when the technology primarily supports the process of student learning, not the product. Sure, it’s easy to get excited when we find tools that make things easier, but we have to be careful about what’s getting automated. Tools that support deep student creativity may take more time to learn, but in the end, give students access to powerful, creative experiences. The learning that takes place on the journey is the real outcome, and a “push-button” tool deprives the child of that experience.

Just like the writing process depends on giving students time to edit and re-write, technology should enhance a student’s ability to dive into the process of thinking deeply about their own work. Editing, reflecting, tweaking, refining, and even starting from scratch are crucial elements of the learning process - saving time is not. Technology that gives students multiple ways to approach their own work means that students can develop fluency and ownership of their learning.

And if you are thinking, “Who has time to teach my students something complicated?” - I will suggest to you that complexity is different than depth. Sure there are tools that are not age-appropriate or just plain overkill. But educators often overestimate the extra time it takes to learn a new tool. Don’t try to front-load too much information about the tool to the students. Instead, introduce a small project for the students, give them the tool and let them work. Allow collaboration between students to share new discoveries. Encourage home-grown student experts who can answer other students’ questions. Time spent becoming fluent with a tool that has depth is time well-spent.

Sylvia

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