Could 8, 2023
FEATURE
A California faculty district brings creativity to life with Apple Studying Coach
The skilled studying program expands to 12 further nations this yr
One thing transformative is going on within the Downey Unified Faculty District in Southern California.
“There’s a buzz,” says Allison Field, principal at Lewis Elementary Faculty. “It’s thrilling — there’s by no means a boring day right here, and that’s as a result of our youngsters are immersed in studying environments which can be actually dynamic.”
Throughout the district, college students are utilizing Apple expertise to create initiatives as different as podcasts with GarageBand, animations with Keynote, and flicks with Clips — and these adjustments are reshaping lecture rooms. On the heart of this transformation is a gaggle of educators who’ve utilized their data from the Apple Studying Coach program to rethink how academics and college students strategy their research.
Apple Studying Coach is a free skilled studying program that trains tutorial coaches, digital studying specialists, and different teaching educators to assist academics successfully use Apple expertise within the classroom. Greater than 1,900 educators have already accomplished this system in the US, and the subsequent cohort is now accepting functions by way of Could 30. Moreover, Apple Studying Coach is increasing to 12 extra nations, along with the US, by the tip of the yr.
Downey Unified is dwelling to 22,000 college students from transitional kindergarten by way of grade 12 throughout 22 colleges, together with eight Apple Distinguished Faculties. Greater than 10 years in the past, the district started utilizing iPod contact to help with studying fluency for English language learners. Quick ahead to at the moment, and all elementary colleges present an iPad to each scholar and, for the reason that pandemic, center colleges are additionally 1:1 with iPad.
Downey follows the coherence mannequin, the place all colleges have the identical entry to expertise, schooling, instruments, and companies. For instance, every faculty has an Innovation Lab with coding, robotics, and inexperienced display screen movie initiatives, and Scholar Tech Squads present management alternatives the place older college students mentor youthful college students and facilitate districtwide creativity and innovation competitions. As well as, a cornerstone at Downey is that every one educators are supplied skilled studying alternatives — and because it launched in 2021, this consists of Apple Studying Coach. So far, Downey has 15 licensed Apple Studying Coaches, with a further 5 educators presently enrolled in this system.
By means of a mixture of self-paced classes and digital workshops with Apple Skilled Studying Specialists, every Apple Studying Coach positive aspects a deeper understanding of the way to assist academics within the classroom as they combine expertise into studying. Upon finishing this system, every Apple Studying Coach comes away with an actionable teaching portfolio they’ll start utilizing instantly.
Marnie Luevano was licensed as an Apple Studying Coach final yr. Her function as an tutorial expertise coach at Downey Unified brings her into the district’s elementary colleges, the place she helps academics reimagine how they use Apple expertise to supercharge classes.
“We work with academics to determine new methods their college students can reveal what they’ve discovered past the usage of a worksheet or just writing an essay,” says Luevano. “After which the youngsters are taking off with it — they’re so excited. Each time we go to the colleges, the youngsters can’t wait to inform us concerning the podcast they’re ending or present us the duvet they designed for one in all their initiatives. They’re not simply attempting to get the task achieved — they’re actually having fun with the method.”
This yr, because of the Apple Studying Coach program, the district’s coaches are deepening their use of Apple’s Everybody Can Create sources. Each week, a brand new Everybody Can Create mission is featured and distributed to educators, and the district expertise workforce has created a digital fluency deck to offer its academics expertise targets for college students based mostly on grade stage. For instance, by the tip of first grade, college students will have the ability to document video utilizing the digicam on iPad, and by the tip of second grade, they are going to have the ability to construct on that talent to mix video with images and audio in iMovie.
Jennifer Robbins has been working in Downey for 27 years and is the district’s director of elementary schooling, in addition to an Apple Studying Coach. She hasn’t simply seen a change within the college students as their entry to expertise has elevated — she’s additionally watched her fellow educators study and develop.
“Apple Studying Coach gave us the instruments to have the ability to meet educators the place they’re, regardless of the extent of their expertise data,” says Robbins. “So we need to give voice and option to our youngsters, however we would like the identical for our academics. We work to customise the training for them too.”
The outcomes for Downey have been measurable. In an period of declining enrollment throughout California public colleges, Downey has seen progress in its scholar inhabitants. Principal Field, who can be an Apple Studying Coach, credit this system with serving to to rework colleges within the district, together with her personal.
“Apple has actually been a sport changer in schooling, each for our academics and our college students,” says Field. “In making use of the Apple Studying Coach mannequin, we’re attaining a better stage of engagement, and it’s opening up so many potentialities — we’re interested by what an augmented actuality program or app design studio would possibly seem like for our college. It’s serving to us create a tradition that embraces change and innovation, and prepares our college students for the long run, and I’m very enthusiastic about what’s subsequent.”
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