If You Build It...They Will Come
KENNESAW, Ga.
(Nov 20, 2017) — There are nineteen middle schools in the Fulton County Schools District, but Ronald
E. McNair Middle School has one of the most innovative learning spaces in the United
States. The building literally has classes with no walls to foster collaboration between
teachers and students, and multiple presentation spaces for students to share their
ideas with a variety of audiences. Additionally, all of the students bring either
an Ipad or cellphone to use during the instruction each day. Considering that McNair
is a school that typically uses traditional pedagogy, how will the teachers fathom
the idea of an open space where students are encouraged to use devices? Will the teachers
receive support?
Fulton declares personalize learning as one of the fibers of its instructional creed,
and the school district has galvanized the best resources to support McNair make the
transition from traditional pedagogy to a more personalized approach. Although McNair
students and teachers moved into the new building in the middle of the school year,
they have adapted to the obvious idea that teaching and learning will need to look
differently in the new space. Fulton County has enlisted the efforts of the KSU iTeach
department to assist teachers with understanding the endless possibilities of their
space and one-to-one devices.
In order to increase the bandwidth of support for McNair, multiple teachers have shared
their summer with three KSU iTeach Instructional Technology Specialist to gather more
knowledge about personalize learning, develop a plan for ways to collaborate with
peers, and acquire methods to help others embrace a new way of teaching. After receiving
summer training, the teachers will begin the 2016-2017 school year equipped to implement
personalized learning strategies and help others along the way. The future looks amazingly
bright for McNair, the building is here and a change has come.
Tierra Reed, Ed.S.
KSU iTeach Coach