Next Gen (from page 7)
the district-wide effort opens additional doors to
connections between schools and industry.
Through pilot programs, Paducah educators know
students tend to have a deeper understanding and
longer-lasting mastery of curriculum when learning
through the lens of a real-world problem. That’s
why they have begun partnering with local business
and industry, in an effort to learn more about local
problems, and how students can learn through
addressing them.
“Project-based learning is a game changer for
students and teachers, if done right,” said Dr.
Carmen Coleman, clinical associate professor, UK
College of Education. Coleman co-directs the Next
Generation Leader Academy and conducts teacher
and leader outreach for the National Center for
Innovation in Education, based at UK.
“We have an emphasis on project-based learning, but
it’s still critical to master the traditional academic
standards,” said Will Black, while attending a projectbased learning summer institute with UK. “However,
we don’t see the two as mutually exclusive – we
really want both.”
With project-based learning, the students are
usually more intrigued because they see their efforts
applied to a real-world problem. Leaders say it’s
not necessarily a new approach – the best teachers
have always struck a balance between traditional
instruction and project-based learning. However,
Rudolph (from page 7)
“Every year I struggle financially,” Rudolph said
frankly. “Being in college, having a job and being
involved on campus is hard to maintain. Money is
always a problem with students, especially when you
come from a low-income family.”
This year, she learned she would receive the UK
College of Education’s William R. Black Fund for
Educators. Getting the acceptance letter was an
important moment in her life.
“I cried that day, tears of happiness,” she said. “If I
was only awarded $100 I would have been just as
happy. Knowing that someone who has never met
me believed in me – that is an amazing feeling; it’s
motivation for me. That’s what I want to do for
others.”
When Rudolph talks about her future students,
there is a faraway look in her eyes, and I wonder
if she is thinking about her own days as a little girl
who loved school so much because that’s where she
felt the safest and happiest.
“As a teacher I look forward to changing children’s
8 | next»
“Different from the traditional ‘teach the unit, give
a test, and assign a project at the end’ approach,
project-based learning teaches the content through
the project. It engages students in meaningful work
they are excited about – work that requires them to
apply academic content and those essential skills like
perseverance, critical thinking and communication.
Students in a project-based learning environment
have to think and problem-solve. They are working
for a purpose far beyond a grade and for an audience
beyond the teacher. If we were all asked to describe
our most memorable learning experience, it is
likely that it had many of what are considered key
components of project-based learning.” «
educational lives. I want to be able to encourage
them to learn new things. I look forward to meeting
those students who grew up in the same type of
living environment as me and being able to change
their views about learning,” she says. “I know
how challenging it can be to grow up in a home
that doesn’t highlight the importance of a good
education,” she says. “Simply by being a teacher I
believe I can make a difference in the lives of others.
That’s mainly why I chose this career. I know
from experience that pursuing a higher education
is beneficial. I want to encourage children to do
the same. I want to teach them that education is
important in being successful.”
And while being the first in her family to go to
college has been a challenge, it has also presented
her with an opportunity to inspire others in her
family to think big. “Staying in college, working
hard for what I want and need … can change
someone’s life. My ni