May 26th, 2018
21st Century Classroom
College Students for a Day
By Grace Borst
Innovation Specialist at St. Albans City School
On May 17, 2018 twenty-four sixth grade Maple Run Unified School District students from St. Albans City School and St. Albans Town Educational Center had the opportunity to experience the life of a college student for a day. These sixth graders were asked to challenge their problem solving skills and critical thinking at the annual ROOTS (Reaching Out on Technology & Science) event at Champlain College. The goal of this event to is ignite interest in the fields of technology among our middle school students. Students attend three different workshops led by Champlain College faculty.
Leading up to this event, students were asked to fill out a registration form that held their top 5 workshop choices. There were over 20 workshops offered! Workshops ranged from solving a crime with forensic science to protecting your digital privacy. From there, organizers placed students into 3 workshops. On the day of the event, the students eagerly loaded onto the bus at St. Albans City School and headed over to St. Albans Town Educational Center to pick up more students and teachers. As we unloaded and walked our way into the Champlain College student center students eyes were big and full of wonder. We walked through their halls and they saw arcade games lined up on a wall and one of them exclaimed, “Wow, they are really laid back here! They even have video games in the hallways!”. This was many of our students first experience on a college campus.
Once the opening remarks were made students funneled out of the room and were off to their individual workshops, which were held in several different buildings on the campus. Students were asked to move out of their comfort zone and work with students from other schools. One group designed their own video game concepts and built a 3D board for their game using blocks while another group learned about binary numbers through game play.
All of these fantastic workshops were offered with students in mind! They were hands on, engaging, and fun for the students. No matter which workshop or room you went to you could see kids smiling, laughing, and thinking.
This was an authentic and amazing experience for these students.
They were able to spend the day learning like a college student, eating like a college student, and walked away feeling like a college student. For many this was their first time on a college campus, and ROOTS most definitely left a lasting impression on them.
College Students for a Day
By Grace Borst
Innovation Specialist at St. Albans City School
On May 17, 2018 twenty-four sixth grade Maple Run Unified School District students from St. Albans City School and St. Albans Town Educational Center had the opportunity to experience the life of a college student for a day. These sixth graders were asked to challenge their problem solving skills and critical thinking at the annual ROOTS (Reaching Out on Technology & Science) event at Champlain College. The goal of this event to is ignite interest in the fields of technology among our middle school students. Students attend three different workshops led by Champlain College faculty.
Leading up to this event, students were asked to fill out a registration form that held their top 5 workshop choices. There were over 20 workshops offered! Workshops ranged from solving a crime with forensic science to protecting your digital privacy. From there, organizers placed students into 3 workshops. On the day of the event, the students eagerly loaded onto the bus at St. Albans City School and headed over to St. Albans Town Educational Center to pick up more students and teachers. As we unloaded and walked our way into the Champlain College student center students eyes were big and full of wonder. We walked through their halls and they saw arcade games lined up on a wall and one of them exclaimed, “Wow, they are really laid back here! They even have video games in the hallways!”. This was many of our students first experience on a college campus.
Once the opening remarks were made students funneled out of the room and were off to their individual workshops, which were held in several different buildings on the campus. Students were asked to move out of their comfort zone and work with students from other schools. One group designed their own video game concepts and built a 3D board for their game using blocks while another group learned about binary numbers through game play.
All of these fantastic workshops were offered with students in mind! They were hands on, engaging, and fun for the students. No matter which workshop or room you went to you could see kids smiling, laughing, and thinking.
This was an authentic and amazing experience for these students.
They were able to spend the day learning like a college student, eating like a college student, and walked away feeling like a college student. For many this was their first time on a college campus, and ROOTS most definitely left a lasting impression on them.