Academic Innovation Conference 2024

Education sometimes feels like Tolkien’s Battle of Five Armies. Educators must 1. Get students to come to school, 2: Help them with content mastery and skill development, 3. Prepare them for the world after graduation, 4. Adhere to ever-evolving expectations and standards, and 5. Engage communities that feel increasingly less supportive. This session uses Swain Middle School’s recent STEAM Expo as a case-study for how teachers and administrators can unite the five armies, strengthening partnerships and leveraging our local communities to increase hands-on learning opportunities that have been shown to improve retention, increase motivation for learning, strengthen self-efficacy, and promote soft-skill development.