Monday, August 27, 2012

Help iMiddle School Win Up To $15,000

STEMIE Awards iMiddle School in Clairemont is a finalist for a McGraw Hill Education STEMIE Award and, with your help, could win as much as $15,000 to support the school's STEM -- science, technology, engineering and math -- programs.

The award voting period runs through Sept. 19. Supporters can go to STEMIE Award page for iMiddle School to vote.

"We need as many people as possible to vote for us," said Principal Harlan Klein. "We're proud of the work our students and teachers do here at iMiddle and this award would help them continue their excellence."

iMiddle uses the concept of "flipped learning" in many of its classes, where teachers' lectures are put on video and watched by students during the traditional homework time. Class time is used to work through problems and experiments, allowing the teacher to provide students with much more one-on-one time. To apply for the award, iMiddle teachers submitted a video that talks about how the program works at the school and how students produce some of the videos used to teach their peers.

"Not only are our students benefiting from watching the videos, they're gaining valuable skills by shooting and editing the videos," said Klein. "Our students also gain pride of ownership in these videos, which further motivates them to learn."

At the end of the project, the school put on a student film festival, awarding prizes to the top shows.

The STEMIE Awards are designed to encourage engaging/interactive lessons, unique uses of technology in the classroom, innovative and differentiated instruction techniques and teaching tips you would give your first-year-teacher self.

Watch Video • Vote