RIVERTON—At Cheyenne Central High School, one of the schools participating in a pilot initiative aimed at reimagining education in Wyoming, Liz Eddington teaches psychology students about America's great leaders. He had them research possible diagnoses and taught them about mental illness.
When it came time to test her students, Eddington asked them to submit their own diagnostic results in what was called a performance evaluation, she said Friday from the stage at Central Wyoming University. Unlike traditional tests, where students silently bend over and scratch over a piece of paper, these assessments require students to demonstrate what they know by working on open-ended tasks. Students construct answers, create projects, and perform activities live.
This is very different from what many educators are accustomed to, Eddington told the audience of teachers, students and education professionals. But students “want to figure it out and be creative.”
This testing method forces students to rely on their own resources rather than just memorized answers, she says. “This is some of the best work I've done in my career so far,” she said of the class.
One of Eddington's students, sophomore Silma Orachovac, vouched for her teacher. She said the course felt like what Orahovac imagines working in a psychology lab with real patients.
“I think the experience was very authentic,” Orahovac said, adding that she initially had no particular interest in the subject. “I think this class is probably the one I worked the hardest on all year.”
This story was one of several shared during the daylong event to help define the outline of Wyoming's new education initiative. The governor-led program “RIDE” stands for “Rethinking and Innovating Education Delivery,” but it's hard to pinpoint what that actually is.
As the pilot district completes its first year of the program and prepares its second batch of students to begin the program, RIDE will be available Friday for credit-bearing internships, tax preparation guidance and student council meetings. Details have been revealed by the school where the experiment was conducted, including attendance.
Field of need
Governor Mark Gordon established the RIDE Advisory Group in May 2021 to study and develop recommendations to improve Wyoming's K-12 education system.
The group surveyed more than 7,000 stakeholders and held 17 listening sessions to gather feedback from across the state. Most survey respondents identified themselves as parents or guardians. Nearly 60% of respondents said they did not believe their children were adequately prepared for the future, with the areas most commonly cited as needing improvement being “learning outcomes and expectations”; The content and structure of the lessons were included.
Based on the information gathered, the committee offered two main recommendations. One is to allow students to move forward with academic content as soon as they are ready. Promotion should be a result of proficiency, not seat time. Second, students need more career and technical education opportunities.
Other key priorities included improving mental health supports and strengthening kindergarten readiness.
The pilot program that followed was a bit of an experiment. That's because the RIDE initiative reimagines some aspects of Wyoming's education landscape, such as traditional assessments and instructional time, and incorporates concepts such as competency-based learning and credits of learning outside the classroom. .
The nine school districts selected for the pilot include Albany 1, Converse 1, Laramie 1, Lincoln 1, Park 6, Park 16, Sweetwater 2, Teton 1, and Weston 7.
On Friday, district representatives gathered on the CWC campus to share successes and struggles. Teachers, parents, and education professionals from all over the state came together. RIDE encouraged all districts to send a team to learn about this opportunity.
The second group will begin the program in the fall. This includes Platte Districts 1 and 2, Park District 1, Sweetwater District 1, Weston District 1, and Fremont District 25.
Governor Gordon said at the Riverton event that 15 pilot districts currently teach about 43% of Wyoming's K-12 students.
Their leap is “a feat of courage,” he says.
Examples and challenges
Fire the rocket and use the range finder. Sharpen your skills in having meaningful conversations in an age where cell phones are the norm. We send students to gain clinical experience by working shifts at a hospital. Have students create resumes and apply for jobs. Explain to them the most adult task of filing taxes. Create electronic birthday cards using codes. We will arrange for students interested in politics to attend parliament. Arrange for another person to work at the veterinary facility.
These are some of the activities to revitalize education at the pilot school.
“I have to bring these [life] We bring skills back into the classroom,” Park County District 6 Superintendent Shane Ogden said. “We must provide opportunities for children to make mistakes in important life activities in a safe environment.”
By doing so, Ogden continued, children will realize that they “are capable of much more than they realize.” Doing well on WY-TOPP's standardized assessment tests “is not a skill you can acquire anywhere else,” he said.
Gordon said RIDE's efforts represent a step back from rigid and arbitrary learning standards, and “maybe it's time to refocus on what's really important to our community.”
Gordon said the type of learning the school aims for will encourage creativity among teachers, help the school system deliver learning more effectively, and, “most importantly, allow students to engage where they want to engage.” It is to become,” he said.
Not everything was smooth sailing, and participants also shared challenges. These include concerns that the strict schedule of 60-minute class units does not necessarily support innovative teaching, concerns about how this teaching style complies with assessment and accountability requirements, and This includes fighting the misconception that “sitting” is the same as learning. Fear and resistance to change, parental apathy, funding issues due to early graduation, and inflexibility regarding credit transfer were also shared.
Those are the challenges, Adam Rubin, co-founder of 2Revolutions, which is working with Wyoming on this effort, said during a breakout session.
“What should we do about the pain points?” he asked, before offering guidance based on participants' discussions. “What can we do with existing rules and regulations to clarify what is being misunderstood? Where are the priorities at the state level to change statutes in ways that strengthen this effort? ?And is Wyoming interested and ready to go to federal authorities on the evaluation side?”
