PSEA’s Council on Instruction and Professional Development annually awards Innovative Teaching Grants.

This year’s recipients are:

Ryan Hinton

Penn Argyl Area, Northampton County

Hands-on Civil War History Lab: This project provides students with the opportunity to explore Civil War artifacts and primary sources. This hands-on experience will help to foster greater student interest in both the Civil War and history in general.

Bernadette Nemeth

Allegheny IU, Allegheny County

The Use of Manipulatives, At Home Math Program: The students participating in this project are not performing at grade level in mathematics. The addition of an at-home program that provides support for both parents and students, and provides manipulatives for at-home use may increase student motivation and achievement.

Katie Waddell

General McLane, Erie County

School-Wide Mobile Makers:A mobile school-wide makerspace at Edinboro Elementary School will allow teachers to implement innovative STEAM projects driven by student creativity. The mobile makerspace will include three toolkits: Brick Builders, Garden Growers, and Powerful Presenters. Each toolkit will combine community resources, hands-on materials, and children’s literature to deliver rigorous, standards-based instruction.

Maria Masankay, Christine McClure, and Helene Tscheschlog

Western Wayne, Wayne County

Virtual/Augmented Reality Program: This project is designed to create a student-centered learning environment that not only increases the success of science learning objectives, but also heightens awareness of STEM-related fields for underrepresented populations. In the process, all students will be exposed to new technology to prepare them for the modern workforce.