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WW HistoryQuest Fellowship Expands, Names New Class

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FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, May 30, 2017
CONTACT: Patrick Riccards (@eduflack) | [email protected] (703) 298-8283

WW HistoryQuest Fellowship Expands, Names New Class

Program Helps New England, Mid-Atlantic Teachers Bring Game-Based Learning to U.S. History Classrooms

Note: See 90-second video on the WW HistoryQuest program at https://youtu.be/C3hFUstIBgM.
Additional video resources also available.

PRINCETON, NJ (Tuesday, May 30, 2017) – A transformative professional program for U.S. history teachers has named 57 new Fellows across four states.

The Woodrow Wilson HistoryQuest Fellowship, inaugurated in 2016 with a group of New Jersey teachers, has been expanded this year by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation to support selected middle- and high-school teachers from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as well as New Jersey.

The WW HistoryQuest program blends games, play, and digital tools to transform both teacher practice and student engagement. Developed in partnership with the New York City-based Institute of Play, the WW HistoryQuest Fellowship helps teachers bring game-based learning into their classrooms, both making games and teaching students the principles of design thinking, strategy, resources, and variables that apply to historical situations as well as to games.

One 2016 WW HistoryQuest Fellow wrote, in an evaluation of the program, “This experience has encouraged and motivated me to remain in the profession longer… I regained my passion for and love of teaching.”

The 57 new WW HistoryQuest Fellows for 2017 (see list below) come from 43 schools in 33 districts across the four participating states. They will gather in Princeton for a weeklong intensive in July 2017, with several follow-up sessions—virtual workshops and individual coaching—to follow during the 2017–18 school year. All Fellows were first nominated by their schools and/or districts and then chosen through a rigorous selection process at the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Schools and/or districts were particularly encouraged to nominate teams of teachers, to support collaboration between formal HistoryQuest sessions.

“These are impressive teachers who will seize the opportunity that HistoryQuest program offers,” said Stephanie J. Hull, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. “Some already use games in the classroom, and others are looking for new instructional strategies. They are all committed to presenting U.S. history in a way that is fresh and engaging—that gets students to think creatively about the forces and decisions that drive historic events and movements. Game-based learning does that. It draws students in.”

The key, Hull said, is not only teachers’ use of games in the classroom, but their learning to teach students to think like game designers.

“It’s one thing to play something like ‘History Bingo’ to reward students’ memorizing dates and facts,” she noted. “In this approach, however, teachers work with students to help them understand the relationships between goals, assets, and outcomes that drive historic developments, and to see how small changes can have large effects. This is a powerful approach to critical thinking and collaboration.”

The HistoryQuest Fellowship is built on a pedagogical foundation that features interactive learning through games and play, game design process and principles, systems thinking, and the purposeful integration of technology. Through participation in the program, educators will: 1) experience firsthand the playing, modification, and design of games mapped to content standards; 2) experiment with integrated games in classroom settings; 3) experiment with off-the-shelf commercial games for classroom use; 4) learn how to create assessment tools for use with games in the classroom; 5) integrate game-like frameworks into curricula; and 6) gain experience using the design process for game design and as a methodology for use with inquiry-based learning.

A full list of the 2017 HistoryQuest Fellows can be found below. For more information on the Woodrow Wilson HistoryQuest Fellowship, please visit woodrow.org/historyquest.

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About the Institute of Play
The Institute of Play is nationally known for its use of gaming and play—digital and otherwise—to develop teachers, engage students, and individualize learning. As the founding partner of the Quest to Learn school, the Institute has received national attention for pioneering a new model of learning with a significant impact on student gains in critical areas like communication and problem-solving. Through initiatives like the TeacherQuest professional development program, the Institute demonstrates its commitment to transforming schools and supporting teachers through gaming and play.

About the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation
Founded in 1945, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (www.woodrow.org) identifies and develops the nation’s best minds to meet its most critical challenges. The Foundation supports its Fellows as the next generation of leaders shaping American society.

 

2017 Woodrow Wilson HistoryQuest Fellows

Connecticut

Chelsea Crowley  •  Classical Studies Magnet Academy (Bridgeport)

Caitlin Roberts  •  Classical Studies Magnet Academy (Bridgeport)

Edward Dorgan  •  Lewis S. Mills High School (Burlington)

Mark Stepsis  •  Darien High School (Darien)

Kathryn Lindquist  •  Middlesex Middle School (Darien)

Daniel Marolda  •  Hartford Juvenile Detention Center (Hartford)

Megan Flaherty  •  Harborside Middle School (Milford)

 

Massachusetts

Christian Scott  •  Lyndon K–8 School (Boston)

Nina Kunimoto  •  Mohawk Trail Regional High School (Buckland)

Michael Welch  •  Cohasset Middle-High School (Cohasset)

James Willis  •  Cohasset Middle-High School (Cohasset)

Nedine Cunningham  •  Edgartown Public School (Edgartown)

Patricia Nelson  •  Edgartown Public School (Edgartown)

Nicholas Merritt  •  Hanson Middle School (Hanson)

John Stifler  •  Whitman-Hanson Regional High School (Hanson)

Julie Jenks  •  Marlborough High School (Marlborough)

Melissa Pivonka  •  Marlborough High School (Marlborough)

Caroline Cadel  •  Whitcomb Middle School (Marlborough)

Scott Mahar  •  Northampton High School (Northampton)

Catherine Glennon  •  Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School (Palmer)

Shaun Moriarty  •  Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical High School (Palmer)

Maddy Wendt  •  South Hadley High School (South Hadley)

Nicole Manning  •  West Springfield Middle School (West Springfield)

 

New Jersey

Sarah Ponsini  •  Monroe Township Middle School (Monroe Township)
Ann Ratcliffe  •  Brookside Elementary School (Jamesburg)

Marissa Timmerman  •  Passaic County Technical Institute (Wayne)

Joseph Berardi  •  Westfield High School (Westfield)
Elizabeth Piombino  •  Westfield High School (Westfield)

Julie Knight  •  Woodstown High School (Woodstown)

Sharon Krementz  •  Woodstown Middle School (Woodstown)

Ashley Rybyinski   •  Woodstown High School (Woodstown)

 

Pennsylvania

Janet Meyers  •  Hopewell Senior High School (Aliquippa)

Amy Cheresnowsky  •  Athens Area High School (Athens)

Jessica Attardo-Maryott  •  Harlan Rowe Middle School (Athens)

Christopher Phelan  •  Perkiomen Valley Middle School East (Collegeville)

Marley Szwak  •  Perkiomen Valley Middle School East (Collegeville)

Kristi Barber  •  Coudersport Junior Senior High (Coudersport)

Becki Enders  •  Halifax Area High School (Halifax)

Kelly Enders  •  Halifax Area High School (Halifax)

Ernest Hartwig  •  East Forest Junior/Senior High School (Marienville)

John Wortman  •  West Forest Junior/Senior High School (Tionesta)

Ryan Griffiths  •  Montrose Area Junior/Senior High School (Montrose)

Amy Barone  •  Mellon Middle School (Mt. Lebanon)

Jeff Holliday  •  Mellon Middle School (Mt. Lebanon)

Eric Bartels  •  Norwin High School (Norwin)

Scott Polen  •  Norwin High School (Norwin)

Christopher Hoffer  •  Keystone Academy Charter School (Philadelphia)

Peter Matranga  •  Lankenau Environmental Magnet High School (Philadelphia)

Herb Soll  •  Lankenau Environmental Magnet High School (Philadelphia)

Caitlin Brandon  •  West Oak Lane Charter School (Philadelphia)

Jena Antonelli  •  James Buchanan High School (Tuscarora)

Lynn Fleury-Adamek  •  James Buchanan High School (Tuscarora)

John Lum  •  James Buchanan High School (Tuscarora)

Amy Swartz  •  Warrior Run High School (Turbotville)

Patricia Kramer  •  Warrior Run Middle School (Turbotville)

Kristen Waltz  •  Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School (West Chester)

Carl Daubert  •  Hanover Area Jr./Sr. High School (Wilkes-Barre)


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