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Inaugural Class of HistoryQuest Fellows Announced

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FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, March 16, 2016

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Woodrow Wilson Foundation Names 70 New Jersey Educators to Inaugural Class of HistoryQuest Fellows

New Program Designed to Improve Social Studies, Civics Instruction through Games-Based Professional Development for Classroom Educators

PRINCETON, NJ (March 16, 2016) – Recognizing the enormous power games can have in improving classroom instruction and strengthening teacher-student relationships, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation today announced that 70 New Jersey social studies teachers have been selected for the first class of HistoryQuest Fellows.

The Woodrow Wilson HistoryQuest Fellowship was developed to provide middle and high school social studies teachers with a professional development program focused on game-based pedagogy. Developed in partnership with the Institute of Play, the HistoryQuest Fellowship uses the power of games, play, and digital tools to transform both teacher practice and student engagement.

“The teachers who have been selected as the 2016 WW HistoryQuest Fellows are a creative and dedicated group,” said Stephanie J. Hull, executive vice president and chief operating officer at the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. “Some of them are just starting out, others are veteran teachers—but all of them have been selected because they’re committed to innovative teaching strategies, to making history lively and relevant for young people. These are educators who can lead the way in new kinds of game-based learning for history and civics.”

The 70 Fellows currently teach in 37 school districts and four public charter schools across New Jersey, including East Orange, Jersey City, New Brunswick, Paterson, Princeton, and Trenton. In total, half of all HistoryQuest Fellows come from high-need schools. All Fellows were first nominated by their school districts and then chosen through a rigorous selection process launched by the Woodrow Wilson Foundation last year. Each HistoryQuest Fellow attends an eight-day summer intensive, then participates in a 10-month follow-up program that includes additional workshops as well as individual coaching.

The Woodrow Wilson/Institute of Play-designed effort was created to help educators incorporate games in their lessons, to equip them to create their own gaming experiences for students, and to prepare them to teach students to think like game designers. In the long term, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation hopes the game-focused initiative will also enhance the Foundation’s ongoing work to improve teacher and education leader preparation.

“Gaming has the power to transform teaching and learning, better engage students and improve classroom performance,” Hull said. “In the WW HistoryQuest approach, teachers design the initial games and then teach students to think like game designers—to modify a rule or an action and understand how that might lead to certain outcomes for the period or the society they’re studying. It not only reinforces their learning of history, but it also provides them with 21st-century critical thinking and teamwork skills.”

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 2016 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.

 

2016 Woodrow Wilson HistoryQuest Fellows

Alyssa Anderson • Burlington City High School (Burlington)

Roselle Asia • TEAM Academy Charter School (Newark)

Katie Baliban • Collingswood High School (Collingswood)

Ryan Barney • Collingswood High School (Collingswood)

Richard Barsa Memorial High School (West New York)

Brian Biondi Thomas Jefferson Middle School (Fair Lawn)

Raymond Cafara Jackson Memorial High School (Jackson)

Jennifer Da Silva Essex County Bloomfield Tech (Essex County)

Dana DeGeorge Gateway Regional High School (Woodbury Heights)

Daniel DeMartino Ramsey High School (Ramsey)

Caitlin Dugan Edison Intermediate School (Westfield)

Jamie Dugas Quibbletown Middle School (Piscataway)

Fred Durst Frankin L. Williams Middle School 7 (Jersey City)

Susan Eustis Princeton Charter School (Princeton)

Matthew Farber Valleyview Middle School (Dover)

Robert Fenster Hillsborough High School (Hillsborough)

Cara Flodmand New Brunswick Middle School (New Brunswick)

Allen Fung • Bridgewater-Raritan High School (Bridgewater-Raritan)

Michael Grey • Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School (Bridgewater-Raritan)

Kim Groome • Princeton High School (Princeton)

Jeff Grossman • Midland School #1 (Rochelle Park)

William Hardy • Joseph H. Brensinger Elementary School – PS #17 (Jersey City)

Matthew Higgins • Morris Knolls High School (Morris Hills)

Jametta Holloway • Lawrence High School (Lawrence)

Victoria Jacks • New Brunswick Middle School (New Brunswick)

Michael Jackson • Community Middle School (West Windsor-Plainsboro)

Scott Kallens • Hillsborough High School (Hillborough)

Kelly Kallens • Montgomery Upper Middle School (Montgomery)

Ronald Kliesh • High Tech High School (Monmouth County)

Gerald Kollath • Newark Tech (Newark)

Dawn Lambert • Burlington City High School (Burlington)

Emily Lewis • Franklin High School (Franklin)

Ronald Litz • Park Middle School (Scotch Plains-Fanwood)

Michael Martirone • Egg Harbor Township High School (Egg Harbor Township)

Scott Mason • Montgomery High School (Montgomery)

Molly McCullough • Memorial High School (Millville)

Brian Meakim • Neeta School (Medford Lakes)

Lindsay Miller • Anthony Wayne Middle School (Wayne)

Mary Morano • Community Middle School (West Windsor-Plainsboro)

Gina Morrone • Millstone Middle School (Millstone)

Jeffrey Offeriost • P.S. #7 (Paterson)

Bradley Olman • Memorial School (Union Beach)

Todd Pagel John Adams Middle School (Edison)

Allison Palladino • West New York Middle School (West New York)

Douglas Pepe • Newark Tech (Newark)

Lori Perez • Livingston High School (Livingston)

Mark Perry • Paulo Freire Charter School (Newark)

Joseph Porter • Franklin High School (Franklin)

Amy Potter • Allentown High School (Upper Freehold)

Jennifer Ramos-Collado • Newark Tech (Newark)

Shea Richardson • East Orange Campus High School (East Orange)

Matthew Ritsko • Park Middle School (Scotch Plains-Fanwood)

Nanci Rivera • School of Information Technology (Paterson)

Davon Rodgets • Grace A. Dunn Middle School (Trenton)

Flordaliza Rodrigues • School of Information Technology (Paterson)

Timothy Rohan • Anthony Wayne Middle School (Wayne)

Katelyn Schmitt • Princeton Charter School (Princeton)

Matthew Scwarz • Glassboro Intermediate School (Glassboro)

Patricia Sellar • Auten Road Intermediate School (Hillsborough)

Angela Smith • Thomas Jefferson Middle School (Edison)

Christopher Sullivan • Monmouth Ocean Educational Services Commission

Alexandra Vicchio • Passaic Arts and Sciences Charter School (Passaic)

Lindsay Ward • National Park School (National Park Boro)

James Washburn • Montgomery High School (Montgomery)

Danielle Welch • Millstone Middle School (Millstone)

Daniel Willever • Ramsey High School (Ramsey)

Paul Zeller • Quibbletown Middle School (Piscataway)

David Zuber • Paulo Freire Charter School (Newark)

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