In a world where teachers compete with video games and iPhones for students’ attention, how do educators break through? It may all be in how they play the game—literally. The new Woodrow Wilson, HistoryQuest Fellowship provides professional development for New Jersey teachers, aiming to use the power of games, play, and digital tools to transform both teacher practice and student engagement.

As Woodrow Wilson’s Patrick Riccards wrote at Medium:

“[W]e cannot expect 21st-century students to truly learn from history — and cvics and social studies in general — in the same way and through the same approaches that may have worked for Santayana, Winston Churchill, and others concerned about repeating history.”

Katelyn Schmitt, a teacher at Princeton Charter School, participated in this summer’s HistoryQuest Workshop where she and other teachers got hands-on experience in developing and testing games they could take back to their classrooms. She talks about her experience in the video above. To learn about the WW HistoryQuest Fellowship and find out how to nominate a teacher, read more here.

 

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