Ben Gilbert Interview from Tarrant Foundation on Vimeo.
Engaging today’s youth, through today’s technologies, for tomorrow’s jobs.
The Tarrant Foundation established the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education at the University of Vermont to confront two major challenges:
- a 40% drop in student engagement between 5th grade and high school
- a world and job market that are constantly evolving through new technologies
As Rich Tarrant observes, “today’s young people are immersed in technology everywhere but in school. Instead of asking students to power down the moment the school day starts, we need to bring technology into the classroom where, combined with good teaching, it can be a powerful tool for engaging young minds.”
After nearly five years of development, experimentation, piloting and evaluation, the Foundation launched the Tarrant Institute in 2010. Headed by Dr. Penny Bishop, a professor and expert in middle-level learning, teacher preparation and technology integration, the Institute, helps schools create learning that is personalized, relevant, authentic, diverse, active, and technology-rich.
The Institute provides deep, long-term professional development for educators, and helps schools increase student technology access. As a result, thousands of students around Vermont now have new opportunities to learn the way they want to learn. They are more engaged, they are learning more, and they are ready for productive lives and careers in an ever-changing world.
Rich Tarrant concludes, “We want to reach as many Vermont educators and students as possible with this innovative program. We think it’s a game-changer.”
Kids who once sat in the back of the class staring out the window are now the main contributors in the classroom because these tools make them sit up and pay attention. Chalk and chalkboard belong back in the last millennium. This is the 21st century, and this is what our classrooms have become, like it or not.”
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