RootEd-WNC Stories
The RootEd-WNC Fellowship program is a partnership between Appalachian GEAR UP and Constructive Learning Design that connects students and educators in western North Carolina with community partners to address and solve local challenges. Through solving local challenges, students develop creative problem solving skills that will serve them well beyond high school, while also learning academic content. During the RootEd-WNC Fellowship, teachers design and deliver powerful learning experiences using Challenge-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning frameworks, and work with their students and community partners to document these experiences and tell stories about them. We are very proud to share the work of our first cohort of RootEd-WNC Fellows below!
Fellow Projects – 2019 – 2020
Mountains to Sea
Water is life. Students from Mountain Heritage High School investigated local water quality issues and partnered with community stakeholders to address these issues.
Fellows: Tressa Hartsell, Cindy King
Dive Into Marshall Memories
Students from Madison Early College High School are partnering with the town of Marshall, NC to reimagine and redesign an abandoned public pool and park site.
Fellows: Linda Ammons, Eric Blackman, Doug Cutshall, Erin Long, Eben Reigle, Leslie Schoof, Oshen Wallin, Scott Whitney, Julie Young
Supreme Court Justice League
Students from Ashe Early College explored the question: How can we use the timeless medium of superhero comic books to communicate the influence of landmark Supreme Court precedents on modern court cases and controversial issues?
Fellow: Hannah Betsch
Physics Wonderland and More
Students at Mountain Heritage High School learned about electricity through the creation, and hosting, of a holiday electricity museum exhibit. Students also worked on the Be the Good and STEM Academy projects.
Fellow: Cindy King
What's Your Story?
A major component of high school is figuring out who you are and where you are going. Students from Ashe High School used storytelling to understand their identities.
Fellow: Sarah Beckworth
Save the Planet: Recycling Team
Waste is becoming a major problem in our world. Students at Ashe Early College explored recycling practices in their community and school, and created a recycling plan for their school.
Fellows: Alice Everette and Brian Armstrong
What Can We Do For You, Mr. Zaloo?
Students at Ashe Early College partnered with Zaloo’s Canoes to help the business improve by applying their math skills.
Fellow: James Ashley
Bodily Impact
Students at Ashe High School had to identify activities or events that could negatively impact bodily systems, and then design a solution for solving the problem.
Fellow: Jennifer Miller
Clean Hands and More
Students at Ashe Early College engaged in a series of nano-challenges. In the Clean Hands project, students had to identify solutions for not spreading germs at their school.
Fellow: Brian Armstrong
What's Your Story?: Family History
Students at Ashe High School explored their family histories in order to understand the role of immigrants in American History and in Ashe County.
Fellow: Marty McKenzie
2020 – 2021 Cohort
If you are a high school teacher in WNC who is interested in connecting your students to local community challenges please contact Jay Korreck at jkorreck@constructivelearningdesign.org to learn more about becoming a 2020 – 2021 RootEd-WNC Fellow.
RootEd - WNC Fellowship
Learn more about the RootEd-WNC Fellowship program.
