S4E16 - Deeper Learning Stories: 2nd-grade Teacher Kristin DeLaTorre

High Tech High Unboxed

Episode Notes

To find out more about the deeper learning conference visit the website, deeper-learning.org

Kristin DeLaTorre (@delatorretcs on twitter) holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University. She is an educator in South Florida with 19 years of teaching experience. She has been nominated for the Dwyer Award in the area of Elementary Education and twice in the area of Stem-Project Based Learning Education. Kristin serves as a mentor for the Innovative Schools Project in the School District of Palm Beach County, where she supports teachers with implementing project-based learning in their classes. Her classroom has become a learning space for teachers and leaders as she works closely with the Innovative Schools Lead Instructional Program Developers and the Assistant Superintendent for Palm Beach County schools, helping teachers integrate Project Based Learning. This implementation will allow this methodology to be utilized across more schools in Palm Beach County. Kristin spends summers as a lead trainer for the Inquiry Project Collaborative as well as onboarding new teachers in the methods of Inquiry and Project Based Learning. Kristin started her work at The Conservatory School in the fall of 2015. In her time at TCS she has immersed herself in the PBL process and shown her students a greater understanding and empathy for the world beyond themselves. Over the past seven years, her students have been involved with, raised money, or donated goods for The Water Project in Africa, HIP Africa, Challenged Athletes Foundation, UNICEF, El Sol Food Bank, Rocking Horse Foundation, The National Honey Bee Conservancy, The World Wildlife Fund, and bought an acre of land in the South American Rainforest. The consistent mantra in her classroom is “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. Kristin has also become an expert in student-led learning, developing and implementing creative practices in the classroom that emphasizes self-directed education, creativity, and discovery, rather than rote memorization. Students are encouraged to incorporate their own interests into projects, within their current topic. Kristin strives to offer students agency and having their voices heard as they work together as a collective towards setting goals, being reflective and acting responsibly to effect change.