Central Florida Launches Pilot Program for Innovative Preschool LearningCentral Florida Launches Pilot Program for Innovative Preschool Learning Central Florida is leading the nation in a new pilot program that aims to revolutionize early childhood education. The “Empowering Communities to Shape Their Worlds” project, sponsored by the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County, is centered around a maker-centered learning approach that empowers students, parents, and teachers to drive their own learning experiences. The program, which launched on June 14th, is being implemented at Young Innovators Academy campuses in Oviedo and Winter Garden, as well as participating Early Learning Coalition Centers in Orange County. It consists of an 8-month pilot study that uses hands-on activities, tinkering, and design thinking to engage young learners. At the center of this initiative is the concept of “maker empowerment,” which fosters a sensitivity to design and the ability to shape one’s world from a young age. Children are encouraged to explore complexity, redesign, and create solutions through interactive learning experiences. The project team, led by Dr. Edward Clapp, Lindsey Hicks, and Lisa Yokana of the EPIC Innovation Collective, believes that traditional education methods often stifle creativity and hinder children’s potential. By shifting to a more child-centered approach, the program aims to empower communities and prepare young learners for the challenges of the future. “Outdated teacher instruction models no longer serve children,” said Marnie Forestieri, CEO and Founder of Young Innovators Academy. “We need to empower communities by adopting innovative approaches that foster creativity and engagement.” “To keep up with our changing world, we need to adapt our teaching methods, especially for our youngest learners,” added Dr. Scott Fritz, CEO of the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County. “This program provides our educators with the opportunity to learn from experts and use these methods to engage our youngest minds right here in Central Florida.” The pilot program is made possible through funding from the ELCOC, the Young Innovators Foundation, and various donors. The team hopes that the project will not only enhance early childhood education but also contribute to research and innovation in the field.
Central Florida is the first location in the nation for a new pilot program that will explore new ways of learning for local preschoolers.
The 8-month long pilot program launched June 14th at Young Innovators Academy campuses in Oviedo, Winter Garden and participating Early Learning Coalition Centers in Orange County.
Sponsored by The Early Learning Coalition of Orange County and led by the Orlando-based Young Innovators Academy and EPIC Innovation Collective educators, the Empowering Communities to Shape Their Worlds project uses the maker-centered learning approach, which puts students, parents and teachers in the driver’s seat, at the center of creating their own learning experiences.
To kick off the program, educators, parents and community partners toured the Young Innovators Academy campus in Winter Garden to get a firsthand look at the maker-centered model in action, meet the educators, including Dr. Edward Clapp, as well as Dr. Scott Fritz, CEO, ELCOC and Young Innovators founder Marnie Forestieri who, through the Young Innovators Foundation brings this innovative program to the Orlando community.
“Outdated teacher instruction models no longer serve children and traditional memorization and teacher directed learning hinder their creative potential,” said Marnie Forestieri, CEO and Founder of Young Innovators Academy. “To truly empower communities, we need to shift our focus from traditional education methods to a more child- centered approach.”
“We are honored to be a part of this innovative program. To keep up with our changing world, we need to adapt our teaching methods, especially with our youngest learners,” says Dr. Scott Fritz, CEO, The Early Learning Coalition of Orange County. “Through this pilot program our educators will have the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds in early childhood education and then use these new methods to engage our youngest minds right here in Central Florida and contribute to their future success.”
“The goal of this program is for children to achieve ‘maker empowerment’ – by developing a sensitivity to design and the ability to shape one’s world, even at a very young age,” explained program creator, Edward Clapp, Ed.D. “A maker-empowered child does not see themselves as a mere consumer of design, they see themselves as the creators of their experiences.”
By engaging in maker-centered learning, young students, and adults look closely at objects and systems, and explore the complexity of design and then find a way to make changes. The primary outcome is maker empowerment: a sensitivity to design along with the ability to shape one’s world through building, tinkering, redesigning or hacking.
The initiative is designed and facilitated by Dr. Clapp, Lindsey Hicks, and Lisa Yokana, representatives of the newly formed EPIC Innovation Collective, a band of educationalists, innovators and changemakers committed to blazing paths to build a better world.
The pilot program is made possible by funding from the ELCOC, the Young Innovators Foundation and donors.
Dr. Clapp is a Principal Investigator at Project Zero—a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education—interested in exploring creativity and innovation, design and maker centered learning, entrepreneurial education, and contemporary approaches to arts teaching and learning. Dr. Clapp, along with Hicks and Yokana explore issues with their teacher partners through a variety of collaborative inquiries around the world.
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