Technology in the classroom

PARSIPPANY  Several innovative educators and students of the Diocese stepped into the national spotlight from June 17–19, when they made presentations about how to integrate technology in the classroom to spark high-level thinking, problem solving, collaboration and creativity across subjects with a Catholic worldview at the regional National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) New Directions STREAM 3.0 Conference with the Diocese in Parsippany.

The Paterson Diocese partnered with the Newark Archdiocese to co-host the conference with the NCEA at the Sheraton Parsip­pany Hotel here. The event provided the diocesan Schools Office the opportunity to highlight some of its best and brightest educators and students, which showed off innovations in STREAM (Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, Arts and Math) instruction and learning. Mary Baier, diocesan schools superintendent, gave “break-out” presentations on “STREAM: An Updated Framework for Innovative Practice” with Pamela Bernards, NCEA’s director of professional development. Deborah Duane, associate superintendent of diocesan schools, presented sessions on “Technology, Engineering and Art (TEA) Time in the Early Childhood Classroom.” Also, three educators from St. Patrick School in Chatham — including principal Christine Ross — gave talks about its Genius Hour initiative under the title “Our School Mission in Action.” Of the 424 total attendees of the conference, 80 were from Paterson, according to the diocesan Schools Office.

On that Monday, the first day of the three-day conference, small teams of students from six diocesan schools made presentations of their STREAM projects that they created at their respective tables, which displayed their projects, photos and descriptive text. This represented an opportunity for educators — who hailed mainly from the Northeast but also from other parts of the U.S. — to have “first-hand experience observing the performance outcomes of student-directed, project-based experiential learning encompassing Catholic social teaching and solving real-world problems using STREAM,” according to the conference program.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to witness STREAM come alive with presentations, exhibits, conversations and best practices all though the lens of our Gospel values, Catholic social teachings and the Catholic worldview. This conference is truly an affirmation of NCEA’s mantra: ‘Lead, Learn and Proclaim,’ ” Baier wrote in the conference program. She thanked the NCEA for their “partnership and support in affording us the opportunity to co-host with the Archdiocese of Newark.” “We gather together…as a collegial community of lifelong learners to collaborate for continuous improvement in the pursuit of teacher efficacy, student achievement and spiritual growth. This is an opportunity for everyone to renew and re-energize their passion and vision for Catholic education,” she wrote.

The conference also featured involvement from local clergy, including Msgr. Herbert Tillyer, retired pastor of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Parsippany, and president of the Board of diocesan Catholic Charities, who celebrated the opening Mass on June 17. Providing music for that liturgy was the choir of St. Patrick School in Chatham. Also, Father Carmen Buono, a retired diocesan priest and part-time chaplain at Morris Catholic High School in Denville, celebrated Masses on the conference’s remaining two days.

Among the many breakout sessions offered during the conference, Baier and Bernards spoke about updates to STREAM instruction as framed within the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools and in “STREAM: A Catholic Design for Academic Rigor, Innovation and Learning Communities.”

In another breakout session, Duane talked about how to develop a STREAM-focused program for a pre-school classroom that integrates technology, engineering and art (TEA) in an age-appropriate and Catholic way — methods that are based on observable science. The curriculum for this age includes imaginary play; augmented reality: enhancing students’ real-world experiences with technology; and storytelling, she said.

“An event like this [the conference] energizes the mission of Catholic education. With the caliber of presenters, teachers, who participated, took something away to help get their students ready for college with a Catholic worldview,” said Duane, who noted that the Diocese was the first recipient of the NCEA’s Karen M. Ristau Inno­vations Award in 2014 for its STEM Program. “It was a pleasure to help represent the Diocese at the conference,” she said.

Other breakout sessions featured Ross, who spoke about St. Patrick’s Genius Hour with Caitlin Dickinson, a transitional kindergarten teacher, and Alexandria Maggio, 4th- to 6th-grade science teacher. The program sparks creative problem solving in all students at all levels and of all abilities by enabling them to grapple with engineering and design challenges with real-world applications. Students learn how these projects fit with the Catholic mission of the school. This past academic year, each grade built a different toy for children with special needs, young children and the elderly — all in fulfillment of that year’s theme, “Be a Blessing for Others,” they said.

In a ballroom of the Sheraton, teams from six schools of the Diocese joined with a few schools from the Newark and the Philadel­phia archdioceses to showcase innovative STREAM projects that they completed. At St. Anthony School in Hawthorne, fifth- to seventh-graders, in conjunction with Beuhler Space Center in Paramus, built various space-exploration crafts. All Saints Academy in Parsippany engaged in an extensive examination of food waste and its management, which included looking at eco-friendly food packaging alternatives and solutions to excess food waste. A group of 7th-graders at St. Gerard Majella School, Paterson, created a homemade hemodialysis machine to combat the high cost for this treatment, especially for those with no medical insurance living in poor countries.

“The machine failed the first time, so we modified it. When it got working, we were happy,” Leslie Garcia, grade 7 of St. Gerard’s, said.

Looking on, Filippini Sister Jo-Ann Pompa, St. Gerard’s principal, told The Beacon, “I’m very impressed with the students today. This is a good experience for them. This serves as an opportunity for them to achieve more in the future.”

Also during the showcase, St. Patrick School, Chatham, featured toys that students built. St. Therese School, Succa­sunna, showed off projects that explored the concepts of velocity using roller skates and surface tension by creating 3D-printed bubble blowers and examined various bridge and housing designs. The Robotics Team of Pope John XXIII Regional High School, Sparta, displayed the robots — and the programming and computers used within the engineering design process — to successfully participate in competitions.

In a letter in the conference program to welcome participants, Bernards acknowledged the involvement of Paterson and Newark and stated, “STREAM not only provides a challenging transdisciplinary learning environment focused on the integration of STREAM content areas through the lens of the Catholic faith, but also builds 21st Century competencies needed for success in school and future careers, including collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity,” she wrote.

Near the end of the conference’s first day, Peggy Tadros, 6th- to 8th-grade math teacher at St. Patrick School, Chatham, told The Beacon, “It’s good to have Catholic schools come together to support each other and to learn cutting edge technology and how our faith is the basis of everything we do — that God is the original engineer,” she said.