Students in Lawerence and Scioto counties may soon be learning a new way if educators in the two counties have their way.

Friday, September 08, 2000

Students in Lawerence and Scioto counties may soon be learning a new way if educators in the two counties have their way.

Educators from area school districts met at Dawson-Bryant High School Thursday to learn about the Carnegie learning system, and to form a consortium under which they could seek funds to bring the program to more schools in the area.

Lawerence County Board of Education grant writer Dr. Yvonne Stroud was in attendence as well, and will write up the grant proposal for the two counties.

Dawson-Bryant is currently the only school in the area using the learning system. The school uses the system to teach algebra I and II and geometry.

"Anything new like this is exciting," said Harold Shafer, Lawrence County superintendent. "You can teach the kids in one-third of the time now."

Under the Carnegie system, students spend 60 percent of their time in real-world application problems on the computer and 40 percent of their time learning in groups. The system is designed to be a cognitive learning experience, and allows children to work at their own pace.

"This keeps children from asking ‘Where will I ever use this?" said Ellen Adkins, a teacher at Dawson-Bryant.

During the meeting Thursday, Betty Pierce of Carnegie led an informational seminar to introduce teachers and administrators to the system. Mrs. Adkins spoke about how the system was working in her classroom, and David Jones of David Jones and Associates, a consultant who helps schools find federal grants, spoke about finding federal money for the project.

"The kids have responded well to this," said Steve Easterling, Dawson-Bryant High School co-principal. "It’s wonderful to see kids do the work when they thought that they couldn’t. It really helps to build confidence and self-esteem."