From In Class To Learning Success At Home by Sam Paterson

When schools were closed down in mid-March, I was presented with a number of challenges. Even though my class was already highly engaged in online and digital spaces, I had to find a way to organize it and structure it in a way that would keep kids engaged and stimulate their imaginations and creativity.

All of the research and information I could find suggested that giving them meaningful, engaging tasks and allowing them to provide feedback and express their creativity was a keystone to a successful remote learning experience. Brilliant Labs had been on my radar before, but they became an integral part of my preparation and delivery of lessons and other unstructured experiences during the COVID-19 shutdown. From the sustainable development goal Minecraft server, to the #makerfun challenges, to online Twitter thought exchanges on a variety of topics, Brilliant Labs was a great support to me as a teacher.

In one particular case, two of my students who were already capable and engaged makers and coders took the opportunity to get even more engaged in some specific challenges spearheaded by Brilliant Labs and other NGOs. With the technical and moral support of Brilliant Labs, they were able to produce great work for my class and provoke a large amount of discussion and creativity amongst their classmates as well.

Their family became particularly engaged, and the delight they showed in creating innovative, complex solutions to a variety of puzzles and challenges was very inspiring to me as a teacher. Caitlin and Megan knew a few things that led to their success:

1. There was a safe and supportive space for them to share work and ideas with their classmates, teacher, and community 2. Brilliant Labs, an organization that they saw as a source of expertise and authentic learning, would listen to their feedback and provide them with frequent challenges; and most importantly 3. Their parents and older sibling were going to be patient, challenge them to do their best, and support them in any way they could.

The relationship that grew between myself, the Au family, and Brilliant Labs, helped to give me the confidence as a teacher to take some risks that I may not have otherwise, knowing that there was a safety net and a group of other likeminded individuals who were interested in pushing some boundaries and trying to make the absolute best of what could otherwise have been a challenging situation.

This year Brilliant Labs is looking for those teachers who inspire others to be their best and who are taking chances to try new things to educate students. We're please to share Newfoundland & Labrador's "Inspiration Maker!: Mr. Sam Paterson, Brookside Intermediate. Thank you Sam for your work in and outside the classroom. You are an Insipration to youth and educators alike!

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