Students in rural communities across Armenia have limited access to quality and equitable education compared to their peers in urban areas. Teacher shortage and lack of digital devices to effectively organize e-learning have additionally triggered declines in students' online attendance and in the quality of lesson plans.
Change-Based Learning, a form of project-based learning that leverages technology and the internet. Modeled after Apple’s “Challenge-Based Learning,” the idea is that our teachers will guide students through the process of researching an issue that confronts their communities while using the state-mandated syllabus. The students will then work together to create a project proposal. At the end of the learning process, students will create online pitch videos. Using these pitches, students will be awarded with microgrants, to overcome problems faced in their communities. Teach For Armenia piloted new tools in order to assess the impact of Change-Based Learning on student leadership and academic performance. Through the pilot over the last summer, we witnessed considerable impact. On a 5-point scale, our students grew by nearly an entire level on Teach For Armenia’s Student Voice Rubric.
After fully designing the Changed-Based Learning’s methodology and equipping our students with the necessary digital devices and data cards, our milestone to implement the CBL was the Virtual Student Leadership Camp, remotely gathering more than 300 students from seven regions of Armenia to spark innovation and creativity. Our aim is to create a movement of Student-Leaders who think creatively in order to generate opportunity within their respective communities. Teach For Armenia reaches nearly 10% of all public schools in Armenia. By 2025, our aim is to reach a quarter of all students in rural communities. As such, children born into one of our communities today, by the time they are 25 years old, the nation will be transformed thanks to them.
When using the model of Changed-Based Learning it is essential to examine the local context and determine the targeted social problems which will potentially be addressed through Changed-Based Learning. In case of further assistance and more information, the right person to reach out is Teach For Armenia’s Deputy CEO Ruiz Clark who designed the Change-Based Learning
