Using green screens for presentations, creating animated stories, utilizing coding to create 3D printer projects, or incorporating digital tools into multimedia discussions sound like college-level digital skills, but Shane Baker has integrated these high-level digital tools into his ... third grade classroom. As an EdTech Ambassador for the school district, Baker effectively incorporates technology into his project-based learning curriculum, adeptly adjusting for each student’s unique needs throughout the school year.
Baker’s classroom is a warm, welcoming place for students of all abilities, and at a school with a high rate of poverty and a significant number of students for whom English is not their first language, Baker uses technology and creativity to create a supportive learning environment for all of his students. What’s more, each student is encouraged to own their learning by tracking progress toward both individual and classroom Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound (S.M.A.R.T.) goals. His innovative approach to teaching is paying off for his students; they are often considered the most prepared and proficient third graders by the end of the school year.
Baker’s enthusiasm for learning extends beyond the expected responsibilities of the classroom. His students will regularly find him at the school block parties, serving food or leading the games, acting out skits during the school’s annual Literacy Night or participating in choral reading with his students in class. He is a Google Certified Educator, volunteered to teach in the school’s “Virtual Academy” during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and served on the site-based decision-making council. Baker’s peers will often find him at school well before the first bell rings, creating videos for his lesson plans or refining individualized instruction plans. In addition to school and district leadership, Baker has shared best practices at gatherings of the Kentucky Society for Technology in Education and TeachMeet KY.
Baker earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Western Kentucky University in 2017.
Press release: Bowling Green Teacher Shane Baker Earns $25,000 Milken Educator Award for Taking on Tech and Student Ownership of Learning
WCPS EdTech Ambassadors
