Innovative Learning

To accomplish our mission statement of “ensuring an exceptional education that leads each student to become a high achieving and responsible citizen,"the Barrow County School System intentionally grows its teachers and students by supporting innovations in teaching and learning.

By definition, innovation is action that results in new methods, ideas, and products. Our current innovations in teaching and learning involve STEAM-inspired instructional practices with special emphasis on project-based learning, arts integration, and the 5 C’s of 21st Century Skills (Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Career Readiness).

In the Barrow County School System, STEAM education is an integrated instructional approach where any core content is experienced by the students in ways that recognize, emphasize, or utilize any combination of the following:

• Scientific and Engineering Practices
• Mathematical Thinking
• Technology-based Tools and Resources
• Artistic Design and Creativity

Our philosophy of Project-Based Learning in consistent with the Buck Institute for Education's Seven Essential Project Design Elements of Gold Standard PBL.

• A Challenging Problem or Question
• Sustained Inquiry
• Authenticity
• Student Voice & Choice
• Reflection
• Critique & Revision
• Public Products

The nexus of the system’s support for innovation is our Center for Innovative Teaching (CFIT), located at 84 West Midland Avenue in Winder. Within the CFIT campus, students, teachers, and other stakeholders have access to the school system’s only Black Box Theater and Dance Studio. Other innovative spaces at the center include a 5000+ square foot makerspace & robotics lab, dedicated digital media and visual arts studio, several large meeting spaces, and a USDA-sponsored learning garden.

Innovative Learning Contact