Partly cloudy. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable..
Partly cloudy. Low near 55F. Winds light and variable.
Forest Hills High School teacher Aspen Mock recently received The Henry Ford's Nation Teacher Innovator Award.
Forest Hills composition teacher Aspen Mock works Monday, February 4, 2019, with ninth-graders (from left) Nora Cabala, Natalie Carosi and Samantha Heilman, who completed video projects on the 1977 Johnstown Flood. The videos, including one seen on the screen in the classroom, are featured on the Johnstown Area Heritage Association website.
Forest Hills High School teacher Aspen Mock recently received The Henry Ford's Nation Teacher Innovator Award.
Forest Hills composition teacher Aspen Mock works Monday, February 4, 2019, with ninth-graders (from left) Nora Cabala, Natalie Carosi and Samantha Heilman, who completed video projects on the 1977 Johnstown Flood. The videos, including one seen on the screen in the classroom, are featured on the Johnstown Area Heritage Association website.
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Aspen Mock uses her creativity and travels abroad in her classroom lessons. She was recently recognized for that approach by educational initiative inHub with the Henry Ford award.
The local teacher is one of 10 grand prize recipients of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation Teacher Innovator Award and the only person to receive the distinction in Pennsylvania this year.
“It was a tremendous honor,” Mock said.
The English educator at Forest Hills High School teaches honors composition and composition at the ninth-grade level and Advanced Placement literature and composition for seniors.
She has been with the district since 2010.
Prior to that, she taught for one year at Conemaugh Valley High School.
The Henry Ford award is given to educators who “inspire students to challenge the rules and take risks, demonstrate how to be collaborative and empathetic and teach the value of learning by staying curious and learning from failure,” according to the organization’s website.
She does that by taking in-depth looks at the curriculum and encouraging students to express their interests in class.
Mock said she wants the students to have stakes in what they’re being taught.
“Being able to empower them to be creative and innovative and open up the world of possibilities are important elements to cultivate,” she said.
An aspect of her own education that helps her do that is the semester during which she studied in Oxford, England.
“It was amazing,” Mock said. “Everything you could imagine with literature was there.”
Mock shares personal stories of visiting historic places in England, such as the Globe Theater and Canterbury, that helps connect students when reading the works of William Shakespeare and Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales,” she said.
Laura Yevchak, Forest Hills High School English department head, said this is an example of how her colleague finds real-life experiences to aid her pursuits as an educator.
She has worked with Mock for more than a decade and has had firsthand experiences with her teaching methods.
“I think she’s very cutting-edge,” Yevchak said.
“She is always willing to try new things and deliver education that students in the 21st century need.”
The trip to Oxford took place when Mock was studying to earn a master’s degree in education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Prior to that, she received an English and theater degree from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, and later earned a doctorate in educational leadership and administration, as well as a principal’s certificate, from Point Park University.
Mock said she pursued English because that was her favorite subject in school.
After earning an undergraduate degree, the Windber native wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, but she had a background in teaching theater and dance, so she pursued a career in education.
She and the other nine award recipients were chosen based on rigorous criteria.
The recipients provided biographies and achievements, videos on defining innovation, examples of innovative instruction, lesson-plan samples and videos of student testimonials.
Mock provided her implementation of Sphero robots she and the students used to stage scenes from “Romeo and Juliet.”
She said the students programmed the robots to say famous phrases from the play, move in specific patterns and designed costumes for the machines to wear.
She’s also partnered with the Johnstown Area Heritage Association to create student podcasts that chronicled the three Johnstown floods for a student-led podcast series and worked with National Geographic’s Explorer Mindset for her students to pen a children’s book.
Under Mock’s tutelage, the students produced a poetry chapbook, also through the National Geographic program, and have participated in Youth Media Challenges with KQED Education, for which their work was selected and nationally recognized.
“As an educator, she’s really innovative,” Yevchak said, adding that Mock is a “real benefit to the district.”
Yevchak said her colleague often attends conferences and trainings to learn more and bring new techniques back to Forest Hills.
In regard to the Henry Ford award, the department head believes Mock has more than earned the honor and she is impressed by the accomplishment.
Besides the honor, Mock received $1,500 worth of gift cards for classroom supplies, a certificate of recognition, Henry Ford Museum merchandise and a custom trophy.
She was also provided a yearlong subscription to inHub that she can use to provide virtual field trips, professional development, innovative curriculum materials and access to a five-day Innovation Immersion Experience at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Michigan.
The teacher said she looks forward to using the inHub Model i framework in her classroom and teaching her students to develop problem-solving skills.
This curriculum encompasses several decades of stories of American resourcefulness, ingenuity and innovation and explores actions of innovation and the habits of an innovator.
“With Model i, we have set out to develop and share a universal language for teaching and learning about innovation at every stage of the talent pipeline,” according to inHub.
“To create Model i, we mined the artifacts and stories in our Archive of American Innovation and those of leaders in business and society today. This fresh approach to learning draws on insights into the way people have innovated across 300 years of American history through the present.”
Joshua Byers is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5054. Follow him on Twitter @Journo_Josh.
Joshua Byers is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5054. Follow him on Twitter @Journo_Josh.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.
Sign up now to get our FREE breaking news coverage delivered right to your inbox.
First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.