Experience
Classroom Teacher
Online Teacher
Curriculum Developer
Instructional Coach
Teacher Leader
Educational Consultant
Skills
Project-Based Learning
Student Engagement
Online and Blended Learning
School and Classroom Culture
Assessment
Understanding by Design™
Current Positions
Faculty, ASCD
Since 2012
National Faculty, Buck Institute for Education
Since 2010
Education
Masters of Arts, Teaching
University of Puget Sound, 2004-2005Bachelor of Arts, Classics
University of Puget Sound, 2000-2004After graduating with his Masters from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA; Andrew starting teaching in the diverse district of Federal Way Public Schools. He taught highly capable AP students as well as students in credit retrieval, in a variety of subjects. These years honed his instructional skills and classroom “bag of tricks,” but he felt something was missing. He knew that he wasn’t serving all student learning styles and modalities, and so he began his own learning in cultural competency in order to improve his practice. In his research, Project Based Learning (PBL) kept surfacing as a valid pedagogy to reach all students. He saw this as a pedagogy that aligned with his values of equity for all students and true student constructivism.
Andrew took the opportunity through the Technology Access Foundation to teach at the TAF Academy, whose mission is to get under-served minorities into STEM fields through PBL, Authentic Intellectual Work and STEM curriculum. He created authentic, interdisciplinary projects, with a high level of technology integration while serving as teacher leader in a Professional Learning Community. The Buck Institute for Education, who had trained Andrew in PBL, noticed his work, and asked him to come on board as a National Faculty. Concurrently, Giant Campus, asked him to take the work he was doing part time teaching online and move into a full time position. He facilitated PBL in an online environment utilizing various technologies and creating projects that engaged students across the country in authentic collaboration.
Andrew currently serves on the National Faculty for the Buck Institute for Education and ASCD. He travels internationally, working with educators in his many areas of expertise. He has given presentations and workshops at many conferences including the National Association for Multicultural Education, ISTE, ASCD, the International Reading Association, the National Council for Teachers of English, and iNACOL’s Virtual Schools Symposium.
Andrew is an avid blogger and writer for a variety of organizations including ASCD, Edutopia and the Huffington Post. Andrew is also a certified Literacy Design Collaborative Trainer, and works with teachers of all content areas to build literacy skills for students. He has worked with Abeo School Change (Formally known as the Small Schools Project) to increase their Web 2.0 presence and collaborate with education innovators, and Educurious to create engaging online courses to prevent high school drop-out. He advises and collaborates with game design companies to ensure practical design and classroom implementation. Andrew also frequents as a facilitator and participant in twitter #pblchat, and was the recent winner of the NEA Foundation and U.S. Department of Education’s “Challenge to Innovate” Gaming Challenge.