Rebecca Falin

Falin’s innovative teaching idea, “Physics Quest,” is a collaborative, student-driven, project-based learning environment for physics classes that incorporates engineering, computer coding and robotics into the curriculum for the first time. Quests are learning components that could consist of video lessons, simulations, laboratory activities, problems or projects. The overarching theory of the quests will be “roller coasters and robots.” As a leader in putting technology in students' hands in West Virginia public schools, the school was among the first high schools to have a one-to-one program that gave all their high school students a computer for use both at school and at home. According to Falin, implementation of a project-based physics class two years ago increased enrollment. The overall goal of the project is to build upon these two strengths.