Rushton Wood-Thuston
![](/sites/www/files/styles/unsung_hero/public/unsung_hero_portraits/AL_RushtonWood-Thuston.jpg.webp?itok=yizwLUTp)
Wood-Thuston’s innovative teaching idea, “Game On: Design Your Own Game,” focuses on creating an intersection of creative and critical thinking skills through the design of a personal video game. Recognizing the importance of technology in modern education, student involved in the project with learn how to design, build, and share their very own game. Through specific gaming lessons, Socratic circle discussions, brainstorming, and prototype creation, Wood-Thuston hopes students will learn to take a creative approach to real-world problems. Wood-Thuston will use the Voya grant to purchase necessary software and coding programs, leveraging them to enable the tech-savvy students at Erwin Intermediate to express their love of learning in a new light. Through the conceptual lens of design, Wood-Thuston hopes to teach with cutting-edge technology in the classroom and help future career paths within the high-demand gaming industry.