EAST is an educational program that combines the power of cutting-edge technology, authentic teamwork, and significant community service in a manner that helps students to achieve academically as well as to develop their own interests and aptitudes in a positive environment. EAST was recognized as a national exemplary model in 2002 and was showcased at the U.S. Department of Education-sponsored Model Schools Conference held in New York. In California, the program has been supported through various federal technology funds, most recently, No Child Left Behind.
To develop as learners for a new era, EAST students are equipped with the tools of the future. They routinely interact with hardware and software in animation, computer aided design, engineering design, visualization, database design, webpage design, programming, office automation, digital film making, virtual reality, global positioning systems, and geographic information systems. They are also connected to a support network that spans the country and includes peer mentors, facilitators from across the country, EAST national support staff, and connected business and educational partners. The students, working in teams, tackle sophisticated service-oriented projects. In the process of solving these problems, they learn to become creative, intuitive, adaptable learners who can solve unpredictable, real-world problems.
The EAST Initiative is helping educators to recognize, create, and maintain a learning environment that requires students to take the initiative in creating project solutions that produce measurable and tangible results. Students are exposed to strategies that help them move from the traditional approaches of learning into relevant, interdependent environments that stress understanding, collaboration, and team approaches to problem resolution.
In most schools, EAST is offered as an elective. The pedagogy within the classroom combines state-of-the-art technology with student-selected service learning projects. Students work toward mastery of California academic content standards and acquire twenty-first century skills. Students enrolled in EAST classes learn to:
- Achieve California content standards proficiency
- Take responsibility for self-directed learning
- Ethically apply resources and problem-solving skills to real-world problems
- Collaborate as a productive team member
- Research and evaluate resources to determine their validity and relevance
- Develop solutions to community-based problems using emerging technology within the context of service-learning projects
- Demonstrate confidence in their ability to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century
For additional program information, including relevant research citations and current student-created projects, please view the EAST national Web site (Outside source) or contact the National EAST Office, at 501-371-5016 or by e-mail at eastinfo@eastproject.org.
