Spring20_Mag_Combined_WEB_single_pages

28 // PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE SPOTLIGHT: TEACHING TECH IN CHRIS BARTLO’S classroom at Portland’s Wilson High School, students learn by doing. He gives them the free- dom to take on projects of their choosing and progress at their own pace. Bartlo said they not only learn how to write code for their websites, games and apps, but they also develop important skills—like logic, problem solving, creativity, collaboration and project man- agement—that will help them succeed no matter what career they choose. Among the projects that have emerged from his classes are an app that detects melanoma and another that connects restaurants with leftover food to soup kitchens and food banks. Bartlo (MS ’07, MEd ’08, MS ’14) is a proponent of project-based learning. It’s that approach to teaching that earned him a Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in October. “Receiving the Presidential Award is the highest honor for a teacher and I’m so excited that one of PSU’s alums was a recent recipient,” said Karen Mar- rongelle, former College of Liberal Arts and Sciences dean for PSU and current assistant director of the National Science Foundation for Education and Human Resources. The NSF administers the award for K-12 math and science teachers. “Chris is amazing and incredibly dedicated, so this honor could not have been bestowed on a more deserving teacher.” Bartlo said he shares the award with his students. “It’s just as much their win,” he said. “If they didn’t bring their energy alumni life His collection of degrees from Portland State have come in handy when experimenting with what works best in the classroom. MEGHAN PADDOCK FARRELL