Chapel Hill's new academic programs director, Melanie Rivers, plans to implement collaborative learning structures in the classroom.
TYLER, Texas — As more and more school districts head back to school, the Chapel Hill Independent School District wants to eliminate the distractions that come with everyday technology.
As digital devices like MacBooks, iPads and cellphones become a part of education, social interaction can decrease. Melanie Rivers, Chapel Hill's new academic programs director, plans to introduce cooperative learning structures into classrooms so students work and talk with each other more frequently.
While this is her first year in this role, it's not her first time in education: Rivers has worked in just about every job imaginable in the education sector, from teacher to administrator to math coordinator.
“What we've been missing since COVID is students collaborating, collaborating, and debating,” Rivers said. “In the real world, you have to have a lot of conversations, and students need to be able to talk to each other. And I believe when students learn and can share it verbally, they have a deeper understanding of that skill.”
With this, she hopes to introduce more soft and social skills into her students' daily learning and prepare them for their future careers.
