We are excited to announce the winners of the Defined Difference Makers Competition — Heidi Casteel Bearden from Montgomery Public Schools (AL) and Laura Gray and Jennifer Sherman from Great Path Academy (CT)!
This past school year, we introduced the Defined Difference Makers Competition! This competition celebrates educators who are transforming their classrooms through authentic, career-connected learning experiences using Defined's platforms. We want to recognize the creativity, dedication, and meaningful impact teachers are making on student engagement and skill development. Teachers were invited to share their implementation stories and inspire other educators while having the opportunity to win recognition and prizes.
Teacher submissions included brief videos and a written reflection highlighting how they've utilized Defined tasks throughout the school year to create powerful learning experiences that develop students' future-ready skills.
We are excited to announce the winners of the Defined Difference Makers Competition:
Heidi is an Elementary STEM and Robotics Teacher at James Wilson Jr. Elementary School in Montgomery Public Schools, AL. Heidi shared about her experience using Defined Learning and how engaging and fun it has been for her students while also aligning to state standards and building critical future-ready skills. "We have done so many activities — we've baked cakes from scratch, we've made slime, we've built a food truck out of a giant cardboard box — it has been so much fun! My kids are so engaged!"
Heidi shared, "Defined Learning has been an amazing addition to my STEM Classroom! In fact, it has made my classroom all that I can imagine and more! My district has pulled activities from our state standards and has lined them up with each quarter. This makes it so easy to pull activities that my students are working on in the classroom. I have used Defined Learning for MANY activities with my students. With every activity we do, I make sure to highlight the real-world career possibilities. I find it very important for students to know that there are so many careers out there to choose from. I always see students connecting our activities to future careers. Whether it's cake baking, plant growing, or design activities, I make sure to discuss the future job options they may have if they are interested. My students are very engaged in every Defined Learning activity we do! They love it! I love it! It's exciting to see students so focused, motivated, and engaged in what we are doing! I have been surprised at how excited my students are to learn and do activities that are already in Defined Learning or activities that we enhance. They have so much fun that they can't wait to come back to my classroom. Many of my students beg to come and work on activities even between classes. I believe that many of the things that I am doing in my classroom with Defined Learning will help my K-5 students find areas that they may be passionate about that they can move forward into in the future!"
Laura Gray is a Music, Capstone, and College and Career Success Teacher at Great Path Academy in Manchester, CT. Jennifer Sherman is a former College and Career Success Teacher at Great Path Academy and is now a Professor at CT State Manchester. Laura and Jen were initially drawn to Defined as they've been in the process of designing a College and Career Success Course aligned with CT State Manchester for students to receive college credit at the high school level. As they dug deeper into Defined, specifically Defined Careers, they discovered so many amazing tools to support their program, specifically honing in on the virtual internships and how they're able to reach a diverse range of learners.
In their written reflection, Laura and Jennifer shared, "Utilizing the Virtual Internships and the PBL exercises that are embedded gives students a glimpse as to what it would be like if they were in the career. In the example of the Nutrition project, this was an infographic you would see during a consultation appointment:
Overall, it gives students a sample of what potential career avenues are out there. Some of the best 'a-ha' moments for our students were them learning what they didn’t like in potential careers. A lot of our students think they want to be physicians or lawyers, but once they find out the amount of schooling, they see it as a deterrent. On the other hand, students would discover the job outlook for a trade, and it suddenly becomes a viable option for them. Working in an urban district has its challenges, and for us it is all about exposure for our students. Providing them this opportunity through Defined is an invaluable resource. High school students in particular are more engaged when they have buy-in. They were motivated in these tasks because they saw the value in what they were doing. The activities go beyond the traditional research or a career assignment that's been done time and time again. It allows them to have individuality and create a product that highlights their strengths — whether it's writing, designing graphics, or presenting to the class. Internships foster the building of soft skills so that they can be ready for their post-secondary journeys. What surprised us the most was the pride they took in their work and that they were excited to share with their classmates, community partners, and caregivers. It was also interesting to see that money wasn’t always a contributing factor in their career choices."
Thank you to all of the amazing educators across the country who are inspiring and empowering students every day through career-connected deeper learning!
Didn't get a chance to enter? We will be running this competition again for the duration of the 2025/26 school year — more details to come!