Schaumburg teacher leads students, colleagues to innovate with technology

Matthew Meyer is not only innovating ways for his fifth-grade students at Collins Elementary School in Schaumburg to use technology to foster creativity and critical thinking, he's helping many of his colleagues do the same for their classes.

The 33-year-old formally passes on his methods as a member of the Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 Innovate 54 team, which started this school year to encourage innovative teaching practices.

But the informal ways he shares his insights daily aren't lost on his students.

“He's creative and he always tries new ways of teaching,” fifth-grader Harish Chandar said. “He literally knows everything about technology.”

“He's like a teacher to everyone,” classmate Natalia Cwynar added. “If a teacher is struggling with technology, they go to him. Our parents say to us, 'You know this stuff better than I do.'”

Assigning students to craft a memoir about a meaningful moment in their lives may be a staple of writing classes. But Meyer helps the project come alive for his 21st century students by showing them how to make stop-motion videos depicting their memoirs with animated photos of themselves against stock backgrounds.

A word problem in math not only tests his students' knowledge of terms like “median,” “quartile,” and “box plot,” but also requires a six-word video statement explaining what they learned and an electronic vote of whether they have grasped the concept and are ready to move on.

“The biggest satisfaction in teaching is giving students a voice,” Meyer said. “There are victories each and every day.”

As such, one of the most important aspects of teaching elementary school is having a knowledge and respect for each student as an individual, he said.

While Meyer is easily recognized by his peers for his technological skills, it's his prowess recognizing the needs of every student that contributes to his excellence, Collins Principal Nell Haack said.

“It's knowing your kids by name and by need and moving them forward,” she added.

Meyer is now completing his eighth year of teaching and finds himself a different educator than in the first couple years. Then, he was largely focused on acquiring classroom management skills, which have since become second nature to him.

He finds getting to know each new group of students takes about two months before the pace of teaching the subject matter can start to pick up.

“You start slow to go fast,” Meyer said.

As much as his reputation is associated with technology, he says it's really just a tool to get across the core principals of communication, collaboration, creativity and critical thinking. There isn't a job in society anymore that doesn't require those skills, he said.

Meyer's skills and positive outlook would seem to make him a natural leader in any setting, but Meyer said it was no whim or arbitrary choice that led him to education.

“Kids are awesome!” he said.

His job also led to him meeting his wife, Jenene, who already was teaching at Collins when he was hired.

Haack noted that while there has been some slight increase over the years, the number of male role models like Meyer at the elementary school level is still too few.

“We're lucky to have him,” she said. “I could see him in a different type of mentoring position.”

Tips from a Top Teacher

1. Be Flexible: “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.”

2. The best professional development is always just down the hall. Be willing to ask for permission to observe your colleagues.

3. Classroom management is not tips and tricks; it's how we speak, relate, encourage and guide our students.