Winchester resident presents at global education conference

Winchester’s Alisha Collins was one of the featured speakers at “Learning & the Brain,” a three-day conference for educators around the world. The event took place in Boston from November 16-18. Collins presented and led a discussion entitled “Rethinking Classrooms as Playgrounds of Creativity, Empowerment, and Wellbeing.”

Learning & the Brain connects educators with the latest research on the brain and learning and its implications for education. The organization provides professional development to educators including teachers, school administrators, clinicians, counselors and speech-language pathologists.

Collins is the SEEDS Studio Lab Manager at Acera School in Winchester. Short for “Science, Engineering, Esthetics, Design and Storytelling,” SEEDS is a hands-on lab founded by Collins where children use tools and techniques to create, innovate, and make their ideas and stories come to life.

“By engaging students in playful, experiential, inquiry-based, and collaborative learning experiences, SEEDS works to nurture children’s creative confidence with new technologies, and encourages their involvement in creative acts within their communities,” said Collins.

In addition to her role at Acera, Collins is the co-author of the book “StartMaking!” and co-founder of the Duct Tape Network. She earned a master’s degree in Media Arts and Sciences at MIT, where she also worked as a research assistant. Prior to MIT, she worked as a design and research associate at Project Vision, an organization that builds educational tools aimed at fostering resilience through creativity in children from lower income urban communities.

Collins has won awards and fellowships for her innovative approach to both design and education, including the Aga Khan Education Board in India, and the Future of Learning Institute at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.

Founded in 2009, Acera is a non-profit STEM school serving high-ability students in grades K-8. The school engages students in individualized, inquiry-based learning that is designed around their passions and aligned with their own abilities. In addition to K-8 education, Acera offers daily after-school enrichment programs as well as February, April, and summer vacation camps. For more information, visit aceraschool.org.