North Carolina New Schools

Matt Sears, Program Director

Matt Sears joins NCNSP after seven years of teaching mathematics in Durham Public Schools. Sears helped found the redesigned Hillside New Tech High School and has become a leader in Project-Based Learning implementation in mathematics classrooms. A National Board Certified Teacher, he was named Durham's 2008-09 Teacher of the Year and participated in a Fulbright Teacher Exchange in Tamil Nadu, India. A graduate of the Kenan Fellows Program for Curriculum and Leadership Development at NC State University, Sears now sits on the Kenan Fellows Board of Advisors. Sears holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics with computer science from Purdue University and a master's of arts in teaching degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Articles by Matt Sears

by Matt Sears

What’s a Project and Why Should We Do Them?

Shiny trinkets are shiny.

What is a project?

“It’s when kids do something, or make something.” “It ends with a PowerPoint presentation.” “It’s kids getting outside of the classroom.”

Maybe, maybe, maybe.

“Project” has come to define ANYTHING that is not traditional “stand-and-deliver” instruction. Nearly all teachers say they do projects — and under that broad definition, they do. In this loose sense, “project” has also ...