The walls of Adam Wagner’s history classroom at San Marcos High School reflect his innovative contributions to student learning—the expected historical posters and world maps and the unexpected cycling helmets and bicycle racing bibs.
When Wagner served as the history department’s academic dean, he and his colleagues wanted to increase interest in history while raising test scores. “The chronological approach to teaching history just wasn’t working. Students were regularly checking out from boredom,” he said. Sorting through state standards that presented material on a timeline, students had to return repeatedly throughout the year to topics such as “Presidential Scandals.” Wagner and his colleagues noted moving back and forth through time too often confused students. “What would happen,” he wondered, “if we taught all these scandals in one lesson?” Wagner’s innovative approach to teaching conceptually rather than chronologically led to higher test scores and student achievement.
Wagner and his fellow teachers printed out the state standards known as TEKS— Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, and cut them into individual strips of paper, isolating each standard, then arranged them in the order of concepts rather than time. “It took us months to think about the best way to arrange those little slips of paper,” he recalled. “We had to take everything that we had done in the past, analyze it, and in some cases get rid of lessons that we had used for years.” They updated the lesson objectives and infused more active teaching practices, with the goal of making the information more meaningful to students. Wagner took a risk trying this new approach but today is happy to add, “It worked!”
Evidence of success came in the scores on the state’s end-of-course exams. Results from the first year showed modest improvement, and after further tinkering with the approach, the teachers realized double-digit gains. The percentage of students who received master’s distinction on the exam increased by 33%. And the new approach was successful with different student populations, such as emerging bilinguals and students with special needs.
Staff members at the Texas Education Agency in Austin learned about the work of Wagner and his colleagues and liked the approach so much that they included it in the TEKS Resource System, a database of ideas and lessons plans available to teachers across the state. Wagner reports that history teachers in other school districts have successfully used the conceptual method. Wagner concludes, “It has been a fun process to see if we can make the information more rigorous and engaging for students.”
Wagner’s ingenuity extends beyond the classroom and onto the roads surrounding the high school. Ten years ago, Wagner, an avid cyclist, established the first ever bike club for students not participating in traditional team sports.
Nearly 40 students joined the club that first year, rebuilding unclaimed evidence bikes donated by the San Marcos Police Department. “Because we had an hour for lunch, we would ride down McCarty Lane to Sonic, eat lunch, and then ride back to school. It was amazing. In those days, there was no traffic. The police escorted us a few times, but we realized we didn’t really need them. The kids were good, and the traffic was fine.”
Three years into the program Ken Griffin, Texas State exercise sports science professor, approached Wagner about transforming the bike club into a competitive mountain bike team. Wagner liked the idea and changed the name to the San Marcos High School Mountain Bike Team. “The first year we raced, it was insane. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into,” Wagner said, adding it took a few more years of training to develop the program.
Today, San Marcos High School competes against 42 mountain bike teams in Texas. Some schools (San Marcos, Westlake, and Lake Travis) have enough riders for their own team while other schools, such as the three high schools in Hays CISD, form a composite team. Separate boys and girls teams compete at the varsity, junior varsity, and middle school levels. Two years ago, the San Marcos team placed second in state.
Wagner requires his cycling students to train on different courses to prepare for the competitions. “Each racecourse is different,” he said, describing the hilly terrains, dips and turns. “We design our practices based on the course. We then go race it and see what happens.”
Wagner describes a typical competition, traveling on Friday with a stop at Buc-ee’s, sleeping under the stars in donated tents and sleeping bags, and competing on Saturday morning. The mountain bike team receives a small budget from the district to pay for transportation and food. The riders and their parents fundraise to pay for the other expenses. Wagner’s time and contributions are volunteer; he is not paid for the hours he spends coaching the cyclists. Last year, Trek Bicycling Corporation awarded scholarships to nine students at the high school to pay for their helmets, bikes, shorts, jerseys, shoes, gloves, socks, and registration fees.
In addition to preparing students for races, Wagner prepares his students for life. Johnathen Marquez, a junior on the team, said, “Mr. Wagner is a good mentor. He really cares about his students and the team. Before each race, he talks to you and gives you inspiring advice so that you will do better during the race.” When Marquez fell for the first time during a race, he remembered Mr. Wagner’s advice and finished the race. Marquez said, “Now when I start something new, I know how to overcome the obstacles.”
Rafael Rodriguez, another junior on the team, said, “Mr. Wagner celebrates the small things that you do. He is always encouraging us to learn a new skill on our bikes or finish a race. He is teaching me to push myself to try things that I have never done before.”
“The philosophy behind the San Marcos High School Mountain Bike Team is fun, safety, getting kids on bikes, and inclusion. It’s not about the competition, it’s about the fun,” Wagner said.
Wagner goes well beyond fulfilling expected duties of a classroom teacher with a remarkable concern for the curriculum and well-being of his students, inside and outside the classroom. His innovative efforts and critical eye for improvement translate into a benefit for the school and, most importantly, the students.
Nathan Bond is an education professor at Texas State University. Elizabeth Hudson is a retired journalist in Central Texas.
