d.tech families:
Last week, I spoke about one piece that I consider to be part of the “d.tech difference” and that’s our learning cycle and design lab. The other key part of the “d.tech difference” is the way we support curiosity projects. Curiosity projects give students the opportunity to learn something of interest. We began the year asking students to pursue passion projects and, through our empathy work, soon realized that the language we were using was decreasing student participation. Asking 14 and 15-year-olds to pursue a passion sounded so large that students rarely started anything. We now ask students to pursue curiosity projects, which means that they should try to learn something about which they are curious. We also see curiosity projects as a step in the manifestation of our mission: “to develop students who believe that the world can be a better place and that they can be the ones to make it happen.” Pursuing a curiosity project at school is a very different mindset for many students, but we are now seeing a culture of curiosity projects come to life.
One of the primary ways we support curiosity projects is through our weekly schedule. Thursdays and Fridays are lab days in which students who are on track in their classes are given the opportunity to build their own schedules, while students who need extra help are either assigned to required labs for specific support or recommended for optional office hours. Students who are assigned to office hours have a much smaller need for help, and we allow these students to try to do the work on their own while counseling them in their @d.tech class that office hours can be a great way to gain clarification on an assignment. We give students this option to build a culture of self-direction rather than compliance. Students who are assigned to a lab must attend because they have demonstrated a significant need for help. Students who are not assigned to a lab or recommended for office hours are encouraged to pursue curiosity projects in the DRG or during independent work time. All of these are key components of a personalized experience.
Lab days not only support a personalized academic experience, but also support our culture of creation as we are now starting to see a wide range of curiosity projects come to life. Students have 3D-printed dragons, laser cut key chains, built a lamp, launched a popcorn fundraiser, planned the spring formal, completed artist sketchbooks, built a ping pong table, repaired the basketball hoop, coded games on Scratch, built robots, and many more things. We strongly encourage students to use lab time to do things like this rather than work ahead in their classes. While some schools may expect students to load up on A.P. classes, we expect kids to create. The culture of creation is the essential component of the “d.tech difference” and we encourage you to ask your son/daughter about his/her curiosity project and what they will work on during lab days.
Have a great week,
Ken
Register for the Auction and Gala. Come meet members of the Fundraising Team at tomorrow’s Town Hall meeting. You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions, register, buy raffle tickets, donate, and sign up to volunteer. We’re looking for volunteers to help during the event: servers, auction check-out runners, etc. More information at Volunteer Spot. This is a great way to meet parents, bid on great experiential outings, and have a fun evening!
Unable to attend? Please consider donating to d.tech: click here to donate.
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