1. High School Task Force
Imagine Schools

2. New Tech High School
Vision
 A school for average
students.
 Project-based learning
 Trust
 21st Century Skills

3. New Tech High School
Classroom
 Classes of 50 students
 Each class team taught by two teachers
 Teams of two teachers in combined
subjects such as English /Drama,
English /History, Math/Science,
Math/Digital Arts
 Block scheduling – two hour classes

4. New Tech High School
Technology
 Computer for each student in each
classroom
 Smart Boards / Projectors
 Software - mostly free software, no
large licensing or purchases
 Students have access to copiers and
printers

5. New Tech High School
Curriculum
 Unit long projects– similar to WebQuests
or other directed projects
 All projects begin with a launch
 All projects end with some kind of
presentation
 All presentations are evaluated by
panels of experts and parents

6. New Tech High School
Instruction
 Teachers work with students based on what
they know, and what they need to know. Every
project begins with a delination of what students
need to know in order to satisfactorily complete
the project
 Teachers assist students in learning what they
need to know by working one-on-one, as well
as by providing workshops on specific skills or
content areas
 Students often have group meetings to work on
projects

7. New Tech High School
Culture
 Removal of ‘factory’ elements – bells,
hall passes
 Goal is to create the atmosphere of a
small start-up company
 Small size, close relationships between
teacher and student – tutorial /coaching
relationship

8. 20th Century Classroom & 21st Century Classrom
Old Classroom New Classroom
 Teacher centered  Student centered
 Working alone  Working in teams
 Short, simple tasks  Long, Complex tasks
 Irrelevant to learner  Relevent to learner
 Accountable to teacher  Accountable to peers
 Passive Learning  Active learning

9. New Tech High School
Assessment
 Skills based – one overall grade is given, but is
also broken down into subtopics such as
○ work ethic
○ literary content
○ collaboration
○ oral communication
○ written communication
○ historical content
○ critical thinking
○ reading skills
 You get what you assess – general grades are
unclear and unmotivating to students because
they don’t know what to be working towards.