How is the Curriculum understood and used in each class, for each student, and between Facilitators in The School of Innovative Learning?
We meet each student at his or her interest and encourage growth through an interactive, always growing and changing Curriculum, based on the interests, learning styles, and preferred modes of expression of each of our students.
Students in The School are active participants in their own differentiation: trying, discussing, sharing, and learning about what their interests, gifts, and talents are, as well as how they want to utilize those gifts and talents to make a difference in their own worlds, as well as the worlds of others.
The focus, always, is on students and their gifts, talents, needs (social, emotional, and intellectual), as well as their goals. We are, as a school, and as a team, always looking for opportunities for our students, as well as potential mentors and outside resources that will be of benefit for them, socially, emotionally, and intellectually in their pursuit to self-discover the best of who they are, and who they can be.
Student portfolios are created to allow our students to begin their journey of discovery and to celebrate what they accomplish, as well as to have a place to challenge themselves with work that has yet to be accomplished as we look to the future.
The portfolio provides valuable insight and information on the student for his or her own edification, as well as an ongoing journey of experience that expresses the academic, artistic, creative, social and emotional nuances, shifts, challenges, and successes of that journey. This “journal” which could be pen to paper, artistic – in any sense -, computer based, or any combination of the three, or more, becomes a discovery, a workshop, a collaboration, a research space, and a vehicle to the next level of knowledge, learning, and of course, self-efficacy.
Student-centered assessment is the focus at the school. Facilitators will work with students to co-create progressively more challenging opportunities that are based upon each student’s individuality and each student’s journey to become the best of who he or she can be. This is a primary piece to The School of Innovative Learning as it allows for the student to truly become the center of his or her educational experiences, connecting to the learning, the knowledge, the preparation for what is created, and the desire to create what is chosen. Over time, students will be able to take more ownership of what they create, and, as self-efficacy increases, students will step into new pathways and courage in their learning.
FRAMEWORK OF LEARNING MODELS
The Nurtured Heart Approach (NHA) is a relationship-focused methodology for helping children (and adults) build their inner wealth and use their intensity in successful ways. It has become a powerful way of awakening the inherent greatness in all children while facilitating parenting and classroom success. The use of The Nurtured Heart Approach will allow Facilitators to focus on the positives, set clear expectations for students, engage students in how to self-regulate, and ‘reset’ to join in their learning and community so that they can participate in positive ways in their own growth.
Social-emotional development includes the child’s experience, expression, and management of emotions and the ability to establish positive and rewarding relationships with others (Cohen et.al. 2005). It encompasses both intra-and interpersonal processes. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is embedded in the curriculum at The School of Innovative Learning. Some of the traits that will play a part in the infusion of SEL into our everyday school experiences and the life-long journey that we consider to be a part of education include: cooperation, respect for self and others, self-image, responsibility, self-regulation, self-esteem, grit, divergent thinking, self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and curiosity.
Inventing Self is a program designed to help students to discover their authentic selves the intuitive and most genuine self and what they wish to pursue in life. Inventing Self also helps students lay the foundation for finding happiness in life. Lessons, discussions, and activities help students discover truths about their authentic selves. The curriculum is student guided, in that as students develop ideas and interests to pursue and implement, that drives the instruction, The goal of developing leadership skills is not rhetoric, but reality. The curriculum is designed to guide students toward establishing a solid foundation for self-esteem, confidence, introspection, interpersonal connections, creativity, and happiness.
The term “twice exceptional” (or 2e) is often used to describe students with high ability and potential who simultaneously experience learning, executive functioning, production, and/or social challenges.
These students are challenged most in schools by a misalignment between their learner profile and the school’s curriculum and instructional approach – (Bridges Academy, Dr. Susan Baum).
Self-Efficacy is one’s belief in one’s ability to succeed in specific situations or accomplish a task: One’s sense of self-efficacy can play a significant role in approaching goals, tasks, and challenges. The School of Innovative Learning spends time each day, highlighting the strengths and accomplishments of their students. We welcome failure as an opportunity to learn and improve, encourage risk-taking. and talk with students about embracing challenges at every level.
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model (SEM), Joseph Renzulli and Sally Reis
The Schoolwide Enrichment Model is based upon a vision that “schools are places for talent development.” The model uses the pedagogy of gifted education to make school more challenging and enjoyable for all students.
Curriculum Compacting is a technique for differentiating instruction that allows teachers to adjust the curriculum for students who have already mastered the material to learn, replacing content students know with new content, enrichment options or other activities.
Differentiation is a word that is commonly used in education today and often misunderstood. While it is true that successful differentiation must transfer new knowledge from the teacher to the student, with FULL ownership by the student, that information often gets lost in the translation. The ownership by the student must occur so that self-efficacy can blossom into ownership and action.
A discussion with Facilitators, parents, caregivers, and on-going work with students to step “in-to” their interests, learning styles, and preferred modes of expression is celebrated and supported at The School of Innovative Learning. We work diligently and with great care to know our students. With our flexible, student-centered curriculum, based on the gifts and talents, as well as the interests of our students, we can personalize the experience the each and every one of them. Creating student portfolios allows for student ownership of work, as well as continuous and ongoing communication between students, Facilitators, parents, caregivers, and community members who become mentors; each student is a school.
Creative thinking is a combination of fluency (thinking of many ideas, flexibility (using things in different ways), originality (one-of-a-kind; unique design), and elaboration (adding details and more depth). At The School of Innovative Learning, Creative Thinking provides our students with opportunities to see the world, their work, and each other in new ways.
These theories emerged from cognitive research and “documents the extent to which students possess different kinds of minds and therefore learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways” according to Gardner. Learnings styles and multiple intelligences are celebrated and understood by both teachers and students as well as parents in The School of Innovative Learning, thereby creating authentic ownership of and self-personalization of the learning experience for each of our students.
In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work; brains and talent are just the starting point! This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. The School of Innovative Learning believes that teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in all aspects of life an enhances relationships. As we focus on the whole child, teaching and recognizing perseverance and grit become an essential part of the learning and growing process.
Parent Coaching provides and facilitates the understanding of skills development so that families can create stronger support systems for their children, as well as feel supported by The School of Innovative Learning’s Facilitators, and staff. The School will offer parents, caregivers, and the community a support platform, and a place to connect, all together. In addition, in meeting one another, the parents can recognize the power and beauty that they have as individuals, families, and, as members of The School.
Explicit Instructional Strategies deconstruct the different learning approaches and styles of students, focusing on fostering self-knowledge and mastering proficiency based each student’s preferred methods of information acquisition. Students of The School of Innovative Learning will explore their topics of study in ways that are supported by their unique learning processes and styles.
Cultural Exploration is the search for significance in events and learned facts historically, socially, and culturally. In The School of Innovative Learning, it is essential that students be provided with opportunities to examine each topic with the purposeful intent of diving deeper into cultural significance.
Emotional and social wellness is the recognition of “self” how that “self” relates to other beings within the environment, as well as how to cultivate a positive “space” for those experiences. Students of The School of Innovative Learning will intentionally explore the creation of “wellness” within the environments they build for themselves or those which are created for them. The School also guides students as they understand and explore the power they possess in creating sanctuaries for themselves and those around them. Emotional and social wellness are crucial and necessary components because they support the “whole child” and foster the development of self-efficacy.