After the first EDCI 336 class of the year, we watched the film “Most Likely to Succeed.” It was a film which described the method in which the students are taught and how they learn at the school, and it showed students working on their projects that would be on display at their year-end showcase.

I think the way the school is run is really cool. The open-ended, project based approach to learning encourages students to be creative with their work, and I think having a year-end showcase to put their learning on display for their parents could make them more passionate about their work and determined to succeed. They take pride in their work – and that is evident from the film footage which showed interviews with the students and clips of them being fully immersed in their work. Students are also working in groups to complete their projects; this increases their skills in communication, leadership, and open-mindedness to different ideas, as well as improving their ability to benefit from team work and be valuable team contributors. Evidently, they gain important skills which will support them in their careers and their lives outside of high-school.

While I think there are many positives to the approach to learning and teaching at High Tech High, I have a few reservations about how effective this learning approach may be. I love the creative approach; I’m an advocate for creativity in all aspects of life, and I think integrating creative expression in the classroom is a wonderful method to increase academic exploration and encourage curiosity, interest, passion, and different methods to represent learning. However, I think that there is a potential chance that students may miss out on aspects of the learning outcomes if they are focused on project-based learning. If students are focused on their own projects to demonstrate their learning, what if the steps that are required to complete their projects bypass some of the curriculum standards? I could imagine this happening for mathematics and physics, where it may be more challenging to represent equations and theories with a project based learning approach. In those instances, I think having a project/experiment needs to be supplemented with a more formal/traditional written report where students demonstrate and reflect on their learning with equations and some original written thoughts to articulate their ideas. Overall, I think having a balance of classic evaluation methods with clear learning outcomes and project-based learning where students have creative freedom with the way in which they would like to reflect their learning would be a better approach.

I am really glad we watched this film so early on in the semester. I think it gave great perspective on the different ways of teaching and how students can represent their learning. It definitely made me reflect on the type of teacher I would like to be and what types of projects/assessments I would like to give my students to ensure they are meeting the prescribed learning outcomes, but are also engaging with their work and enjoying the process.