High Tech High Learning Structures
High Tech High Learning Structures:(Video Series)
"...High Tech High design principles: personalization, adult world connection, and common intellectual mission. Each of these principles connects to the broad mission of preparing students for the adult world of work and learning, and call for structures and practices not generally employed in traditional schools. High Tech High later added a fourth design principle, known as teacher as designer.
HTH endeavors for its design principles to permeate every aspect of life at HTH schools: the small size, the openness of the facilities, the personalization through advisory, the emphasis on integrated, project-based learning and student exhibitions, the requirement that all students complete internships in the community, and the provision of ample planning time for teacher teams during the work day.
Personalization Every HTH student has a staff advisor who monitors their personal and academic development and serves as the point of contact for the family. Students pursue personal interests through projects and compile and present their best work in personal digital portfolios. Students with special needs receive individual attention in a full inclusion model. Facilities are tailored to individual and small-group learning, including networked wireless laptops, project rooms for hands-on activities and exhibition spaces for individual work.
Adult World Connection HTH students experience much of their learning outside the school walls. Juniors complete a 100-hour academic internship in a local business or agency. Seniors develop substantial projects that connect to problems of interest and concern in the community. Earlier, in ninth and tenth grade as well as middle school, students may “shadow” an adult through
KEY HIGH TECH HIGH DESIGN FEATURES:
HTH endeavors for its design principles to permeate every aspect of life at HTH schools: the small size, the openness of the facilities, the personalization through advisory, the emphasis on integrated, project-based learning and student exhibitions, the requirement that all students complete internships in the community, and the provision of ample planning time for teacher teams during the work day.
Personalization Every HTH student has a staff advisor who monitors their personal and academic development and serves as the point of contact for the family. Students pursue personal interests through projects and compile and present their best work in personal digital portfolios. Students with special needs receive individual attention in a full inclusion model. Facilities are tailored to individual and small-group learning, including networked wireless laptops, project rooms for hands-on activities and exhibition spaces for individual work.
Adult World Connection HTH students experience much of their learning outside the school walls. Juniors complete a 100-hour academic internship in a local business or agency. Seniors develop substantial projects that connect to problems of interest and concern in the community. Earlier, in ninth and tenth grade as well as middle school, students may “shadow” an adult through
KEY HIGH TECH HIGH DESIGN FEATURES:
- Student projects throughout the year and in all subject areas
- Field studies that bring students into the community and connect them with adult professionals/mentors
- Performance-based assessment through frequent Presentations of Learning (POLs) and formal exhibitions of student work
- Advisories groups of 12-15 students that meet two times per week, are multi-grade, and remain consistent over middle and high school years
- Academic internships of 100 hours for all Juniors that include workplace projects and humanities-based reflection
- Senior projects that allow students to delve deeply into their interests and passions
- Digital portfolios that provide all 6-12 grade students with a forum for editing, reflecting on, and celebrating their work and growth
- Internships and community service experiences that expose students to adult mentors and the world of work
- Ubiquitous technology that enables students to navigate, utilize, and synthesize digital information
- Academic teaching teams organized by grade and integrated across disciplines, with limited teacher loads of 50-75 students
- Daily meeting time for teachers, for collaboration, project planning, professional development, and reflection
- Heterogeneous grouping of students in all HTH classes