Student Commissioners are getting ready to visit schools in the US as part of the research into some of the best teaching and learning going on around the world.
One group of commissioners will be visiting the iSchool in New York City and another will visit High Tech High in San Diego, California. They’ll be looking for some of the best ideas and practices that can be applied to academies in the Harris Federation.
New York’s iSchool prides itself on combining project based learning with the use of innovative technology. Students complete projects on a wide range of themes. One recent example was designing a memorial to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
At High Tech High, students also complete projects that cross normal subject boundaries. Instead of computer labs there are laptops in every room for students to work on.
In both schools, teachers act more like learning coaches and encourage students to work on their own or in groups.
Commissioners will be keeping in touch with students back in the UK by keeping their blogs up to date and posting interesting research and photos in the forums.
You can access the forums by clicking on the links below:
iSchool, NYC
http://www.harrisvoice.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=140
High Tech High, San Diego
http://www.harrisvoice.org.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=139
Student Commission gets ready to go stateside!
