Welcome to Think Tank
Think Tank is an innovative high school learning experience that brings students to the center of their own educational transformation. This experimental, non-traditional learning experience allows students and teachers to work together to answer questions facing our systems and structures as we continue our transition to a personalized, proficiency-based school.
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Students will explore the brain and learning, the latest educational research, innovative educational systems and ideas, and their own stories of learning. Through research, interviews, experiences, and reflection, they will discover a specific area of interest, become experts in that area, and then plan and implement actual change.
ProficiencyLike all other classes at CVU, Think Tank is standards-based, so we will be guided by learning targets and scales. We have a common set of learning targets to ensure consistency and integrity regardless of student focus; in addition, we have a bank of additional learning targets that students will have the opportunity of accessing for further, more personalized instruction.
While Think Tank lives outside of the traditional discipline areas, we are still working within a system that requires discipline credits. Students who complete a year of the course will receive a half credit English due to the heavy communication focus of the course. We ensure a rigorous curriculum that includes authentic writing, significant amounts of complex and critical reading, and the production and use of relevant communication media. The other half credit will be Elective in order to honor the variety of areas of individual focus. |
In collaboration with teachers, educational leaders, and peers, students will design and implement action research and development projects that will have immediate and lasting effects on our school and district (and perhaps beyond!). We will work with building leaders throughout the district to design, publish, and implement significant change.
PersonalizationAt the heart of personalized learning is deep understanding of individual strengths, challenges, and interests. We will help students gain this understanding as they choose the direction of their research and the focus of their development projects.
Their skill instruction and practice will vary based on need and interest, and they will ultimately control their outcomes and discipline concentrations, if applicable. We will work with our PLP coordinator to find ways to capture personal learning, reflect on growth, and ultimately develop or test replicable systems to track personalized learning. In addition, students in Think Tank will be beta-testing the Mastery Transcript this year, which is an alternative way to tell the story of their time here at CVU. This will not be in place of the traditional transcript, and will be private to the student and to us as we work to figure out the best way forward. |
Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.
John Dewey
All the Tools You Need to Succeed
What, how, and when we learn will vary greatly, but in order to ensure rigor, integrity, and learning, we will ground our work in transferable learning targets. We have a common K-U-D, which outlines what ALL students will know, understand, and be able to do by the end of the experience. In addition, we have created a set of common, transferable targets to guide our instruction and to challenge each student. Common K-U-D and Scales |
In order to capture your own transformation and challenge your thinking, we are going to ask everyone to work with two very different systems, one paper and one digital. We know that the brain works differently in both worlds, so we want you to see how each can be effective in stimulating thought and capturing learning. We will provide the commonplace book for you, or you can purchase your own if you have a particular style. The Commonplace Notebook (what it is) The Blog |