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Many International Baccalaureate schools are
starting to use this model, often doing affinity
subject groupings that share amenities and
spaces. The International School of Brussels
is an English-language international PreK-12
school that educates 1,500 students from 62
countries. Their high school is organised into
learning communities by curriculum themes,
and individualised programs are developed by
each student.
Beyond the rigours of the IB programming,
students are encouraged as well-rounded
individuals to follow their interests in the
arts, performance, and music studies. Like
homeschoolers, ISB students are actively
recruited by top universities around the world,
including École Polytechnique Fédérale de
Lausanne; Erasmus University Rotterdam; Hong
Kong University for Science and Technology;
Johns Hopkins University; King’s College,
London; Marquette University and New York
University.
Case Study
: International School of Brussels
In sharp contrast to ISB, Venture Academy
is a charter middle and high school serving
students who have not had success in
the local public-school system. With 90%
of the student body living in poverty,
many Venture Trailblazers are three to
four grade levels behind their peers when
they start at the school. Personal learning
dashboards allow students to pursue their
own interests while learning, and keep
track of their progress. This software was
designed by Facebook programmers, and
Venture is the single user in Minnesota.
But the dashboards aren’t the only unique
feature of the school. Venture encourages
students to pursue areas of passion
Case Study:
Venture Academy, Minneapolis
through experiential enrichment classes
like robotics, web development, music
in digital media, visual arts, and physical
education. Varied spaces in the school
allow for amenities like maker spaces,
3D printers, and programming labs.
At Venture, the Learning Community
model provides more than a place
for exploration; it creates a safe and
encouraging environment for young
people with challenging life situations.
One exciting sign of success came in
March 2016 when a team of four middle
school Trailblazers beat out ten adult
teams at a Start-up Accelerator design
competition in Minneapolis.
ISB commons
Venture Maker Lab
While case studies like these demonstrate
the positive effect of student-driven
learning spaces, there is also hard data
that supports their impact. For example,
in a 2011 study published by the
American Educational Research Journal,
entitled “Problem-Based Learning in
K-12 Education,” Clarice Wirkala and
Deanna Kuhn document a 200% - 500%
improvement in learning retention with
authentically student-driven, enquiry-based
learning. More proof that schools should
be places students can’t wait to get to
every morning, where they are eager to
explore and master the things that matter
the most to them.
Prakash Nair is a futurist, a visionary education
architect and Founding President and CEO of
Fielding Nair International, one of the world’s
leading change agents in school design with
consultations in 47 countries. He has written
extensively in leading international journals about
school design and how it connects to established
educational research. He is also the author
of several books on school planning including
Blueprint for Tomorrow: Redesigning Schools
for Student-Centered Learning published by the
Harvard Education Press in 2014.
Future Focused Learning
™
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