BFX 2017 Edu Catalogue

Case Study : International School of Brussels

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.

ISB commons

Case Study: Venture Academy, Minneapolis

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 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.

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.

Venture Maker Lab

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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