PSI Student Brochure

For more information about the Plymouth School of Inquiry, please contact: Mr. Daniel Tyree email:dtyree@plymouth.k12.in.us

(574) 936.3115

Mr. James Condon email:jcondon@plymouth.k12.in.us

(574) 936.2178

Mr. Kenneth Olson email:kolson@plymouth.k12.in.us

(574) 936.2178

Mrs. Jennifer Felke email: jfelke@plymouth.k12.in.us

(574) 936.2178

Are you looking for a different kind of educational experience?

Would you like to gain valuable skills that will prepare you for success in the 21st century academic and work environment?

Would you like to be a part of a learning environment that is centered around trust, respect, and responsibility?

For more information about New Tech and Project Based Learning, visit these sites: newtechnetwork.org - New Tech Network p21.org - Partnership for 21st century Skills bie.org - Buck Institute Project Based Learning edutopia.com - PBL resource

Do you enjoy using technology to solve problems and create projects?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then the Plymouth School of Inquiry might be for you!

Plymouth High School

How will learning be different in New Tech?

Will the classroom be different in New Tech?

With the Project Based Learning approach, students learn by solving problems and making decisions, rather than just memorizing facts. The projects in Project Based Learning are based on real-world situations. Some are drawn from situations in the local community. As you progress through your projects, you are taught all the academic content and skills appropriate to your grade level, and then immediately apply what you have learned to the challenges of your project.

Yes, the New Tech classroom will be very different from the classrooms you are used to. The New Tech classrooms will not have desks. These classrooms will have tables that can be rearranged depending on what type of project or activity you are completing in class. All spaces in the New Tech school will be open and provide the opportunity for many different types of learning, from small group to large presentations.

Questions about New Tech

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Is New Tech harder than traditional instruction?

As a student in New Tech, you will be graded not just on your content knowledge, but on all of the school-wide learning outcomes. These outcomes reflect real world skills that are necessary to succeed in an authentic work situation.

Examples of these skills include collaboration, work ethic, technology literacy, writing skills, speaking skills, and problem-solving. Some students believe that New Tech makes learning easier because they are learning as they discover and apply new skills.

I am very bored at school. Will New Tech be fun and interesting?

Project based learning encourages students to help solve problems and drive their learning by asking lots of questions. As students learn to drive their learning through inquiry, you have the opportunity to sometimes choose the topic you are working on in class as well as what type of project you will complete. Furthermore, the teachers will look to you to help identify ways in which you can help your community solve a problem and be involved with a real project that will be seen by people outside of school.

Will anything else be different about New Tech?

Students will work in teams to produce projects at the end of a unit. Throughout each unit, students have the opportunity to complete activities in partnership with their team as well as on their own. Students will receive grades based on individual as well as group work.

Many students in New Tech schools say that their relationships within a New Tech school are like a small family. Teachers and students work side by side and build a culture of trust, respect, and responsibility. Teachers do not lecture students in a New Tech school. Teachers act as coaches who help guide students in the PBL process. Students in a New Tech school enjoy unique freedoms which are a result of increased expectations of the student’s role in a New Tech school.

Is all the work on the computer or do we complete tasks outside of technology?

What are some differences you might see in a New Tech school?

Do we complete group work or individual work?

Students will utilize technology for research, product creation, collaboration, organization, and many other tasks.

However, working with another school, community or business partner may involve face to face meetings, Skype phone calls, and peer work time. Technology will be used as a tool to complete the assigned project or solve the presented problem. There will be many opportunities for students to employ non-technology related strategies to solve problems or present projects.

Students will have the opportunity to utilize their personal Internet devices to complete work and manage projects.

Furthermore, students may collaborate with other students across the New Tech Network, utilizing Skype. In addition, we look for students to establish relationships with business and community members building relationships with people who will support students as they progress through the School of Inquiry.

Trust

Respect

Responsibility