Innovation
Independent. Resourceful. Creative.
The goal of 21st century learning is for students to be independent, resourceful, and strong global citizens who are confident in navigating their success.
Starting in Mechina and Kindergarten, students are taught a design-build process that supports solution-oriented learning goals, encourages them to develop innovations through collaboration and teamwork, and exposes them to an array of cutting-edge technologies. From ideation to creation, the process helps them build reasoning, empathy and creativity skills as well as enabling them to take pride in their work and the potential impact their creations can have. Young learners are introduced to coding as a literacy to develop computational thinking skills and algorithmic thinking strategies. This approach to learning ensures that all learners are well equipped to navigate the global landscape as inquisitive and empathetic citizens who are empowered to make change.
Examples of learning opportunities include connecting with international pen pals via cloud-based tools, engaging with video conferencing technology to visit with organizations and individuals working to positively impact the world, and leveraging robotics to create inclusive environments. At The Davis Academy, we nurture the value of lifelong learning so that upon graduation, students stay curious and are well-equipped to make a positive mark on the world.
4'Cs of 21st Century Learning
Collaboration
Working together
to reach a goal.
Communication
Sharing thoughts,
questions, ideas, and solutions.
Creativity
Sharing thoughts,
questions, ideas, and solutions.
Critical Thinking
looking at problems in a new way, linking learning across subjects & disciplines.
Imagination & Creativity Can Change the World
What does 21st Century Learning look like?
These are examples of students working on projects, developing
collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking skills.
This week for Tinkering Tuesday, students learned about Native Americans and how symbols and crests play an important part in the culture and history of First Nations in North America. Each animal, spirit and supernatural being represents and symbolizes different stories, traits, personality and values. Students were challenged to consider what symbol represented their own values or strengths. After selecting their symbols, they created a backpack clip with those symbols out of UV resin to remind them of their values.
In the Creative Robotics Club, students explored programming concepts like conditional statements and operators. They applied these skills to program a robot that can follow both a line path and a light path. Utilizing the robot's built-in light sensor, they wrote a program that detects light levels and triggers the motors accordingly. Along the way, they practiced debugging and refining their code to improve performance. Students not only have fun and enhance their programming abilities but also build critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and creativity.
This week, students across all grades had a blast exploring the world of algorithms! Kindergarten and First Grade students were especially engaged, using hopscotch blocks to create and follow their own paths until they reached the end. Learning algorithms and coding at a young age is more than just fun—it's foundational. By engaging in these activities, our youngest learners begin to understand the importance of sequencing, logic, and problem-solving.
During Tinkering Tuesday, lower school students created personalized bobbleheads to commemorate the start of baseball season this month.
In celebration of Presidents’ Day, the Innovation and Design Lab was turned into the U.S. Mint as students learned about the coin-making process and created their own unique currency designs.