Giving Compass' Take:

• The Design Tech High School is an innovative high school serving 550 students utilizes nuanced teaching styles such as personalized learning and maker education to mold students to think and create for themselves.

• How are innovative high schools like this one changing the landscape of education? How will national testing and grading systems change if we continue to go in this direction?

• Read more about how a maker education encourages students to be the 'builders' of their studies.

“I want a school that doesn’t teach kids what to think, it teaches them how to think,” said Larry Ellison. The Oracle founder got what he wanted. A four year old charter high school moved from a warehouse in San Mateo to the new facility on the Oracle campus in January.

Serving 550 high school students, Design Tech High School (@dTechHS) combines personalized learning, design thinking, and maker activities with the goal of forging identities as caring citizens and young professionals.

The design focus was inspired by nearby Stanford d.School where design is a response to increasing number of problems that are complex and ambiguous.  (We agree that design thinking, like writing and critical thinking, is a priority skill that should be integrated across the curriculum).

The core values of trust, care and creativity are evident in the culture, practices, schedules and structures of d.tech. It starts with a commitment to know each student personally, academically, culturally, and cognitively and to use that knowledge to co-construct their learning experience.

Galen McAndrew teaches prototyping to incoming freshmen. Wayne Brock,  a Purdue trained mechanical engineer is the other half of d.tech’s maker team. In the Design Realization Garage (DRG) he teaches a year long engineering course for juniors and seniors. About halfway through the course, students develop proposals for a final engineering project.

“We provide access to tools and materials, ranging from traditional woodworking to high-tech modern fabrication, such as 3D printing and laser cutting. Students access the DRG through elective courses, design challenges, independent passion curiosity projects, and to make projects targeted at demonstrating competency in core courses,” explained Galen.

Read the full article about design tech high school at Getting Smart.