Project-based learning brings together intellectual inquiry, rigorous real-world standards and student engagement in relevant and meaningful work.
Tech Valley High School partners with leaders from area businesses, technology companies, higher education and organized labor and government. They were involved in shaping the school, continue to be participants and collaborators in the educational program and are helping develop the project-based learning experiences, in cooperation with educators.
Why project-based learning?
Studies show adolescents learn best when they:
Are faced with solving unforseen problems and meeting unpredicted obstacles.
Work collaboratively on team-based projects.
Take responsibility for their own learning.
See how what they are learning fits into their future.
How does project-based learning offer academic challenge?
Students are more likely to retain what that
have learned as they have opportunities to work on complex problems
beyond repetition and review. Project-based learning (PBL) offers
students multiple opportunities to apply their learning in new
situations where the answer is not obvious — where students are
confronted with challenges that have no clear answers, where they
must solve unforeseen problems and meet unpredicted obstacles. PBL
requires teachers to cover fewer topics in greater depth with the
goal of developing a deep understanding of subject matter that
scientists, technology companies and business leaders in Tech Valley
say is needed in our high school graduates. Learning at Tech Valley
High School requires students to master the subject matter necessary
for traditional Regents exams but also requires them to develop the
skills to meet the rigorous requirements of working in a
technology-rich, intellectually complex and personally challenging
Students learn through project-based learning,
which co-mingles various learning disciplines, for example math and
science, history and English, Mandarin Chinese and art. Through
project-based learning, students not only learn what is
required to pass state Regents exams, but also what is required to
do well in the work force and higher education.
The real-world projects connect learning to each
student's course of study and require students learn to work
together to complete project — just as they will someday in the
work place or in college.
Although Tech Valley High School's academic programs and the day-to-day activities of students differ in many ways from other schools, students at Tech Valley High School will earn a Regents Diploma or an Advanced Regents Diploma, and the curriculum meets all New York State learning standards.
Students can also earn college credits for their work at Tech Valley High.