Fred Tjardes
School of Innovation
How We Learn - Loop Learning
Say "goodbye" to pencil and paper tests, worksheets, and rote memorization! Kids at the Fred Tjardes School of Innovation (FTSOI) use thinking, exploring, creating, and innovating. It is a well-researched fact that most of the jobs of the 21st century are not even created yet, and we want to be sure prepare students for the future, not the past.
At FTSOI, we believe that learning should be an exciting part of childhood. Our curriculum is designed in a way that taps into a child's natural curiosity to explore and create. Students explore simple theme based topics (or loops) in grade level bands instead of arbitrary grade levels. The loops have cross content connections, which ask students to learn about topics and concepts with more depth.
For the 2024-2025 school year, our learning loops are "Fabric" and "Flight." In the Loop themes we look at essential questions at every grade level. For example, with Fabric we explore questions such as: What is fabric? What is the history of fabric? How has fabric influenced society? What is the cost of fabric (human, environmental, and monetary)? Within these themes, we explore topics like the silk trade or the impacts of fast fashion. We look at the engineering and technology that allowed fabric to be processed more quickly, like the cotton gin. Students create their own technology for creating using fabric, like looms. At the end of the loop, students will delve into research on their own topic and create a project or solution to a real-world problem to be presented at Museum Night.
LOOP LEARNING STEPS:
INFORM
The first step in our model is about building the base knowledge necessary to be successful in each loop. Collaborators have carefully crafted and planned lessons that help develop the skills and knowledge necessary without letting direct instruction become the main method of learning throughout the loop. While all students also have more traditional instruction in basic reading and math, the Learning loop theme is the focus for much of the content.
INSPIRE
Inspiration can come in many forms. First, students dive into teacher directed hands-on experiences, get stuck, and try to find solutions. Our loops will allow students to explore a theme from many different avenues in order to find inspiration. Our community is the initial source for this inspiration, as looking locally helps students find their place in the world.
IGNITE
We want students to understand that being a problem-solver begins with being a problem-finder. Once teachers guide students in the process, students search for local problems or projects that interest them (local can be school, businesses, community). Students work with their collaborator and classmates to develop a research plan. It is here that we expect students to work through failure and begin to develop grit. At early years grade bands, this part of the process is highly scaffolded.
INNOVATE
Students demonstrate learning by doing, creating, and presenting. In the innovation phase, students show their learning and know how to talk about it. Twice a year students will present projects to the community to demonstrate learning from each loop. Prior to and during the innovation phase, students conduct in depth research to get to a project design that meets the needs of their learning goals and objectives.
Interested in reading more?
Our Innovation Plan is a comprehensive look at who we are as a school, including the theories and research at the core of TSOI.