Using a real-world learning model, the labs provide students access to advanced technology and hands-on experience to foster crucial life skills like collaboration and creative problem-solving.
LAKELAND, Fla., Oct. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- New Beginnings High School in Lakeland, Winter Haven, and Fort Meade is excited to showcase its Innovation Labs. These project-based educational experiences in the makerspace allow students to solve real-world problems in a hands-on studio environment while building essential skills for life inside and outside of the classroom.
In each lab, students are presented with an open-ended problem and tasked with working with their team to find a solution. These self-contained units are a unique alternative to the semester or year-long single-subject classes offered at most traditional high schools. The labs take a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating a variety of technological skills related to coding, fabrication, engineering, and more.
As students bring their solutions to life, they employ an iterative design process that allows them to demonstrate their creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. This process requires them to produce a prototype (such as a sketch, storyboard, diagram, or wireframe) and continually refine it through testing, critique, and analysis. Students have access to industry-standard equipment and advanced technology like 3D printers and software to create with precision.
The method implemented in the Innovation Labs requires students to collaborate with others, think deeply, and receive and implement feedback. Throughout the process, student coaches guide and evaluate student work to help propel them forward. This feedback is provided in the form of desk crits, where students have one-on-one conversations with a coach to share progress, ask clarifying questions, and discuss possible next steps.
Throughout the studio session, students participate in formal and informal reviews, where they must communicate their project development process and how they arrived at their current version. During these reviews, they may present their initial research, prototypes, product iterations, and final products. This collaborative environment builds their communication and interpersonal skills, which are foundational for success in every arena.
The Innovation Labs at New Beginnings High School allow students the freedom to work on highly relevant projects that they're passionate about, which drives them to give their best effort from start to finish. At the end of each lab, students get to tell the story of their design process, teaching them that their ideas matter and that the journey is just as important as the destination.
The NBHS team is exceptionally proud of what students are able to accomplish when they're engaged in the work and looks forward to the opportunity to help students become change-makers in the world.
About New Beginnings High School:
Launched in 2011, New Beginnings High School is a Central Florida-based non-traditional charter school helping students aged 15 to 24 earn their high school diploma. The three campuses of New Beginnings High School in Lakeland, Winter Haven, and Fort Meade serve over 1,000 students with personalized academic options and wrap-around services.
Media Contact
New Beginnings High School, New Beginnings High School, 863-298-5666, [email protected]
SOURCE New Beginnings High School
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