The Quicksilver Innovation Program (QuIP) is a Small Learning Community that opened in Fall 2015 for incoming freshmen to Santa Teresa. The 9th grade program will consist of four courses-English 1 or 1A, Math 1 or 2, Biology, and Studies in Media. The 10th grade program will consist of English 2 or 2A, Math 2, World History, and Chemistry. Courses for each grade level are taught by a core staff of dedicated teachers. What makes the program unique is its emphasis on project-based cross-curricular learning that empowers students to participate in real world experiences that have a direct impact on their community.
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Core Values
The following represent the essential elements of the Quicksilver Innovation Program:
Project-Based Learning
QuIP teachers have been trained by the Buck Institute for Education in Project-Based Learning and will utilize this methodology throughout the program. Project-based learning is an intensive style of teaching and learning that engages students in hands-on experiences that prepare them for the world in which they will live and work. The eight essential elements of Project Based Learning are as follows: Significant Content, a Need to Know, a Driving Question, Student Voice and Choice, 21st Century Competencies, In-Depth Inquiry, Critique and Revision, and a Public Audience. To learn more about Project-Based Learning, please visit bie.org.
Cross-Curricular
In traditional high school education, students move from subject to subject with different teachers and different assignments. There is little to no planned correlation between subject areas. A major advantage of QuIP is that students will share the same team of core teachers. This enables the teachers to work together to plan cross-curricular projects that span multiple subject areas. Students will benefit both by having fewer disparate assignments and by having deeper learning experiences through cross-curricular connections.
Real-World Experiences
A major goal of QuIP is to connect students to their local and global communities. Many projects in the program will involve working with experts in a field to develop products that have real world applications. Students can expect to take frequent field trips, have regular guest speakers, and receive critiques from a public audience throughout their projects. Much of the work and processes that students experience in the program is intended to mimic the world of college and careers.
21st Century Skills
Common Core, the East Side Union High School District, and many other organizations agree that an essential function of high school is to teach students 21st Century Skills, namely skills that they will likely need to use throughout their lives regardless of what the future holds. The skills adopted by the district are known as the 5 C's: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Citizenship. Students in QuIP will be taught these skills through both direct and indirect instruction, and will be explicitly evaluated on their development in these skills.
Small Community Environment
In the school year QuIP will consist of 60-90 incoming 9th and 10th graders. All students in each grade level will be taught by the same core staff of teachers, so that every teacher knows every student. This smaller environment allows teachers to work together to support students, and allows students to experience the comfort and security of an environment without anonymity. QuIP will additionally support this family-like atmosphere by incorporating team building and bonding activities throughout the year.
See our flyer.
Project-Based Learning
QuIP teachers have been trained by the Buck Institute for Education in Project-Based Learning and will utilize this methodology throughout the program. Project-based learning is an intensive style of teaching and learning that engages students in hands-on experiences that prepare them for the world in which they will live and work. The eight essential elements of Project Based Learning are as follows: Significant Content, a Need to Know, a Driving Question, Student Voice and Choice, 21st Century Competencies, In-Depth Inquiry, Critique and Revision, and a Public Audience. To learn more about Project-Based Learning, please visit bie.org.
Cross-Curricular
In traditional high school education, students move from subject to subject with different teachers and different assignments. There is little to no planned correlation between subject areas. A major advantage of QuIP is that students will share the same team of core teachers. This enables the teachers to work together to plan cross-curricular projects that span multiple subject areas. Students will benefit both by having fewer disparate assignments and by having deeper learning experiences through cross-curricular connections.
Real-World Experiences
A major goal of QuIP is to connect students to their local and global communities. Many projects in the program will involve working with experts in a field to develop products that have real world applications. Students can expect to take frequent field trips, have regular guest speakers, and receive critiques from a public audience throughout their projects. Much of the work and processes that students experience in the program is intended to mimic the world of college and careers.
21st Century Skills
Common Core, the East Side Union High School District, and many other organizations agree that an essential function of high school is to teach students 21st Century Skills, namely skills that they will likely need to use throughout their lives regardless of what the future holds. The skills adopted by the district are known as the 5 C's: Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity, and Citizenship. Students in QuIP will be taught these skills through both direct and indirect instruction, and will be explicitly evaluated on their development in these skills.
Small Community Environment
In the school year QuIP will consist of 60-90 incoming 9th and 10th graders. All students in each grade level will be taught by the same core staff of teachers, so that every teacher knows every student. This smaller environment allows teachers to work together to support students, and allows students to experience the comfort and security of an environment without anonymity. QuIP will additionally support this family-like atmosphere by incorporating team building and bonding activities throughout the year.
See our flyer.