21st Century Skills come alive at Napa New Technology High School!!!

Braving the new frontier at Napa New Tech.

Branded as the school of the future, it envisages a culture and vision that encapsulate the 3Rs, namely, Relationship, Relevance and Rigor which propels student success in the 21^st century.There is strong evidence of school-wide alignment of school vales (Trust, Respect, Responsibility, Professionalism) integrated into all aspect of school life.

The school demonstrated high levels of student engagement and strong performance in Reading and Science, college acceptance rates and behaviourial indicators.

This strong result could be attributed to the following success factors:

a)    Recognises that 21^st century skills are vital to students’ success in life. Evaluation of students not only on how proficient they are on traditional subject matter, but also on their mastering of critical skills like critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication, technology fluency, creativity, media literacy and contextual learning.

b)   Engaging and rigorous instruction through the use of project-based learning. Students collaborate on projects that require critical thinking and presentation skills. By making learning relevant, student engagement is high and there is better educational outcomes.

Peer assessment of a Maths/Physics PBL Presentation

c)    Collaborative culture which empowers both students and teachers. Allows ownership of learning experience and school environment. Working in teams also allows students to be accountable to their peers and acquire a level of responsibility similar to a professional work environment.

 

Easy accessibility to school's resources 

 d)   Seamless use of technology to support innovative approach to instruction and culture. The use of 1-1 computing and vast resource network allow pupils to become self-directed learners. An interactive network system is put in place not only to help students, teachers, administration and parents connect, but also allow self and peer assessment based on clearly-defined rubrics and exemplars.

Collaboration in action!