VWCS delegation learns about New Tech

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

HUNTINGTON, Ind. — Van Wert educators, administrators, board members and community leaders got the chance to see what could be the future of education in the Van Wert City Schools during a visit to Viking New Tech in Huntington, Ind. All were impressed with what they saw.

The Van Wert delegation had the chance to watch New Tech in action in the classroom and also heard from students in the program during a question-and-answer session.

Unlike Van Wert’s New Tech venture — where plans are to gradually convert the entire 600-student high school to a New Tech program — Viking New Tech is a “school within a school” comprising approximately 200 freshman and sophomore students in the 1,600-student Huntington North High School. The Viking New Tech program will eventually comprise approximately 400 students in all four high school grades when integration is completed.

Unlike traditional education, where students learn mostly by memorization on an individual basis, New Tech students form teams to complete projects that incorporate communication, teamwork, critical thinking and problem solving skills, but are also designed to meet or exceed state education standards.

New Tech students work to solve problems and make decisions, rather than just memorize facts and figures, and are assigned projects modeled on real-life situations, in which they learn the same skills as in a traditional classroom, but through a hands-on process rather than memorization.

Although they’re graded on an individual basis, New Tech students’ grades are based on how they perform within their project teams, as well as on quizzes and exams. New Tech schools feature an open environment (clusters of tables instead of rows of chairs), and a focus on the use of technology in the classroom.

Each student is assigned a laptop for the school year, although some faculty said they would like to see a switch to iPads™ because of their smaller size and mobility.

Teachers at Viking New Tech are more like facilitators than traditional teachers. The teachers provide the framework for each project, but then the students take over, researching what is needed to complete the project and coming up with how a project is to be accomplished.

Several teachers at Viking New Tech said they were continually surprised at what their students were able to accomplish, and the creativity they used to doing so. One teacher said reading scores at Viking New Tech have been climbing because the students are reading so much more while researching and completing projects, while comprehension levels are also steadily increasing.

Unlike traditional education, where visits to classrooms often find some students with their heads down on their desks in obvious boredom, New Tech students also seem much more engaged in the learning process.

Perhaps most impressive is the maturity and capabilities of New Tech students. New Tech students’ expertise provides them with a significant advantage when it comes to college and the business world.

In fact, the maturity and communication skills of the Viking New Tech students were what most impressed members of the Van Wert delegation.

Although the students were freshmen and sophomores, they had the communication and people skills of students much older, even better than many college students.

In speaking with the students, members of the delegation all noted their surprise at the maturity of the students and how well they were able to communicate their thoughts and feelings when questioned.

Viking New Tech students, who all volunteered to participate in the program, are an accurate demographic cross-section of the overall student population at Huntington North High School, said Assistant Principal Kelly Renier, who oversees the Viking New Tech program at Huntington.

Sophomore Luke Doughty, whose father is a professor at nearby Huntington University, said he volunteered for New Tech classes on the advice of his parents, who are both educators, but added that he had learned so much from being in the Viking New Tech program.

Kit Abbott, also a sophomore, said he joined because he wanted “to do something new.” Abbott said he was unhappy at his previous school, where he got Ds and Fs and hated the traditional school format where teachers “preached” at him.

“Now I’m getting As and Bs and I’m loving it,” Abbott said.

Students in the program say they are closer to their classmates, while working in teams has allowed them to learn more about students they may never have talked to in the overall student population. That interaction with students who may be “different” has also led to increased respect and a realization that such students often have valuable skills and abilities.

“We’re all a family here,” Abbott said. “The culture here is outstanding.”

Bullying is also virtually unheard of at Viking New Tech, Abbott said, who also noted that students are much less judgmental in the program.

Team interaction has also forced students to improve their people skills, since motivating other team members to perform well is crucial to their success. Several students said working in teams can increase their stress level — especially when other team members aren’t pulling their weight. “Sometimes I want to throw my hands up and knock some heads around,” one student said, adding, though, that he’s learned to persuade and motivate others to help complete projects.

“I’ve kind of realized the importance of collaboration, because there are a lot of skills I don’t have that people I’ve underestimated … I realize they have a lot of ability I may never have,” Doughty said. “That’s something about New Tech: you come to respect people you may never have learned to respect.”

Of course, with project-based education, which mirrors the way businesses work, if students absolutely refuse to participate, they can be “fired” by the other team members — although students say that’s always a last resort.

Renier said the Huntington business community has seen the value of the program and have provided various means of support for New Tech, with business members often speaking to students and interacting with them in other ways.

The Huntington visit gave members of the Van Wert delegation helpful information they can use in developing the city schools’ New Tech program. Plans are to begin with the freshman class during the 2012-2013 school year, and add a new class every year for the next three years until the entire high school is part of the New Tech program.