Inside the schools that dare to break with traditional teaching

From Quest to Learn in New York to the Liger Learning Center in Cambodia, Matthe
w Jenkin explores schools that use innovative teaching methods and curriculums
restad Gymnasium
restad Gymnasium, a school without classrooms, is designed to fit the ethos of 5
0% teacher-led learning and 50% independent student-centred learning. Photograph
: Mathias Eis Schultz
Sponsored by:
Zurich Municipal
Matthew Jenkin
Wednesday 11 February 2015 07.00 GMT
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email Share on LinkedIn Share on Go
ogle+
On 21 October 2015, we will finally arrive at the point in time that Marty McFly
travels to in the 1989 sci-fi sequel, Back to the Future II. But if a teenager
today were to drive Doc Brown s DeLorean back to Hill Valley High, the film hero s f
ictional school, would he or she notice any difference?
Just as we are still waiting for someone to market hoverboards and self-tying sh
oelaces, we have yet to see a radical shift in teaching models, despite the ebb
and flow of education reforms. There are schools, however, that are breaking the
mould and daring to free teachers from the shackles of curriculum dictates. The
y are giving students and educators the power to become masters of their own lea
rning.
The Quest to Learn school in New York was founded in 2009 with a mission to make
schools fit for the 21st century, an era when advances in technology have creat
ed an increasingly global society. Teachers at the school, which is a collaborat
ion between non-profit organisation the Institute of Play and New York s departmen
t of education, believe using games to teach the curriculum increases pupil enga
gement and better prepares young people to navigate the complexities of the mode
rn world.
But we re not talking Twister or Super Mario. In Quest to Learn lessons, play invo
lves imaginative inquiry by students, ranging from group storytelling activities
that explain literary structures in English to an exercise imagining a microsco
pic doctor journeying through his patient s body to teach biology.
Co-director of the school, Arana Shapiro, says the best games are those that can
be used in multiple classrooms at all grade levels. The curriculum is taught us
ing the principles of a game, with the teacher starting a new school year by pre
senting an initial challenge. They then design lessons and activities that give
students the knowledge and tools to meet the challenge.
Shapiro explains that the games played during the year have to be adapted to sui
t the age of the students. The older they get, the less willing they are to buy
into some of the more fantastical and creative activities. Instead, the students
are challenged to design solutions to real-world problems, such as bullying.
A school, though, is only as good as its teachers and the vital role they play i
n education is often forgotten, says Shapiro. She adds: There is an emphasis on p
roducing curriculums which teachers can just follow. For us it has always been a
bout helping teachers become designers of the curriculum and empowering them to
create materials that will engage kids in learning and help them become 21st cen
tury citizens.
Providing students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in the mod
ern world, such as being able to solve problems and work in teams, is also the c
oncern of Rob Riordan. He is president of High Tech High, a school-development o
rganisation based in San Diego, California, that includes a network of charter s

chools, a teacher certification programme, and a graduate school of education. K

ey to achieving this is project-based learning, where teachers work with student
s to design a curriculum that involves solving real world problems relevant to c
hildren s lives. The solutions pupils come up with can make a difference in the co
mmunity, and have academic implications.
Stand-out projects include students making a documentary on gun violence followi
ng the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012. After ra
ising money through crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, students travelled across
the country interviewing everyone from children affected by gun crime in Atlant
a to social service workers in Chicago. Kindergarten students have been equally
creative, launching a project to investigate a caterpillar infestation in the tr
ees around the school and then opening a caterpillar cafe to educate their peers a
bout the creepy crawlies.
Riordan says one of the school s biggest ambitions is to move away from grouping c
hildren by ability, which he claims can lead to segregation by race and social c
lass. He believes project-based learning offers students the opportunity to shin
e whatever their academic ability.
The Liger Learning Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is using project-based learni
ng not just as a means to help its students succeed in education and their caree
rs, but to create future leaders who will initiate change in the developing coun
try.
Liger Learning Center Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Students at the Liger Learning Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photograph: Lige
r Learning Center
The English-language boarding school, which offers free scholarships for gifted
children from disadvantaged backgrounds, encourages students to explore core sub
jects such as maths and science through projects that are designed to deepen kno
wledge and understanding of their own country
whether that s collaborating on a bo
ok about Cambodian animals or learning how to become an entrepreneur.
The aim is that these children will become more Cambodian than if they had stayed
in their villages, explains Dominic Sharpe, Liger s country director. They will hav
e more knowledge of the opportunities and challenges facing their country, as we
ll as more ability to change the situation and take advantage of those opportuni
ties.
The school s learning coordinator, Jeffrey Holte, says the model of teaching is ba
sed on the idea of learning about the world through being in the world. He adds:
Entrepreneurship is a big part of the curriculum because a lot of change in Camb
odia will be about the economy. Entrepreneurs are really the future of this coun
try and it s important that our students learn these skills.
At Liger, the world is the student s classroom. Unfortunately in many countries, p
articularly chillier parts of Europe and North America, the weather doesn t always
permit the luxury of outdoor learning. But that doesn t mean lessons have to be c
onfined within a classroom.
restad Gymnasium in Copenhagen, Denmark, is famously known as the school without
classrooms. The 1,000 plus students, aged 16 to 19, study in the open plan build
ing s numerous learning zones . According to headteacher, Allan Kjr Andersen, the arch
itects designed the school to fit with the ethos of mixing 50% teacher-led learn
ing with 50% independent student-centred learning.
restad Gymnasium Facebook Twitter Pinterest
restad Gymnasium. Photograph: Mathias Eis Schultz
To facilitate this model of education, the school has done away with all analogu

e teaching materials and claims to be 100% digital. Lessons are taught entirely
using computers and iPads with Google apps, and teachers walk around the learning
zones helping students .
There are many reasons for the use of ICT, explains Andersen. When you have an open
school like this, you have to develop new models of leading a lesson, because y
ou can t talk to the whole class at once. You can t yell at the students, so you hav
e to guide them in other ways. We structure our lessons in our virtual world, so
students log on and everything is described there.
The emphasis on digital learning is also one of the key pedagogical ideas of the
school, adds Andersen. Teachers want to nurture tech innovation among students
and transform them into producers of content, not just consumers .
This particular Danish model of learning is not without fault. Andersen admits t
hat it can favour the stronger, more independent students over those who require
hands-on teaching. They are therefore looking at ways to better meet the needs
of all pupils.
Digital technology has been one of the most powerful agents of change in how soc
ieties around the world work and live in the 21st century
from the way we do bus
iness and consume information to shopping, entertainment and socialising. The wa
y we learn must therefore adapt to ensure students are equipped with the skills
needed to thrive as adults now and in the future. Thankfully, many schools are r
ising to that challenge. But what impact will their examples of pedagogical inno
vation have on national and even global levels? Only time will tell.