March 10, 2009
High schools may be in for big change
Daniels wants each one in state to use hands-on, high-tech model
By Andy Gammill
andy.gammill@indystar.com
Gov. Mitch Daniels wants to radically transform the way Indiana teens are taught by converting all of the state's high schools to a hands-on, high-tech approach by the time he leaves office.
But Daniels doesn't have answers yet on how to pay the estimated $500,000 per school to convert to the New Tech concept. School district officials say they're intrigued but want to see how those details work out. Indiana has about 350 public high schools.
In every class at a New Tech high school, students work in groups to solve challenges and work on projects rather than learning through lectures. A teacher may present only one or two lessons a week.
Projects are designed so that students learn specific facts or techniques on their own over the course of the projects. Grades are based on those projects as well as on presentations and evaluations of teamwork. Technology is key in all lessons.
Six schools in Indiana already have embraced New Tech, including Decatur Central High School and Tech High School in Indianapolis.
"No one knows what the ideal or perfect model for helping our kids achieve more is, but here we have something that works," Daniels said. "It's a huge step beyond what we have been doing. It's affordable, and it can be moved into schools very quickly."
The first Indiana schools to try it have only a few years under their belts, but New Tech schools in other states have been established for more than a decade.
Daniels acknowledged, however, he doesn't yet have a way to fund the $500,000 in upgrades for technology and teacher retraining at each school. He said he is looking at options. It's also unclear precisely how Daniels will push for conversion.
"I see no reason not to set as a goal it becoming as near universal as possible while I'm still in this job," said Daniels, who is two months into his second and final four-year term, which expires in 2013.
Sami Brawner, a freshman at the Decatur Township New Tech school, said the classes are great because she's not stuck sitting at a desk as a teacher drones on.
"Personally, I really like it," she said. "It's a lot more hands-on, and you get to talk to people. It's not like you're sitting there looking at a textbook."
And no one can zone out, she said, because their team's success -- and their grade -- depends on their participation.
Her geometry class has recently been spending its time designing Ferris wheels on the computer and then using them to demonstrate the concepts of tangents, diameter and radius. Her science class colonized bacteria. And she learned how to make video games.
She said she's not sure it would be a good idea to require such a school for all students. Those who aren't good with technology might struggle, she said.
School districts likely will have many questions and concerns about funding but aren't likely to reject the premise outright, said Frank Bush, director of the Indiana School Boards Association.
"I don't think you're going to find a backlash or a resistance to it," he said. "The idea is a responsible idea. As we move into the future, we're going to have a need for students to be trained and be citizens contributing with specialized skill sets."
But districts will have to decide whether the model fits their needs and look closely at the costs, Bush said.
Washington Township Schools Superintendent James Mervilde said he looks forward to hearing how Daniels would implement the change.
He said the two questions that immediately sprang to mind were how to pay for such a conversion and how it would fit into the curriculum for the 3,300 students at the district's North Central High School, Daniels' alma mater.
"It's problematic," Mervilde said. "Without having more information about how New Tech would fit into that at a place like North Central, we'd have to reserve our judgment."
