Academics - Tesseract School - Scottsdale - Paradise Valley

Tesseract School Engaging Minds. Inspiring Dreams.

Academics


	Lower School
	Middle School
	Upper School
	The Arts
	Athletics
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Engaging Minds

“To be playful and serious at the same time defines the ideal mental condition.”
-John Dewey

The heart of Tesseract’s mission is to create a “love of learning” in every child.

To achieve this, we need to understand how learning is best accomplished. Research proves that we all learn best when these five conditions are integral to our learning: we feel safe; the experience has meaning to each individual; the activity is authentic and relevant; we can experience the joy of discovery; and the learning is rigorous. In short, we learn best when our minds are engaged. Therefore, the Tesseract way of educating children is centered on bringing the classroom learning to life.

Where the Tesseract approach is different is in how skills are introduced, learned and mastered. Effective teaching recognizes that meaning is personal and unique, and that students’ understandings are based on their own unique experiences. Effective teaching also connects isolated ideas and information with global concepts and themes. This is why instruction is organized around themes and subject areas are integrated - reading, science, foreign language, social studies, math, writing, and the arts are not treated as separate and distinct disciplines.

Learning experiences, content and skills are then designed and planned which relate to the central theme. A theme or unit of study may include activities and skills from many or all subject areas. This integrated approach to learning allows children to make their own connections, to process and remember information in a way uniquely meaningful to them, allowing greater depth, meaning and context, so that students can understand concepts at their own current level. In this way, the learner sees patterns and relevance as each day and week unfolds, unlike the more traditional approach of subject-oriented classes where the learner is forced to artificially adapt and piece together the content and skills.

Students learn best when they have a "hands-on" experience or activity. Teaching must be multisensory to allow students to express preferences. Through simulations, individual and collaborative projects, and in/out of the classroom experiences, the students are actively engaged in their own learning. The approach is a cyclical one in which concepts and skills are revisited, expanded and refined over time. Children are active participants during every step of the way. Activities are varied and open-ended so that they challenge the most gifted students and bring success to all.

“When we want to understand something we cannot just stand outside and observe it. We have to enter deeply into it and be one with it in order to really understand.”
-Thich Nhat Hanh

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