Welcome to 3DE by Junior Achievement!
Over the summer Osceola High implemented this school model engineered to accelerate student engagement, and in turn academic outcomes, in traditional public high schools. JA sees the 3DE program as a way to “re-engineer high school education,” as presented to a visiting panel to OHS on Tuesday.
A program created by JA as a “catalyst for change,” Case method teaching and learning is at 3DE’s core. All of students learning centers on evaluating a real-world challenge facing a corporate business partner. All learning in core classes pertains to solving that problem. Students work in groups to draw conclusions and present solutions, while filtering out the “noise in the system.”
It’s debuting at OHS exclusively with the freshman class, and they take four core classes and a 3DE elective in the same building, creating a “school within a school”.
Welcome to 3DE by Junior Achievement!
Over the summer Osceola High implemented this school model engineered to accelerate student engagement, and in turn academic outcomes, in traditional public high schools. JA sees the 3DE program as a way to “re-engineer high school education,” as presented to a visiting panel to OHS on Tuesday.
A program created by JA as a “catalyst for change,” Case method teaching and learning is at 3DE’s core. All of students learning centers on evaluating a real-world challenge facing a corporate business partner. All learning in core classes pertains to solving that problem. Students work in groups to draw conclusions and present solutions, while filtering out the “noise in the system.”
It’s debuting at OHS exclusively with the freshman class, and they take four core classes and a 3DE elective in the same building, creating a “school within a school”.
We look forward to working with our regional and national business partners to create opportunities for students to engage in learning that will expand and diversify the local talent pipeline.
The freshmen are engaging with some pretty big companies: Arby’s, Delta Air Lines, Jackson Health Care, SunTrust and imec, the Belgian nanotechnology outfit working at NeoCity and opening eyes about the high-end technology work going on right in our community.
A current case study is with Walt Disney World; the students are attacking how to communicate the rollout of a new software tool to front-line “cast members” and manage the change from its old tool.
And, all learning works toward solving the problem. In an English class, students may work on translating “Romeo and Juliet” from Shakespearean-speak to new-world English; they use those translation skills to break down the problem into easier-to-understand pieces.
Students used words like “genuine” (for its real-world application), “engaging” and “amazing” to describe their 3DE experience thus far. Patrick O’Donal came to Osceola from Texas this year to teach Digital Information Technology, where students can earn their Microsoft certifications. He comes from a business background.
“It’s my job to make them understand what kind of expectations this companies have, and get them ready to present (their case study) in that professional style of presentation,” he said. “We make sure they can defend whatever answers or ideas they get.
“Buzz words that teachers have been talking about for years have been ‘critical thinking’, ‘applicable knowledge’, and ‘apply what they’re doing.’ This works so well and why we see the kids develop better is because we actually get to show them how it works.”
Students have and will be able to enter the 3DE program through school choice, or be “shepherded in” by other administrators. This freshman class is making sure the program is being done right on a small scale before likely growing to a bigger scale at OHS.
Kathy Panter, President and CEO of Junior Achievement of Central Florida, said the students have been the biggest marketing tool for 3DE.
“We will no longer have to work to get students in,” she said. “Once word gets out about the program.”
