Child Centered, Tech & SDGs Focus, and Data Driven
Child Centered Design:
We recognize the young Scholars who take part in OpenWise Learning are whole human beings and design our programs around their needs. We work hard to give them a rigorous, joyful, culturally responsive and social emotional learning experience to make sure all Scholars are college and career ready for STEM fields. We learn directly from our Scholars as we immerse ourselves in their lives to more deeply understand their needs. We partner with families, school administrators, teachers, and communities to reinforce and deepen our instruction.
Technology & Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Curriculum Focus:
The foundation of our STEM curriculum is technology, because knowledge of technology (data literacy, coding literacy, computational thinking, etc.) is revolutionizing every aspect of human life (Arts, Business, Law, Government, etc.); technology is used heavily in all domains of Science, Engineering and Math. We use mastery of technology as a gateway for teaching other STEM knowledge and skills, preparing our young Scholars for collegiate STEM study or STEM careers. Since openness and collaboration are part of OpenWise Learning’s core values we use Open Source Technologies in our instruction.
The foundation of our social justice curriculum is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN to transform our world to be more just, equitable and sustainable. We use the goals as a jumping off point to examine issues like poverty, gender equality, income inequality, climate change & environmental racism, healthcare & education access, and criminal justice.
Data & Research Driven Innovation:
OpenWise Learning is an evidence-based, learning organization using data and proven research to make decisions. We collect and analyze data from a myriad of sources, including but not limited to: (1) administering periodic informal and formal evaluations of our Scholars, (2) partnering with parents and educators to track each Scholars academic performance, and (3) regularly surveying parents and Scholars. We make use of data to continuously adapt, improve, and innovate to achieve the best outcomes for our Scholars.
Research has always been at the core of our organization. Part of the inspiration for the creation of OpenWise was the work from a 30 year longitudinal study conducted by Johns Hopkins University researchers. We vigilantly keep track of proven practices and observations in Education and Social Science research. Whether it’s culturally responsive pedagogy , Social Emotional Learning (SEL) , CSTA Computer Science Standards , Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) or insights from behavioral economics , we work to adapt standards and new methods in service of our Scholars needs. We are proud to be members of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) , the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) , and the Johns Hopkins University Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa .