FLoW21 Explained: Target 11


Target 11: Real-world, connected, practical learning

Target 11 focuses on making the curriculum real for students. They are learning with context: How does this lesson apply in real life? How can projects or service efforts that take place outside of the school be linked to the curriculum and even assessed for school credit.

This target has a special connection with the WAB Mission. The idea is for students to make connections between their learning and its practicality, functionality, or purpose. Even their learning experiences can make a difference in their communities.

When a student raises money for a cause, for example, the purpose of the learning experience is not to hand over money to an organization that supports this cause. The purpose is for the student to research, identify ways to help, understand how their actions can make a difference, and execute.

For students, Target 11 means that the purpose of learning should be greater than turning in an assignment for a grade. There should be real-world application, context, and purpose. It means demonstrating learning in ways that are meaningful and make a difference.

Target 11, for teachers, means raising the stakes. The outcome of a learning experience may connect to a student's personal interest, but the teacher enforces the idea that the learning experience is the process itself. Teachers can help students find learning opportunities outside of the classroom that connect to the curriculum and then assess this work.
Parents can support Target 11 by finding opportunities for students to connect their learning and make it positively impactful in the real world. That may mean helping WAB or individual students build relationships with people, organizations, companies, communities, environments, and beyond.

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