TAF Academy Curriculum
At TAF Academy, students and teachers work together to address core content in each subject through a project-based learning approach.
All TAF Academy classes meet district and national standards, and courses automatically teach concepts and skills laid out in the Federal Way School District curriculum. With a project-based learning approach in TAF Academy classrooms, students are encouraged to generate new ideas and understandings based on what they have learned in multiple subjects. Authentic, real-world problems allow students to combine work across subject areas and find solutions that are relevant to their lives.
The TAF Academy curriculum prepares students for success in college, in their careers and in their lives beyond school.
Example #1
An Algebra course might include some traditional math practice problems to build skills, but the focus of student work is on higher level tasks and activities. Student learning looks more like the real work that adults and professionals do, and teachers act as guides and coaches to help students build skills and prepare to tackle the challenging real-world work that their projects require.
Example #2
A Math/Science class might complete a 4-week project on water safety. Students study a local lake or reservoir to determine whether the water is safe for swimming or drinking with the ultimate goal of creating community resource guides in multiple languages for the local community.This project combines skills from multiple classes:
- Forming hypotheses and collecting observations
- Testing the pH of water
- Calculating volume
- Measuring the presence and types of chemicals
- Researching and reading published toxicity reports
- Designing community surveys and analyzing the results
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