Understanding the Value of Learning Outside the Classroom

Students can learn anywhere. Lessons take place in the classroom, on the playground, at home and beyond. Classroom instruction is great for learning facts, figures and skills. For more advanced learning, students benefit from expanding their knowledge out in the real world. Project-based learning allows students to interact with the learning material differently. Going outside of the classroom takes that real-world application to another level. 

Benefits of Learning Outside the Classroom

While most subjects can be taught in a classroom setting, there’s something to be said about hands-on experiences. Reaching out and touching the subject matter brings it to the student’s level. Students who go out into the world and apply what they learn have an easier time relating to the material. Experiencing lessons outside of the classroom also allows students to think more critically and solve problems they may not have thought of in the academic setting. 

Ways Students Learn Beyond the Classroom Walls

Experiential learning can take place in almost any environment. That’s the great thing about hands-on education. Students can go on field trips to places like museums, parks and businesses to learn about any number of subjects. Community service projects provide excellent learning opportunities. Students can also work on collaborative projects with local organizations that need volunteers. The opportunities are endless. 

Impact on Student Engagement and Motivation

Even children who excel in the classroom can benefit from learning in new environments. By showcasing the real-world application of their lessons, hands-on learning can increase students’ interest in the subject matter and improve their retention of information. Getting outside of their comfort zone also allows students to see new perspectives, leading to enhanced creativity and room for innovation. 

How Teachers and Parents Can Support Experiential Learning

While children can benefit in many ways from learning outside the classroom, they need help from the adults in their lives to get started. Teachers can provide guidance and resources to help students find opportunities. Teachers and parents can help their students connect with community partners who could use the help of a child or teen. After a child has an experiential learning experience, parents can encourage their child to reflect on and discuss what they’ve learned. The best way a parent can help a child learn is being involved. 

At NTCA, we’re all about experiential learning outside the classroom and collaboration on campus. Students at our Tampa private school thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

NTCA’s Faith Development Program Provides UNCOMMON Opportunities

At NTCA, our goal is to foster leadership through Christian innovation. With faith being integral to our core values, we recently saw a need for students to have more opportunities to explore their faith. Like every other aspect of our project-based school, it needed to be innovative. When building our faith development program, we brought together the core elements of living in a more intentional, spiritual way: celebration, discipleship, service and leadership. Each of those elements has its own way of bringing students closer to God and His uncommon love for us. 

Celebration

Students gather every week to explore their faith through group celebrations. They sing, they pray and they learn all about the values of their Christian education. UNCOMMON hosts a full Week of Spiritual Emphasis twice a year that allows students to dive even deeper into their faith, starting the new semester off with an affirmation of their beliefs.  

Discipleship

At the Campus Ministries Lounge, students have the chance to speak to ministry leaders on campus about their unique faith journeys. They can also work with trained peer Bible counselors, who provide Bible studies and counseling to their fellow students. This area is dedicated to helping students form their faith on a more personal level. 

Service

Service is part of the curriculum at NTCA. From serving food at local food banks to partnering with World Vision to help provide shelter and education to children around the world, students have the opportunity to serve those who are near and far away. Many of the service opportunities tie in with their project-based classroom lessons, allowing students to learn while doing hands-on work with real-world impact. 

Leadership

Students interested in shaping the spiritual atmosphere on campus can join the Campus Ministries Team, led by Pr. David Craig. Campus Ministries Team members plan outreach programs, organize events and lead praise teams on campus. Through this program, students learn leadership skills that can be applied to the real world, whether or not they decide to pursue spiritual leadership in the future. 

Students at our Tampa Christian school thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

How Service to Others Helps Build Leadership Skills

Participating in community service helps students in a variety of ways. They learn about the problems in the world around them and their own potential to make a difference. From class volunteering sessions to full blown community service projects, students have plenty of opportunities to do their part in helping their communities. By helping others, they gain essential perspective and learn a lot in the process. One valuable lesson students learn while serving others is how to be a leader. Read on to learn about how service directly teaches leadership skills. 

Developing Empathy

When you learn about the problems going on in your community and see them up close, you start viewing them in a new light. Children can struggle to understand the perspectives of others, and interacting with those in need through community service can go a long way. The empathy built through community service makes leadership more effective, both for the leader and the individuals they lead. When you can relate to others and allow them to relate to you, the connections you build will be stronger and more meaningful in the long run. 

Building Communication Skills

Serving others involves a great deal of communication. Even a single volunteering session involves communicating with leaders and other volunteers to find out what needs to be done and how. It’s important to know when to ask questions and when to figure something out on your own. When volunteers communicate, they get more done, and the same goes for leaders. A leader who can communicate effectively has the power to get tasks done while empowering those around them. 

Teamwork and Collaboration

To build a successful project, everyone on the team must decide how they will contribute and collaborate on meeting their goals. Then, they must work together to get results. Communication also comes into play when it’s time to make adjustments, which happens often with volunteer projects. These skills become even more important when students find themselves in leadership roles. 

Problem-Solving and Decision Making

Leaders need to make tough decisions and follow through on those decisions. For most people, this skill requires practice. Fortunately, volunteering can help students build these skills over time. Service projects are all about coming up with solutions and adapting as needed. For example, you may have planned a park cleanup, but the forecast calls for thunderstorms. Learning to make decisions, like whether to head out earlier in the day or postpone the cleanup session for everyone’s safety, is essential for anyone who wants to be a leader. 

At NTCA, our goal for students is to teach them leadership through Christian innovation, and one of the ways we do that is through community service projects. Students at our Tampa private school thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

STEM Skills That Every Teen Should Learn

Today’s world relies on STEM industries, with technology constantly changing and requiring new sets of skills. The skills associated with STEM subjects are now more valuable than ever. No matter what your teen decides to pursue in college and beyond, certain STEM skills can be a great resource. Here are some STEM skills that we believe every teen should learn before they leave high school: 

Coding

While coding may have once been a hobby for geeks, it’s now increasingly incorporated into every industry. Consider enrolling your teen in an online course or an in-person coding bootcamp. Learning how to program in languages like Python and JavaScript can open up career opportunities. Not everyone knows how to code, and learning this skill can put your teen one step ahead. 

Data Analysis

Data analysts are some of the most sought after professionals in today’s world. Learning how to analyze data can take your teen a long way. These skills have benefits beyond the professional opportunities they open up. Knowing how to sift through data, understand it and make informed decisions can help out in many aspects of life. As technology advances and becomes more complex, these skills are more important than ever. 

Critical Thinking

Before going out into the world, your child needs to know how to think critically. Critical thinking means looking beyond the surface level of the material. It means analyzing and evaluating what’s in front of you. This can be difficult for teens to learn on their own. To foster these skills, ask open-ended questions, and encourage your child to be inquisitive. These skills will help them far beyond the classroom in all areas of their lives. 

Communication

Communication skills can be applied anywhere, but in STEM fields, they can be a matter of life or death. Things can go sideways when doctors, scientists or engineers fail to communicate. If your child is studying a STEM subject, help them figure out how to explain what they do in layman’s terms. Ask clarifying questions when they explain something in a scientific manner. Learning how to translate STEM speak into everyday language will set your child up for success.

Collaboration

In STEM projects and beyond, teens need to know how to work effectively with others. Almost any type of work involves collaboration, especially in today’s world. Collaboration means setting collective goals, dividing responsibilities and working together to accomplish more than an individual could do on their own. STEM subjects involve many moving parts, which makes collaboration a core focus of these fields. 

No matter what your teen decides to pursue, learning these STEM skills can help them thrive. Students at our Tampa private school thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.

5 Ways to Prepare for the New School Year

You’re home from summer vacation, and the break from school is almost over. Now that your child has had the chance to relax and recuperate, they’re beginning to anticipate the new school year. What activities will they do, and what new friends will they make? There’s so much to consider as summer break draws to a close. You and your child may feel unprepared. Here are a few ways you and your child can get in the right headspace heading into the school year: 

Organize Study Areas

Over the summer, your child’s study nooks have likely been neglected or repurposed. Before school starts, take time to clean and declutter the area. Stock up on school supplies, especially ones they go through quickly. Make sure any study or homework spaces are well equipped, well lit and ready to go when your child comes home from school. 

Set Goals

Establish realistic, achievable goals for the upcoming school year. Sit down and think about potential goals. Is there a subject where your child can improve? Does your child have a social goal, like making new friends, or an extracurricular goal, like auditioning for the lead role in the play? Write the goals down, and make a note to refer to them again at the end of the school year.  

Create a Schedule

Develop a daily or weekly schedule to balance schoolwork, extracurricular activities and free time. This schedule may change once the school year begins, but it’s good to start off with a framework. Once the school schedule becomes more apparent, especially in terms of extracurricular activities, consider posting a calendar on the refrigerator so everyone in the family can keep track. This will make it easier to plan out breaks between activities. 

Reach Out to Friends

Encourage your child to reconnect with classmates or friends from school. Every new school year brings new challenges with it, and it’s always easier when you have support. Coordinate study groups, and brainstorm ways to stay connected during the school year. Once you get started on schoolwork and extracurricular activities, you may get so busy that you forget about the importance of these connections. 

Practice Self Care

Going from a relatively relaxed summer to a faster-paced school year can be stressful. Help your child establish self-care routines, like journaling and engaging in their hobbies, before everything ramps up. Remind them during the school year that it’s important to take breaks for the things they enjoy, and that includes breaks from staring at screens. 

Starting a new school year can be as intimidating as it is exciting. Preparing for school at the end of summer break can help set the stage for a great school year. Students at our Tampa private school thrive creatively, academically and spiritually in a project-based learning environment. Faculty and families work together to inspire leadership through Christian innovation. Contact us today to learn more.