Applied Learning
Concordia’s high school offers 11th and 12th grade students a variety of Applied Learning courses that are patterned on classes normally only available in higher education settings. These courses encourage academic vitality by asking students to identify and deepen their passion for a subject, allowing them to discover unique connections between their studies and real-world endeavors.
These specialized classes focus on academic rigor that values depth over breadth. Students employ higher order thinking and processing skills directly related to a field of study and practice the skills essential to a particular career field. They experiment with creative solutions to challenges and cultivate resilience in the face of new challenges or failure. In short, they learn by doing.
All of our Applied Learning courses have an authentic application, which provides open-ended challenges that focus on deliverables and real-world benefits for audiences beyond the classroom. These courses adopt a flexible curriculum which responds to student input. They place an emphasis on interdisciplinary learning experiences not found in the traditional classroom, which enables students to apply knowledge and skills in novel settings.
Applied Learning emphasizes research through reading and analysis of journal articles or literature pertinent to the students’ field of study, and fosters leadership and collaboration with peers as well as with experts in the field who work with students.

This high school Applied Design class has been exploring solutions to design problems around the form and function of everyday items like fabrics, papers, clothing, and furnishings.

Concordia's Storytelling Agency class celebrates the written word and has students applying a design-thinking approach to storytelling.
Concordia students have been incorporating Stanford University's Design Thinking methodology to solve some everyday problems.

Find out how high school teacher Dr. Peter Tong built the Big Data Analytics applied learning course using a student-centered approach.
What's hidden inside the numbers? Big Data analytics is "like the new oil" says Concordia's Dr. Peter Tong.

During a school trip to Yunnan, student gained a greater understanding of the supply chain for their student-run social enterprise.