Ed Tech Cases Portal
Exemplary Technology-Supported Schooling Cases in the USA
School Reports & Videos: Learn about one of the eleven schools studied through links to its video case, text case report and website. Multicase Reports: Papers on topics such as professional development, leadership, instructional practices, and student outcomes that analyze at the schools studied.
Project Overview Contact Ron Anderson and Sara Dexter, Project Co-Directors

ELEMENTARY
Newsome Park
Canutillo
Mantua
Frontier
LOWER SECONDARY
Lemon Grove
Jennings
Mott Hall
Mountain
UPPER SECONDARY
Emerson
New Tech
Virtual

School Reports & Videos > New Tech High
New Tech High School: A Little School with Big Results

Download PDF Report Case Report Case Video Download PDF Video Transcript Video Transcript School Website

Case Overview
New Tech High is five years old with just over 200 students in grades 11-12. It is located in a small town and approximately thirty-five percent of the students are minority. The underlying philosophy of the instructional program is to educate students in capabilities most essential to the 21st century, especially problem-solving, project construction, knowledge management, and teamwork.

Students spend a major part of every day using computers, as most of their assignments are projects requiring educational technology applications. Instructors install most of their assignments and course materials on the computer system and students access these and turn in their work by computer. As this type of teaching and learning environment requires considerable hardware and software, their level of access is more typical of a high-performance organization than a typical school. The construction of the school building is also modeled after such organizations in that the classrooms have glass rather than solid walls and the students work at desk areas that resemble office more so than school furniture.

The teachers as a whole view themselves as a team addressing the innovations and issues that a dramatic restructuring of the curriculum and instructional activities implies. Most classes are interdisciplinary and team-taught, and students’ work often requires they serve as a team member on a project.

While students are given a great deal of responsibility and expected to monitor their own learning, assessment and accountability systems are integral to the program.

In keeping with its “school to career” focus, all of the students are required to complete an internship and to take four community college classes during their two years at the school. Nearly ninety-five percent of the students attend college within two years of graduation. New Tech High has established a reputation for innovation and high productivity with frequent visitors from all over the world.

Download PDF Report Download a PDF of the Case Report

Video Case of School
A streaming video summarizing the major findings of the case report of this school can be viewed in three different sizes.

View the Video Case: Large (41.4 Mb) | Medium (15 Mb) | Small (8.1 Mb)
Download PDF Video Transcript Download a PDF of the Video Transcript