Hello.
Welcome to LEAP Academy, a hands on, immersive, project based learning experience offered to High School Students at Green School, Bali. Within a span of 6 weeks we free a select group of students from the shackles of the timetable to immerse themselves in a few projects of their own design. In this process, the students learn deeper collaboration techniques, better communication skills, and effective strategies for time management.
That is all well and good, but the real reason we do this is because it is FUN! Taking ownership of the learning means that students bear both the responsibility to educate themselves as they see fit as well as the freedom to explore ideas and concepts that the regular school classes may never dream of exploring.
What do students work on?
There are three core pieces to each LEAP group… all of these pieces require the students to employ the same processes, but involve different levels of autonomy and management. They will also engage the student in a different manner.
The Passion Project
This piece comes from a teacher’s passion, and is primarily managed by the teacher. The students become integral members in the execution of the project, and play a critical role in crafting the nature of the project. It accounts for 20-30% of the class time.
Building bamboo bikes and managing the USD$100,000 Zayed Future Energy Prize are a few examples of these projects.
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The Group Projects
These are brainstormed and conceived completely by the students, along with the desired outcomes and the planning process. It is the heart of LEAP, and accounts for the majority of time spent in session. There are no restrictions; students are free to choose whichever topic they want to pursue.
In previous LEAP’s, students have worked on building a geodesic dome, designing a game room, starting a mushroom farm, melting metal and brewing delicious kombucha.
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The Solo Endeavour
This is a self defined course of study, where the product is completely in the student’s hands to craft. Students get to choose what to learn, how to learn it and when to learn it. As with the group projects, there are no restrictions; the student may pursue whichever topic he/she is interested in. Some may wish to finish a novel they have been working on, while others may choose to take on learning a completely new skill. Online courses have been a popular option as they help with defining a pace of study, but it really comes down to whatever each individual desires.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Check these out for your most immediate inquiriesHow many credits do I get as a LEAP student?
LEAP requires the same commitment as a full time student does, so we will provide our students with the equivalent number of credits (1.2 credits, which is equal to 6 full time courses). If a student takes other courses outside of LEAP we will adjust accordingly.
What kind of credit can I get?
It all depends on the types of projects you undertake, and the kind of output you produce from your project? Naturally, there will be enterprise credits, and it is fairly easy to connect these to Arts as well. However, many LEAP students receive English credit due to the communication aspects used in projects, or maths credits since they are applying financial maths or calculating needs for a project.
As a rule of thumb, the LEAP facilitators choose three credit categories based on what they saw in the project, and the students argue for 3 other ones based on evidence they can provide to demonstrate the validity of those credit allocations.
So you are capable of getting any type of credit… it all boils down to the projects you take on and the angle you choose to take in exploring them.
Can I take courses outside of LEAP?
We handle this on a case by case basis. In some instances, you will be encouraged to join a course in the regular stream as it is pertinent to a project. Other cases may require you to be a part of a course due to extenuating circumstances (eg. you are going on a trip relevant to the course you are taking). However, it is probably best to stick with fewer courses so that you can really enjoy getting into the flow of the projects you undertake in LEAP.
Do we need to stay on campus?
One of the big advantages we have in LEAP is flexibility, and when students show initiative to change our environment to spawn creativity or offer a change of scenery we are most open to it. Ideally, we would do it as a group so we can all benefit from the new environment and keep the creative juices flowing.
We aren’t going to take days off to go to the water park or hang out at the beach though (unless they are directly related to your project).
What do we do everyday at LEAP?
Well, we are flexible, as you may have already read. We acknowledge that all people are going to need downtime throughout their day, but we also hope that you make the most of your project based learning experience. After all, you likely have a group of people counting on you for many parts of a project.
Is LEAP for me?
This is one of the questions that we are still trying to figure out. We have noticed that LEAP does take a person who is intrinsically motivated. That does not mean that you love school, nor do you have to have great grades. It does mean that when you find an interest you can dig deep into it, and keep yourself focused on your learning journey. Of course, we are there to help you along, but ideally we want to be working with your natural characteristics, rather than against them.
Coming into LEAP with project ideas is a good way to start. Also recognize that we form the bulk of your projects through finding something that appeals to your group, so also expect that you may be working on something very different than you originally thought.