Learning Framework

Too many of the current educational systems, structures, and standards were developed for the world of the past. Our team has developed a new educational framework of skills and concepts kids should learn to be prepared to succeed in an uncertain future.

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Prisma Powers

Our mission is to prepare learners to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Studies show that 65% of today’s elementary school students will work in careers yet to be invented. We must create learners who are adaptable, with the skills to teach themselves anything. The Prisma Powers are the core capacities that allow people to thrive in uncertain situations. Everything we do is centered around building these four superpowers in learners:

Applied Curiosity
Curious people can learn anything, and progress depends on people who can ask & answer their own questions. ‍
Innovator's Mindset
Schools train kids to follow directions, but work in the future will require creativity and iteration.
Communication & Collaboration
In their futures, kids may collaborate with teams all over the world. They’ll need to express themselves clearly and be skilled team players.
Initiative & Follow Through
Success takes more than great ideas: learners need to be able to self-start and execute to make their dreams reality.

Practices

At Prisma, we believe that the work of the future will not only require adaptability, but a certain set of core practices that help people be successful regardless of their field or discipline. Prisma learners develop these practices through project-based learning:

Reflection
A reflective person is able to recognize their strengths and areas of growth while maintaining a sense of purpose. Participating in reflection throughout our projects increases learning and empowers learners to practice a growth mindset.
Debate, Discussion, & Presentation
‍Learners who are excellent speakers will stand out in an increasingly impersonal world. Learners practice persuasive, compelling communication through workshop debates and Expo Day presentations.
Research
With access to ever-increasing amounts of information, citizens of the modern world need the digital literacy to locate, evaluate, and synthesize answers to questions. We teach learners to ask great questions, search to find answers, and critically evaluate what they find.

Innovation Skills

We empower learners to tackle the challenges of the future—and we start by trusting them to begin innovating today.

Design Thinking & Entrepreneurship
By learning the design thinking process through our design themes, and launching their own businesses through our Build a Business theme, learners develop the ability to approach problems with a focus on innovation, creativity, and risk-taking.
Data Analysis
Innovators make informed decisions based on evidence and insights from data. Learners will identify trends and relationships in data, which can inform decision-making, problem-solving, and strategic planning.
Modelling
The ability to accurately utilize and construct a model helps innovators represent their ideas and explanations. Prisma learners create diagrams, drawings, replicas, mathematical representations, analogies, and computer simulations.

Academic Competencies

At Prisma, we interweave the 21st century skills outlined above with traditional academic disciplines. We believe learners should apply skills like innovation, initiative & follow through, and collaboration to academic subjects through project-based learning.

Literacy
Through our interdisciplinary themes, Literacy Labs, and Literacy Journals, learners develop their ability to analyze diverse texts. Learners write clearly, accurately, and appropriately in a range of genres across academic, modern, creative, reflective, and professional contexts.
Science & Engineering
Learners build core knowledge of scientific concepts across geology, biology, chemistry, and physics. They apply their knowledge through projects in experimental & engineering design, and think critically about how science impacts society.
Math
Learners move at their own pace through adaptive math missions & collaborate in fun math workshops. They also learn why math matters in the real world by building skills in data analysis and financial literacy through our engaging themes.
Social Studies
Through themes and projects in history, geography, civics, and culture, learners develop a sense of time and place, build contextual understanding of the world around them, and connect the past with the present and future.
Technology & Arts
Kids today are surrounded by media and entertainment. We believe they should be empowered to create, not just consume. Through projects in visual & performing arts, coding, and media literacy, they develop their ability to express and inspire.

Social & Emotional Skills

Being "smart" is nothing without the ability to be a happy, healthy, and compassionate human being. Though our daily stand ups, 1:1 coaching, and service learning cycles, we develop the following capacities in learners:

Self Awareness
Learners have the ability to understand their own emotions, thoughts, and values and how these influence behavior across contexts.
Self Management
Learners have the ability to manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations.
Social Awareness
Learners have the ability to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts.
Relationship Skills
Learners understand how to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups.
Responsible Decision Making
Learners can make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations.

Learning Framework

Prisma Powers

Practices

Innovation Skills

Academic Competencies

Social & Emotional Skills

The building blocks that integrate our learning framework

Sample curriculum themes

What families are saying

My daughter is thriving in an environment that allows her to control her own destiny. I don't want to go back to the days of my daughter complaining about teachers and curriculum that she felt were negatively affecting her love of learning.

The attention and care for the kids is so clear and just exudes from the screen. It is so clear that there is a connection being formed—a bond between the kids and the coaches.