ed to push the way they think about the space, to be creative, and to consider interdisciplinary uses. One group imagined taking the historical study of Carnival, engaging deeper in the topic in French, and then using the new space (and their math skills) to create floats or masks for a mini Carnival in the Commons! Stay tuned in the coming school year for more on the ways York teachers are engaging students now AND preparing them for the future.
York has been a leader in bringing a design thinking approach to education on the Monterey Peninsula. Design thinking is a methodology for creative and human-centered problem solving that empowers students to collaborate across disciplines and tackle authentic challenges while developing leadership skills. Recent events that address or incorporate design thinking include:
A presentation to students April, 2013 followed by a student workshop, led by Molly Wilson of the Stanford d.school
A public Think Forward Forum April 2013, featurning Molly Wilson, lecturer at the d.school at Stanford University; three York alums – Dan Long '98, entrepreneur, hedge fund manager and arts advocate; Dan Brehmer, Ph.D., '83, engineering physicist at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; Dr. Kimberly Stone, M.D., '99, surgical resident at Stanford University Medical School; – and Kevin Brookhouser, English and history teacher at York School.
A screening of Ralph King’s documentary film, "Extreme by Design," in Sept. 2013
The iLead & Design summer programs offered by Lyceum of Monterey in partnership with York instructor and Academic Dean Sean Raymond and the Monterey Institute of International Studies in the summer of 2013 and 2014.
A design-thinking workshop in March 2013 for 8th graders.
Students are encouraged to acquire the mindsets and basic tools for each stage of the design thinking process:
Empathize: understanding the needs of those you are designing for.
Define: framing problems as opportunities for creative solutions.
Ideate: generating a range of possible solutions.
Prototype: communicating the core elements of solutions to others.
- Test: learning what works and doesn’t work to improve solutions.
We believe that exposure to multiple perspectives and cultures is a powerful educational force that prepares students to be leaders in the global society. Our students are exposed to the world’s diversity through a number of global programs, in addition to the diversity of cultures, religions, languages, and family backgrounds represented on the York campus.
World Languages Requirement
Summer Study Abroad Experiences with CIEE
For more details on our global programs, click here.
York teachers go beyond the lecture. We know it's more engaging, and rewarding, for our students to get involved in their learning. Here are some examples of how our teachers structure active learning and guide students to make learning “stick.”
Algebra I - Owl Box Project: Algebra meets biology, meets carpentry, meets owl.
Inspired by "design thinking," Math teacher Susan Neubert worked with her Algebra I students, parents, and biology teacher Kim Kiest to build houses for barn owls.
The students developed all logistics and strategies for the project.They had to get information about the correct size for the boxes, then figure out how to cut the templates from large plywood pieces with a minimum amount of waste. Most of the wood was recycled from an abandoned tortoise enclosure on campus. Parents helped cut the wood, then the students used drills, power screwdrivers, glue, and clamps to assemble the owl boxes in October, 2013.
For more on the Owl Box Project and other examples of Project Based Learning, click here.
Each year, students in the 8th and 9th grades complete a research project based on the scientific method, enabling them to make their own scientific connections to the real world. They present their projects at the York Science Fair in late February. Participation in the fair is a requirement in 8th grade science and 9th grade biology classes; students in grades 10-12 may also take part. It’s less about