Quest to Learn ─ Developing the School for Digital Kids

Quest to Learn, an innovative school for grades 6 to 12 in New York City, grew out ofthe idea that gaming and game design offer a promising new paradigm for curriculum and learning. Thedesigners of Quest to Learn developed an approach to learning that draws from what games do best:drop kids into inquiry-based, complex problem spaces that are built to help players understand howthey are doing, what they need to work on, and where to go next. Content is not treated as dryinformation but as a living resource; students are encouraged to interact with the larger world inways that feel relevant, exciting, and empowering. Quest to Learn opened in the fall of 2009 with 76sixth graders. In their first semester, these students learned -- among other things -- to convertfractions into decimals in order to break a piece of code found in a library book; to use atlasesand read maps to create a location guide for a reality television series; and to create videotutorials for a hapless group of fictional inventors. This research and development documentoutlines the learning framework for the school, making the original design available to others inthe field. Elements in development include a detailed curriculum map, a budget, and samples ofstudent and teacher handbooks.

Robert Torres has worked as a teacher, school principal, and education consultant since 1988. He is writer and producer of the documentary film Nuyorican Dream, which premieredat the Sundance 2000 Film Festival, was acquired by andaired on HBO, and has won numerous awards in the UnitedStates and abroad.