Praxis

What is Praxis?

Praxis is a semester-long self-directed group project that challenges students to step out of their comfort zones and pursue knowledge and skills independently. Students work in student-led groups based on student-generated ideas and student-created goals. Doing so, they learn to collaborate, using their voices to communicate with other group members to get the project started and progress through the steps needed to complete it. Praxis is the Greek word for ‘progress.” As students progress through their projects as a team, they learn how to manage time across weeks and months in order to complete a selected task. This skill will be invalube to students as they progress from high school, to college (where semester long projects are often a core component of a course) and into the work spaces they’ll inhabit post-graduation.

Why We Do Praxis

Students spend the majority of their academic careers following instructions to complete projects or assignments. Even the most creative teachers don’t often get the chance to allow students to decide what they will learn, how they will learn it, and what will constitute a completed goal. Praxis allows students to do all of that, alongside a solid academic background to prepare them for college and career. Students have allotted time each Friday morning to meet with their groups, work, and plan. However, they learn how to communicate and connect with each other outside of that time throughout the semester as well. Praxis often leads to a new sense of confidence, emerging leadership skills, new friendships, frustration, and new skills aquired as students learn to move forward despite frustration and failures along the way.