Students develop a stronger sense of self when they know and understand their role in the community, whether it is their school community, the local community, or the global community. Once students see that they can have a positive impact on their world, they develop the ability to set goals and take positive steps towards achieving those goals. This process is enhanced when students see learning as connected to real-life situations and when they see the various subject areas as interconnected. Through the media, students are faced with situations, both local and global, that require them to understand and apply a variety of skills and concepts in order to make sense of what they're seeing and hearing. They need to understand that the skills they acquire in school will help them as they process information related to what takes place outside of school and in their daily interactions with people who may be very different than they are. In other words, they need to see the connection of what they learn (for example, the Civil War) to today's society (for example, divisions among people living in the same geographic area), and they need to see that they are empowered to help make a positive impact in those areas, even if it is on the local level.

Home	High Academic Standards	Higher-Order, Open-Ended Problem Solving	Student Responsibility for Learning	Connected Learning
Collaboration	Individual Learning Paths	High Social Capital	Technology Infusion	Learning From a Felt Need

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