IncSchool 2.0 Fundamentals
Educational framework outlining the IncSchool 2.0 Fundamentals for startup students, detailing competencies across various learning pathways. Key areas include self, social, technical, and solutions thinking competencies, with specific skills like self-awareness, relationship management, and design thinking. The sheet also covers Common Core topics in ELA and Math for middle and high school, alongside Next Generation Science standards focused on engineering design. This resource aims to guide students in developing essential skills for their future careers and educational paths.
Content article
The IncSchool 2.0 Fundamentals outlines the educational framework for startup students, focusing on their capabilities by the time they reach 12th grade. The curriculum is designed to help students navigate three possible futures: college, uncollege, and entrepreneurship, with personalized learning pathways monitored through personal learning plans. These pathways are managed using project management templates and demonstrated through curated portfolios.
The fundamentals unique to each pathway include a variety of skills and experiences. For college, students will engage in research processes, learn how to write formal papers, conduct science labs, and utilize the seminar method to connect their values, interests, and talents to actionable paths. In the uncollege pathway, students will determine their own continuing education through online courses and experiential learning, while also gaining real-world experiences and self-curation skills. For startups, the focus is on impact thinking, agile methodologies, creating minimum viable products (MVPs), pitching ideas, people management, analytics, networking, and financial literacy.
Common competencies across all three futures are categorized into self, social, technical, and solutions thinking competencies. Self competencies include self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, time management, and team management. Social competencies encompass social awareness and relationship management. Technical competencies cover word processing, spreadsheets, websites, video production, and social media. Solutions thinking competencies involve the design thinking process and engineering design principles.
The curriculum also aligns with Common Core standards, detailing specific topics in English Language Arts and Mathematics. In English, students will explore writing arguments, explanations, narratives, and engage in speaking and listening activities that promote collaboration and evaluation of information. The technical growth in language, including vocabulary and sentence complexity, is emphasized alongside reading informational texts and literature. In mathematics, middle school topics include statistics and probability, geometry, ratios and proportions, expressions and equations, and the number system, while high school topics expand to include functions, algebra, and modeling.
Next Generation Science standards with a focus on engineering design are incorporated, guiding students through problem formulation and the generation of multiple solutions in middle school. High school students will tackle major global problems, breaking them down into manageable pieces and designing engineering-based solutions. They will evaluate competing solutions and analyze interactions within systems, culminating in the creation of computer simulations to model impacts.
Additionally, the curriculum emphasizes communication through a second language with a focus on communication skills and coding for all students, fostering a creation-focused mindset. Club-based electives are available, led by subject matter experts in areas such as 3D printing, game design, stop motion animation, makerspace activities, and digital music-making, all supervised by credentialed teachers.