PBL Curriculum + STEM Thought Leadership =

Teacher high-fives!

Software & content designed and built by educators

Empow Learning, the developer of Talent Box, deploys a learning philosophy based on creative play borrowing from John Dewey’s instrumentalism, Piaget’s constructivism, and Papert’s constructionism in asserting that passions, perceptions, and experience play a crucial role in how a person builds and maintains his or her understanding of the world. Even in the supposedly coldly rational world of STEM, love and play drive learning. They are what makes our lives meaningful, worthwhile, and fun.. That’s where we start.

Today, much of that creative play (and future work) takes place in digital, virtual, and robotic environments. Talent Box supports not only active participation and developing literacy in that playground, but also self-efficacy and creativity. Empowering kids means giving them the tools not only to navigate their future landscapes, but be active and intentional creators of it.

STEM Curriculum, made easy

Talent Box remains true to the constructivist and project-based philosophy, while also providing instructional prompts and supports to guide students towards levels of mastery in their areas of interest. Our three core Domains hold a number of technology Tracks, that give kids a pathway to earn Badges in subjects like video game design or 3D printing, but the Quests and Projects they encounter along the way stand alone as opportunities for discovery and invention.

STEM Domains in Talent Box

Tracks

23+ Tracks of content designed for ages 7-17, spanning game design, robotics, coding, 3D modeling, animation, and a ton more.

Quests

Quests are learning objectives aligned with DOK & Bloom’s taxonomy frameworks, create opportunities that spark creativity.

Projects

Hands-on Projects designed for both individualized and collaborative environments, where students learn by designing, building, and coding.

STEMpowered Student Expression

As well as providing opportunities to use technology to apply science, math, and engineering concepts, Talent Box curricula includes diverse ways for students to perceive, communicate, and synthesize information. As well as being applications of STEM disciplines, projects in Talent Box are designed to integrate in co-curricular initiatives in creating, developing, and expressing understanding of core topics.

Science

Built on the eight essential science and engineering practices as described by the Framework for K-12 Science Education, Talent Box projects are also opportunities to practice the engineering Design Process. We’ve carefully planned teacher-student interaction that can be used to frame projects and draw connections to framework standards.

Math

Supports Massachusetts 2017 MA Curriculum Framework Guiding Principles 3, 4, 7, and 8, where students are provided opportunities in using mathematics in diverse, social situations. Our projects lend themselves to supporting the Eight Standards for Mathematical Practice and specific grade level standards.

Language Arts

With careful lesson planning, Talent Box curricula can be integrated into ELA. As do the projects that apply mathematics and science/engineering, by being narrative media, certain projects embody ELA skills and concepts, especially those that incorporate storytelling – a key aspect in our game design and animation tracks.