Our learning process can apply to any age group at Blue Mountain School. It can also apply to any subject. Our process is not linear, but it does follow certain steps and calls for a disciplined approach to reflecting about the learning that is taking place.

First and Throughout
We will always begin our process with activities that elicit self-awareness and self-discovery, and will return to these activities throughout, so that the kids can reflect on their learning and find and make connections between what they know and what they are learning.

Next
Out of this process of self-discovery comes a Driving Question, something that the student(s) feel compelled to answer or a concern that they feel they must find a resolution for. Subquestions or related interests and ideas will grow out of the Driving Question, and can be either explored as time allows or placed in the Question Book (a tool that each class or student will have) for future study. 

Next
Teachers use the Driving Question to formulate the activities and concepts that are introduced to the kids, using general developmental guidelines (such as SOLs) and connecting activities and concepts to Blue Mountain School's identified Contemplative and Progressive Values and Practices*.

Next
Assess and determine: What did we expect to learn? What did we observe? What do we now know, as a result? Did we answer our question? If not, do we need to spend more time trying to answer it, or are we satisfied with what we now know?

Return
Return to the self-awareness and self-discovery activities to find meaning in what we learned and make connections to what we already know. This step will also then produce the next Driving Question, and so on.

*Blue Mountain School's Values and Practices

Contemplative Education – Blue Mountain School helps students develop their awareness, concentration, and insight. We strive to use processes that illuminate the innate wisdom of human beings and cultivate a growing sense of peace and wonderment in everyday life.

This reflects the ethic that discipline and practice facilitate learning and growth.

We practice:

• The exploration of Wisdom Traditions near and far as a means to understand the spirit

• Poetry and storytelling as a means to explore the human condition

• Movement arts as a means to explore and enhance one’s sense of physical connectedness and awareness

• Silence and meditation as a means for reflection and inner awareness

• Self-reflection and self-mastery techniques as a means to act with intention and thoughtfulness

Progressive Education – Blue Mountain School promotes social-emotional learning and critical thinking through experiential activities and creative expression in a collaborative, project-based curriculum.

This reflects the ethic that freedom and choice facilitate learning and growth.

We practice:

• The development of intrinsic values over extrinsic punishment-reward systems

• Teacher-student collaboration in the learning process; ‘doing with’ instead of ‘doing to’

• Social-Emotional Learning to meet a child’s social, emotional, and intellectual needs

• A Project-based curriculum with subjects overlapping, as they often naturally do 

• Creative expression and reflection as a tool to find meaning and internalize learning