A National Paideia Academy
Paideia Philosophy
Two important strategies that are hallmarks of the Paideia philosophy are the Paideia seminar and the coached project. The Paideia seminar is a collaborative, intellectual dialogue facilitated by open-ended questions about a text. The goal of the Seminar is for students to expand their understanding of ideas and values within the curriculum. At DTMS Paideia seminars are often a part of core class instruction. Periodically students participate in school-wide Paideia seminars, which are conducted in homebases. In these school wide seminars the entire student body reads the same text and responds thoughtfully to questions that prompt critical thinking.
The Paideia Coached Project is a unit of study that leads to student production or performance of real value to an audience outside the classroom. Coached projects provide both teachers and students the opportunity to focus on the production of relevant academic work. Coached projects are often integrated across the curriculum and may contain components from two or more core classes.
If you would like more information on the Paideia philosophy, please visit www.paideia.org.