WAB is about to pilot “Tiger Blocks” during Day 9 in High School. Tiger Blocks are collaboratively-planned modules that run over a sequence of three Day 9's and are specifically designed for Grade 9 and 10 students. Unlike regular Day 9 blocks that are one-off, students choose a topic for Tiger Block and remain in the same group for three sessions. The remaining three blocks of Day 9 remain open-choice for students.

“Tiger Blocks give groups and teachers consistency over a few sessions to explore a topic in depth, with new learning, action and sharing,” Stephen Taylor, Director of Innovation in Learning and Teaching, explained.

Both students and teachers were instrumental in the design of these Tiger Blocks.

“Initial feedback about the desire to enhance the Day 9 experience for grades 9/10 partially came from students via Student Council, but also from teachers who wanted to do something more robust. The pilot Tiger Blocks have been mostly teacher-designed, but some are led by students. As it goes along, we expect to see more student leadership or design. There will be a few student-led options this time, but we hope to build on this for the future,” said Melanie Vrba, High School Principal.

Since the aim of Tiger Blocks is to allow students to explore topics in greater depth, a range of exciting topics are being offered, many with a strong focus on STEM. See the full list here:

 The pilot of these Tiger Blocks is expected to launch once students are back on campus.

“We hope to see increased engagement and enjoyment, the development of new skills and deeper learning,” Melanie added.

Going forward WAB will continue gathering feedback from students and teachers so that Tiger Blocks can be further adjusted for the second iteration.

Keep following WAB Weekly on the Parent Portal for more updates on Tiger Blocks and listen to our podcast to learn more about Day 9 and how it enhances learning.