Transformative Learning Experiences

High school can be a place where students fall in love with learning. So we built a catalog of curricular units to help educators create transformative learning experiences for all kids.

Transformative Learning Experience (TLE) Units are purposeful, rigorous, standards-aligned project-based curricula that are deeply informed by culturally responsive pedagogy to center student engagement with learning that is deep and meaningful. Projects demand complex thinking and build critical competencies, with materials that provide entry points for every student.

TLE Units:

Give students opportunities to engage with the complex issues that matter to them.
Empower and support teachers with richly detailed implementation guidance.
Create classrooms that are exciting, lively, and engaged with the real world.

Launch Catalog

See How TLE Units Work

The Basics

Each TLE Unit is 6-8 weeks long, generally containing 24-30 fifty minute lessons in a full unit.

TLE Units are designed to be modular. They can be used as replacement units within core or elective classes. A set of units can also be combined to form full courses.

All Units align with national standards (e.g., CCSS, NGSS) and have been crosswalked with rigorous assessments (e.g., SATs, APs, MCAS).

Each unit includes a robust set of resources, including detailed lesson plans and adaptations for multilingual learners.

Students grapple with questions like:

Plant Power - How can the power of plants provide our neighbors with fresh food and a cleaner environment?

Fake News - How can I ensure that my views are truly my own and not created for me?

TLE Units help realize the promise of project-based learning. Hear from a student.

Foundations

TLE Units are built to focus on the core skills that will empower student success beyond high school. The units are grounded in culturally responsive and inclusive practices, ensuring students have access to rigor and purpose—the foundation for real equity in the classroom.

Rigor is the demand for critical thinking in the context of open-ended questions that lack simple solutions and pose challenges in a way that piques interest, deepens understanding, and promotes synthesis. Putting rigor at the center of learning means that students, not teachers, do the thinking in the classroom.

Purpose refers to the authenticity and relevance of the learning experience to motivate a student’s interest and promote identity formation. Putting purpose at the center makes learning experiences more culturally responsive and inclusive and connects students with the real world.

Download an Overview

Explore Further

Unit Design

What makes a learning experience transformative?

Roll over each element to see details:

Students owning the learning

Metacognitive Reflection
Critique and Revision
Sustained Inquiry

Meaningful project

Real-world Creative Artifact
Written Commentary
Authentic Public Exhibition
Community Partnerships

Real grappling

Challenging Driving Question

Launch catalog

Teacher preparation is essential to success with TLE Units.
We've got you covered!

Curriculum

TLE Units give teachers everything they need to deliver exciting, challenging curriculum.
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Professional Development

Users get access to robust curriculum-based PD focused on intellectual preparation and successful implementation.
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Community

Educators don't need to do this alone. Through our cohort model, teachers will join a community working to transform the student learning experience in their schools.
Read More

Want to learn more?

Springpoint Fellows sitting around a conference table with laptops and papers, smiling. Sticky notes are on the wall behind them.

What our partners are saying

“Students talk in the hallway about the projects and how proud they are of them. TLEs have rejuvenated my passion for teaching.”

—Teacher

“Transformative Learning Experience Units really have ‘transformed’ our school. Student attendance is up, students are more engaged, they are writing and creating more, and their confidence is rising.”

—School Leader

“This is rigorous! But, the harder it got, the more kids loved it.”

—Instructional Coach

“The PD was vital. I really don't feel like I could have done it, especially being my first PBL experience. The facilitator was so helpful. I loved the way we did some role playing. I felt more prepared going in, because we had this unpacking session. I found the other teachers to be really helpful, too.”

—Teacher

“<The Unit I did> was my favorite project in my HS coursework. Yes, I learned about Algebra, but I also really learned a lot about myself in this class and what I wanted to do with my future. It gave me a new frame for how I view the world as opposed to being just a math class.”

—Student

“Springpoint TLE Units are a concrete means of bringing project based learning that is rigorous and relevant to students. We've watched our students engage in dramatically different and meaningful ways, bringing students into the space in ways that we haven't seen before.”

—Instructional Leader

“The exhibition created such a buzz that students throughout the school were asking about when they can take the class.”

—Teacher

“I was kind of blown away by the essays that they ended up with. I felt impressed with their ability to present. And I think they felt really proud of them, of the work that they had done.”

—Teacher

“Students and teachers have reported feeling more drawn into these units and that's been a catalyst for deeper learning.”

—Managing Director, Secondary Academics

Reach & impact

53+
Schools
185+
Educators
5800+
Students

Data from a research-validated survey of over 700 students and teachers indicates that students in classrooms that use TLE Units develop in dimensions that are integrally linked to academic success.

100% of teachers agreed:

"This TLE challenged students to do rigorous work."
93% of students agreed:

"I am proud of the project I completed for this TLE."
92% of students agreed:

"I can see how what I learned in this TLE connects to issues in my own life or local community."