Developing 21st century students through project-based learning and career pathway exploration. 

The Tennessee STEM Innovation Network is pleased to make available the Defined Learning platform for all Tennessee students in middle grades. Defined Learning provides students with engaging, Tennessee state standards aligned, project-based learning experiences, while building educator capacity to teach in a virtual learning environment.

Defined Learning focuses on STEM careers through the lens of performance tasks that align to the Tennessee Department of Education’s 16 CCTE Career Clusters. Students explore STEM careers by cluster through exploration of problem-solving tasks that mirror the place of work, and strengthen 21st century skills that include critical reasoning, creative thinking, metacognition, collaboration, communication, and citizenship.

As students explore career clusters and complete performance tasks, the Defined Learning platform curates a portfolio that tracks project completion and skill development. The portfolio is a helpful tool for guiding students through high school course selection and post-secondary pathways.

To support implementation, Defined Learning provides online teacher professional development that can be accessed anytime, anywhere led by Jay McTighe, who developed the Understanding by Design Framework.