Learning at Barefoot Technology Academy is driven by student-led projects and portfolio creation, where curiosity leads to real results as students dive into everything from research to community impact.
At Barefoot Technology Academy, projects are the center of learning. Students design and complete meaningful, interdisciplinary projects that combine curiosity, creativity, and real-world impact. Projects aren’t assigned, they are based on students’ interests and goals.
Projects are opportunities for students to ask big questions, tackle real problems, and create something that matters. Along the way, they practice essential skills, gain content knowledge, and demonstrate mastery of our core and advanced competencies.
Every project results in a tangible artifact, which could be a research paper, an app, a documentary, a simulation, a public event, or something entirely original. These artifacts are added to the student’s portfolio, creating a record of growth that is far richer than simple grade on a transcript.
Throughout the year, students work on 2–6 projects at a time, ranging in scope from short explorations to ambitious multi-year undertakings. Some are independent; others are collaborative group efforts. Students must complete projects in a variety of content areas to meet the graduation requirements.
- Nora, Student
At Barefoot Technology Academy, learning is a cyclical, student-driven process rooted in inquiry, creativity, and reflection. Instead of moving through classes, students move through meaningful projects that demonstrate real mastery.
This learning journey repeats with increasing independence and complexity, helping each student grow into a confident, capable learner.
Students begin with a question, problem, or idea sparked by their interests, a community need, or mentor guidance.
With support from a mentor, students design a project plan. This includes their goals, the competencies they want to demonstrate, and what kind of final artifact they will create.
Students use online resources to fill in any content knowledge they need to do their project. They then engage in sustained, focused work as they research, build, and test their project.
Each project results in a final artifact that reflects what the student explored, built, or solved. It could be a paper, an app, a video, a game, an event, or something else entirely.
Students reflect on their process, challenges, and growth. They assess their progress toward mastery and identify what they might do differently next time. Mentors provide rich, formative feedback. Together, they identify evidence of mastery and plan future learning goals.
Students add their project and reflection to their digital portfolio. This portfolio tracks their progress across core and advanced competencies and forms the foundation for the mastery transcript.
Students follow their interests, passions and ideas, and projects can range in both subject matter and scope. Projects might come from the student's own research, may be prompted by a mentor, or may be inspired by their academic enrichment, core curriculum studies, dual enrollment courses, or an external partner. Some of the types of projects students might engage in include:
Deep dives into a discipline or big question, with a strong emphasis on research, reasoning, and knowledge-building.
This could include writing a research paper, essay, report or thesis.
Hands-on projects that involve designing, building, coding, or engineering something tangible.
This could include building a digital or physical product such as a website, video game, 3D model or physical object.
Projects focused on gathering, interpreting, and communicating data or evidence to draw meaningful insights.
This could include: analyzing statistics, visualizing trends, conducting surveys, mapping systems, or evaluating case studies.
Projects that create value for others, often in partnership with organizations, local groups, or the wider community.
This could include organizing events, supporting local initiatives, designing resources, or developing solutions to meet community needs.
Projects that simulate or engage with the professional world, emphasizing real clients, deadlines, and deliverables.
This could include launching a small venture, completing projects guided by a local business, or doing internships and work experience.
Open-ended projects that produce a unique creative product, prioritizing expression, originality, and craft.
This could include writing a novel, producing a short film, composing music, designing a board game, painting a mural, or creating a podcast.
Student-driven projects that combine multiple areas of interest, blending creativity, research, personal growth, and community impact.
This could include integrating art with science, combining storytelling with data, or designing projects that bridge personal passions with broader themes.
Projects where the student develops a new habit, skill, or life practice, tracking progress and reflecting on growth.
This could include participating in a "read x books in x days" challenge, training for a race, mindfulness practices, etc.
Projects focused on broadening horizons through direct experiences, immersion, or exposure to new environments and cultures.
This could include: travel-based learning, job shadowing, attending cultural events, interviewing experts, or documenting a personal learning journey.
A student designs an automated vertical garden system with sensor-based irrigation and solar energy, testing it in an urban space to measure yield, sustainability, and community benefit.
A student designs an original tabletop game that models social, economic, or scientific systems. They create prototypes, conduct playtests, and refine game mechanics based on feedback.
A student immerses themselves in a different culture—through travel, virtual exchanges, or local communities—and documents their experience through interviews, observations, and creative media.
A student investigates environmentally friendly catalysts for chemical reactions, focusing on improving efficiency while reducing harmful byproducts. They write a formal research paper detailing their results.
A student designs and constructs a new kind of acoustic or electronic instrument, and studies how design affects tone and playability. They compose and perform an original piece using it.
A student writes a novel set in a dystopian world and compares it to real-world systems and ideologies.
A student finds a broken electronic device at a second-hand store—such as a radio, console, or amplifier—and restores it to working condition. They document the diagnostic process, identify failed components, perform repairs or replacements, and explain how the circuit functions at each stage.
A student investigates how chaotic behavior appears in real-world systems such as weather patterns, population models, or financial markets. They collect data, run simulations and write a formal research paper.
A student conducts ethnographic research into a local subculture, such as skateboarders, cosplay artists, or amateur astronomers, through interviews, photography, and participant observation. They create an interactive website to help others understand this subculture.
A student designs and deploys a personal finance app with interactive budgeting tools, gamified challenges, and financial literacy lessons, tested with real users and improved through feedback.
A student designs and constructs a working model of a Mars rover's suspension system using CAD and physical tools.
A student uses computer vision and math modeling to track a pendulum and derive equations. They create a public-facing simulation and write an academic paper.
A student creates a playable game with accurate physical simulations (e.g., collisions, momentum). They write a development log to explain physics, mechanics and coding decisions.
A student completes an internship with a company, organization, or research lab. They contribute to real projects, reflect on workplace culture, and document their professional growth through journals, supervisor feedback, and a final presentation.
A student joins a local Tai Chi class, learns about the history and philosophy, and produces a short documentary about his own practice, interviews with his instructor, and reflections on health.
A student investigates how architectural design influences human mood and behavior. They create digital or physical models to test ideas and write a reflective research report linking design and psychology.
A student conducts a field study of local urban ecosystems. They analyze patterns of biodiversity, identify threats, and compile a conservation report with recommendations for local authorities or community groups.
A student builds a data-driven simulator that models transportation access across their city, identifies inequities in underserved neighborhoods, and proposes interventions to improve transit equity.
