NOVA Lab Virtual Tour

Born from Heidt's 30+ years of teaching experience and frustration with students who could "get the A" but couldn't identify their own passions or purposes, NOVA Lab operates as a startup-like environment where students identify problems they care about, form teams, and develop solutions using design thinking methodologies. The course is anchored by two driving questions: "Why are things the way they are?" and "How can we make them better?" - pushing students beyond compliance toward meaningful engagement with issues that matter to them and their communities.

"What would a class look like if it focused on helping students develop purpose, a healthy sense of self, and a vision for their lives? What if learning were driven by the search for meaning rather than mandate?"

"I treat the class like a startup... I'm always working to figure out how I can document what we're doing in class and then use that documentation and judge it against things like the vision, the mission, the class values."

"There are three key standards they have to meet: it has to be something they're not currently doing, it must be something they are passionate about because passion provides the initial energy, and then it has to be something that has an impact on a community larger than the self."

• "Why are things the way they are?" and "How can we make them better?" - How might centering curriculum around these questions shift classroom culture and student thinking? What would this look like across different subject areas?
• Students must choose projects they're not currently doing, that they're passionate about, and that impact communities beyond themselves. How might these criteria apply to other learning experiences? What makes a project authentically purposeful?
• Students create ongoing digital narratives of their learning journey rather than submitting discrete assignments. What are the benefits and challenges of this approach? How might it develop different skills than traditional assessment?