Cookie preferences

HundrED uses cookies to enhance user experiences, to personalise content, and analyse our web traffic. By clicking "Accept all" you agree to the use of all cookies, including marketing cookies that may help us deliver personalised marketing content to users. By selecting "Accept necessary" only essential cookies, such as those needed for basic functionality and internal analytics, will be enabled.
For more details, please review our Cookie Policy.
Accept all
Accept necessary
keyboard_backspace Back to HundrED

THINK Global School

How can learning be transformed by taking students into the world?

THINK Global School is the world’s first traveling high school, offering students firsthand experiences of the world through a combination of place- and project-based learning. By emphasizing student agency, TGS empowers learners to take ownership of their education as they live and learn in four countries annually, engaging in project modules relevant to their surroundings.

HundrED 2020
play_arrow

Overview

HundrED has selected this innovation to

HundrED 2020

HundrED 2019

HundrED 2018

Web presence

2010

Established

30

Children

13

Countries
Target group
Students upper
Updated
January 2025
Incorporating THINK Global School’s innovative pedagogies doesn’t require a plane or passport; rather, students can find a world of learning possibilities in their own backyard.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Inspired by founder Joann McPike’s son Alex and his curiosity about the world, TGS was created to redefine education. Students live in 4 countries annually, with a heavy focus placed on agency, autonomy, and purpose.

By engaging directly with diverse cultures and real-world challenges, they develop critical thinking, empathy, and a global perspective -- valuable skills in our evolving world.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

At TGS, innovation is woven into every aspect of the school. Students don’t just sit in classrooms—they live and learn in four countries annually, engaging directly with the people, cultures, and challenges they encounter.

Each term is anchored by student-led projects that tackle pressing issues such as climate change, social justice, and biodiversity loss. Teachers act as mentors, guiding students as they develop critical thinking, creativity, and leadership skills.

Textbooks and lectures are paired with interdisciplinary, hands-on learning. Students collaborate in teams to solve real-world problems, whether it’s designing sustainable housing, creating solutions for clean water access, or supporting local businesses.

By making the world their classroom, students gain more than facts—they gain a deeper understanding of humanity. Each experience strengthens their ability to think critically and act thoughtfully, preparing them to create lasting change wherever life takes them.

How has it been spreading?

THINK Global School’s innovative model has captured attention worldwide, inspiring educators, parents, and students seeking meaningful change in education. Our alumni, equipped with critical thinking, creativity, and a global mindset, actively share their experiences and drive impact in diverse fields.

Through the THINK Learning Studio and partnerships with educational organizations, conferences, and global forums, we share our Changemaker Curriculum and project-based learning approach, encouraging others to adopt experiential models. Media coverage and word-of-mouth from families and communities amplify our reach, highlighting how living and learning in four countries each year prepares students to address real-world challenges with empathy and purpose.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

Families interested in attending THINK Global School can submit an inquiry on our website to begin the application process, with applications being open between August and December of each year.

We also invite anyone interested in THINK Global School to email us directly about visiting onsite, providing mentorship, or employment opportunities at community@thinkglobalschool.org.

Impact & scalability

Impact & Scalability

Innovativeness

There is only so much that can be learned within the four walls of a classroom, where teachers are largely reliant on lectures, textbooks, and internet materials. THINK Global School believes that engaging in place-based learning and allowing students to engage directly with a wide range of cultures, peoples, and
artefacts is the key to a global education.

Impact

Place-based learning allows students to use all five senses in their learning and visits to sombre sites like Srebrenica in Bosnia allows them to converse directly with those affected by tragedy, and as THINK Global Schools has found, these encounters can shape our students lives in a significant way, often motivating them to create meaningful change in the affected places.

Scalability

While the travel aspect may be problematic for many schools and especially the younger grades, the innovation technique can be used at all levels, scale and scope are age dependant. The approach is being used, to various degrees, by a range of schools worldwide.

Academy review results
Impact
Scalability
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Exceptional
High
Moderate
Limited
Insufficient
Read more about our selection process

Implementation steps

Rationale
No one expects the classroom teacher/administrator to vault into the intensive school reform design that characterizes THINK Global School. Yet it issurprising how little teachers, administrators, and students know about the communities that surround the four walls of their school.

We know as educators and citizens that the problems facing our communities may be local in effect, but stem from global issues. It is imperative that the institution of education takes an active role in solving these problems through real-time application. Our neighborhoods, communities, states, and countries desperately need the creative energy of the young people entrusted to our care, yet we provide very little opportunity for our kids to take an active role in making change.


“Creative neighborhood leaders across the country have begun to recognize this hard truth, and have shifted their practices accordingly. They are discovering that wherever there are effective community development efforts, those efforts are based upon an understanding, or map, of the community's assets, capacities and abilities.”

Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets," by John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight.

Pre-experience research
Understanding your community

Before walking out the door of your school you need to understand the communities your students will be interacting with as they design and complete projects and field experiences.

Begin by mapping the assets of your community. Use the attached resource tool to help you create such a map. I recommend using a mind mapping tool to record your findings. At TGS we use MindMeister.

Size and scope determine the length of the project. Advice: Start small! At THINK Global School, due to the logistics of travel, implementation time can run into the months as we scout locations, make contacts with experts, and attend to other logistical needs. But as mentioned, these projects can be scaled to fit the needs of any community, and implementation times will differ greatly by the size and scope of the project. Some schools might need one month, others one week.

The Task
Now that you have completed the asset mapping of your community, begin with this driving question: How can we implement a field experience to explore a small piece of our community in depth?

Select learning targets (standards) you want the students to master after completion of the experience. The longer the experience the more targets you can incorporate. If you’re feeling collaborative, partner with a colleague whodoesn’t teach in your subject area. You’ll be using our Project-Based Learning Template for planning purposes. The document has all the links and resources with a place for your creativity to run wild.

b. Decide on a Summative Assessment: See theseAssessment Resource documentsfor guidance and ideas. Here is a great external link for Assessment Ideas.

c. IMPORTANT NOTE: The above documents and links are for the use of planning day projects. For the scope of this tool kit, we limited field experiences to those where students go home at the end of the school day. These​ ​concepts​ ​are​ ​scalable​ ​for​ ​all​ ​ages​ ​of​ ​students.​

NOTE: Adding overnight/travel elements brings a whole list of planning areas and concerns/considerations. We recommend partnering with experienced professionals if you want to add that element to your school day. Feel free to contact us at TGS if you need further guidance.

Insights
Helpful hints to transition to THINK Global School's model:

  • Be open to the idea that, as a teacher, you don't have all the answers.

  • Always start small and then scale up.

  • When feasible, allow students to take the lead: the same planning documents can be given to students to have them plan their own projects.

  • Let your students' voices/passions drive the activity.

Spread of the innovation

loading map...