Our Concept

The Concept Behind Our Programs

Frontier Challenges is an innovative learning program built on the belief that true understanding comes from doing, exploring, and discovering . Instead of memorizing answers, students are invited to engage with meaningful, hands-on challenges that spark curiosity and inspire deep thinking.

As Catherine Fosnot reminds us in her paper How We Think and Learn:

“Most people assume that learning results from teachers transmitting knowledge—clearly explaining concepts, procedures to be practiced, and facts to be memorized—then testing to assess retention and application, with subsequent feedback. Yet this could not be further from the truth.”

At Frontier Challenges, learning is not a one-way street. Students actively build knowledge by testing ideas, solving problems, and reflecting on their experiences as part of a team. Each challenge encourages them to connect what they’re learning to the world around them, giving education real purpose and excitement.

For parents, Frontier Challenges offers a chance to see their children grow in confidence, creativity, and resilience. For teachers, it provides a pathway to bring learning to life—transforming classrooms into spaces where questions are as valuable as answers, and discovery is a shared journey.

At its core, Frontier Challenges is about more than lessons. It’s about the joy of exploration, the courage to take risks, and the thrill of reaching new frontiers—together.

A Deeper Dive into Constructivist Learning

For those who wish to explore further, Constructivism: A Psychological Theory of Learning by Catherine Twomey Fosnot and Randall Stewart Perry provides deeper insight.

Psychology—the way learning is defined, studied, and understood—underlies much of the curricular and instructional decision-making in education. Constructivism, perhaps the most current psychology of learning, is no exception.

Initially based on the work of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, and later supported and extended by contemporary biologists and cognitive scientists studying complexity and emergence, constructivism has had major ramifications. It has shaped the goals teachers set for learners, the instructional strategies they employ, and the methods of assessment used to document genuine learning.

This raises important questions:

• What is this theory of learning and development that lies at the heart of today’s reform movement?
• How does it differ from other models of psychology?