New generations were born into a technological society and they interact with their classmates and friends in a completely different manner to 20 or 30 years ago. Therefore, we cannot educate them using the same techniques as in the 19th century.
Centres from the Best Schools in Spain network have been investing in projects to digitalise and implement technology in the classroom for years. These include investments in tools and resources that guarantee better learning and constant teacher training to ensure that they can take full advantage of innovation and technological progress in their teaching.
Our children and youngsters are the sons and daughters of new technologies, and this is why they must be part of their education. Having a mere user level is not enough; we have to teach our students how to create using these resources. Consequently, programming and robotics are some examples of new educational trends starting right from the pre-primary level. This way of active learning helps them to think, imagine, create and understand that the process of trial and error is completely natural.
The term STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths) refers to an educational approach that promotes a culture of learning in which different areas of knowledge are related and integrated to help students develop the skills they need both inside and outside the classroom through active participation.
Therefore, cross-curricular learning is increasingly common, with projects that allow students to acquire knowledge on different subjects. These interdisciplinary projects help students understand that knowledge is interrelated in all areas of their lives. Furthermore, students learn through experiences and situations that they will most likely face outside the classroom, and this acts as a test run for their adult lives as students and professionals.
Students as leaders of their own learning and emotional development
In a bid to provide an integral education, students are encouraged to play a leading role in their own learning. From an early age, students choose their own activities in order to encourage the acquisition of skills, abilities and knowledge. In this way, centres from the Best Schools in Spain network promote students’ autonomy and evaluate their learning on an individual basis, taking into account their academic, emotional and social needs.
In the context of education, Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences tells us that human beings possess a series of skills and potentials (multiple intelligences), but that they have traditionally received unequal treatment in education.
Consequently, the author proposes that the individual develop all of them. To do so, they must all be considered in the classroom by creating different activities that favour the development of all intelligences and more equal learning, as different students will find it easier to learn in different ways. Furthermore, we should never stop nurturing the talent of each and every individual; in other words, we must strengthen the skills of all students and encourage them to develop in areas where they shine or stand out from others.
Emotional development, critical thinking and civic
responsibility
A student’s emotional development is of the utmost importance as it is the basis of self-esteem and self-confidence. A student’s ability to understand, express, control and distinguish between their emotions could spell the difference between success and failure in all other areas of life, both inside and outside the school environment.
Moreover, social, cultural and environmental demands are also gaining ground in education. An education based on respect for others, for diversity and for the environment is vital to ensure that students develop empathy and can identify global needs and shortcomings. Students must discover other social and cultural realities from a young age.
Nowadays, it is easier than ever before to connect with people from the other side of the world. At the Best Schools in Spain network, we promote the idea of diversity rather than difference, the desire to discover rather than fear of the unknown and outreach rather than separation in order to educate well-rounded people. Ultimately, a globalised world needs a united global society that protects its territory: our planet.
At the Best Schools in Spain network, we work to educate, stimulate and train critical, innovative, decisive, respectful and aware people in the first years of life. Our aim is for all students to be able to detect and solve current and future problems, an essential aspect to ensure that our already highly globalised world can continue to progress.
