The 10 Best International Schools in Spain 2020

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N O W L E DEducation.

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E V I Success EW

2020 | VOL. - 03 | ISSUE - 5

EDITOR’S NOTE

GREAT QUESTIONS CAN CREATE GREAT THINKERS

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hat happens if we dug tunnels between continents? Or has anyone wondered what would have happened if the earth was cubeshaped? Though not being an expert in science, such questions ignite my mind. It makes me wonder what if I had an answer to it, will it make me look at the world differently. What if I was the one to know the answers to all the unanswered questions, would there be more to know.

There are so many ‘what ifs’ in my mind now.

However, the purpose here is not to answer the question, but to focus on the question. One question will lead to another and then another. A good question can shift paradigms, open minds and create critical thinkers. The same applies to education as well. Herein, in education, everyone values a student’s ability to answer the academic or the needed questions. However, what might be more important would be their ability to ask great questions that would ignite their minds. The reason why students need to ask great questions is to help them take ownership of their

learning. Questions ignite curiosity starting from why, what and how, students want to know everything. Just imagine, if Sir Isaac Newton wasn’t curious about the apple falling from the tree, we would not have known about gravity today. Hence, asking great questions is important.

In this edition, we at The Knowledge Review intent of finding schools that pursue teachers to adopt new techniques ensuring that students retain what they learn and the 10 Best International Schools in Spain epitomizes such schools.

Jackie Walsh, a teacher, and author in one of her books quote, “Student-generated questions put learners in the driver’s seat. They advance both learning and engagement.”

But, how do teachers or educators ensure that students ask such questions?

Benjamin Franklin International School, British Prince School, American School of Barcelona, Zurich Schule, and The British School of Barcelona are some of the schools featured in this edition. Along with offering worldclass education, these schools also focus on the holistic development of the students.

For that, the students need to know that asking questions are right and that is how it should be done. Many students might fear that if they ask some questions out of context or even something related to the context but not in the textbook, the teacher might not like it. This assumption has to be eliminated. Students need to know why asking a question is important. Encourage students to think on a topic differently, come up with a way of solving a math problem differently than given in the textbook. This puts them into thinking, to find solutions and to ask questions.

Another simple way a teacher can encourage students to ask questions is by changing the typical method. For example, instead of asking, “Do you have any questions?” after finishing every lesson one can try asking, “What kind of questions do you have?” This alters the entire mood of a classroom and students start thinking. Half the battle is won here, if a student starts thinking beyond his immediate environment he or she will have questions to ask. However, the point to be noted here is that asking questions does not happen overnight and needs practice. It takes time for students to realize that the expectations have been flipped and now they are free to wander with minds. This shift in class from where the teacher poses questions to one where students ask the questions will lead to students to engage more in class, develop comprehension, and critical thinking.

Apart from these, we also feel privileged to list the schools including Aquinas American School, Highlands School Barcelona, Richmond International School, The American School of Madrid, and the Evangelical Christian Academy.

While flipping the pages, make it a note to read the articles penned by prominent educators and also by our in-house writers. The articles discuss about the upcoming trends in education and also the importance of going gradeless. Hope that this edition of ours enriches students, teachers, educators and even parents. T R

Happy Reading!

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Educator’s Insights

Are we educating for the 21st Century Economy?

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Expert Insight

ARTICLE

Cookie Crumbs and Learning: The Experiential Approach

Teaching Strategies The Importance of Going Gradeless

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32 AMERICAN SCHOOL OF BARCELONA OPENINGS MINDS TO TRANSFORM HE WORLD

18 The British School of Barcelona

INCULCATING SKILL- BASED EDUCATION IN BRIGHT AND YOUNG MINDS

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IN THE PURSUIT OF EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE

26 Zürich Schule Barcelona COMMITTED TO HELPING CHILDREN TO GROW INTELLECTUALLY, EMOTIONALLY AND PHYSICALLY

British Prince School HELPING CHILDREN TO EXPLORE THE ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES OF WORLD

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Helen Jones, David Brown

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THE ANCHORS

Cultivating Excellence At ASB, educating students to meet the needs of the rapidly changing world, wherein they develop the ability to solve problems, innovate, and learn independently is of paramount importance.

Aiding this purpose of the school is its university preparatory curriculum.

The school also focuses on student-centered and hands-on teaching methodologies. This tried and tested technique has helped the school to increase student engagement and learning. The school’s focus on project-based learning is teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem solvers; both of which are important skills for a 21st-century learner.

Preparing students just to be employable is not the goal of this school. It prepares students to sustain in the long run and hence, promotes advisable the use of technology, looking at the potential changes technology can bring. The students from 3 to 10 years old use i-pads in classes to create authentic products of their work and the secondary school students are in a one-to-one laptop program where they continuously use technology as a tool to learn.

ASB takes great pride in its excellent faculties. Our teachers are adept at facilitating authentic, inquiry-based learning experiences that are both challenging and interesting. These lessons typically include elements of self-direction AND social interaction, as well as require the use of critical thinking and creativity. The continual high performance of our students on a multitude of international standardized tests demonstrates the validity of the ASB approach.

Continued Growth ASB has succeeded in creating responsible global citizens and will continue to do so. However, with changes occurring at a sheer pace, and staying up-to-date it is very important. Hence, the school continuously evolves and develops new amenities to oer students an exceptional educational experience.

In the last two years, the school has built several facilities to accommodate its students better. In 2017 the school created an amphitheater, a 5 to 5 soccer ďŹ eld and in 2018, ASB inaugurated a new state-of-the-art building for Middle School and a new Gym/auditorium with the latest technology and sound system. It also renovated the High School classes completely and in September 2019, it refurbished the cafeteria with new furniture.

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STUDENT TESTIMONIALS “ASB focuses heavily on the importance of community service in the social shaping of an individual, allowing many to begin to understand how they can tackle social problems at a young age. Not only this but ASB drastically changed my perceptions as a former small town American who had never before recognized the complexity of the world or the beauty that can ourish from intercultural friendships,” - Alyssa Skyte, Alumni – Class of 2016 “When I rst arrived at the American School of Barcelona in 9th grade, I was initially intimidated by the prospect of a brand new school, worrying whether I would t into the community. However, throughout my experience, the entire school community, from students to faculty, made a conscious effort to make me feel welcomed. Everyone I encountered seemed genuinely interested in me and in ensuring my transition into the community was successful, making me feel valued not only as a learner, but as a person. Beyond the school's top-notch academics, I believe that some of the school's greatest strengths are its extracurricular opportunities. The ability to play sports, compete in speech and debate competitions, and attend Model United Nations conferences all around Europe has been one of the highlights of my ASB experience. I will always look back on my experience at ASB, inside and outside the classroom, as has been the most enjoyable time of my life, not only because of the opportunities that were at my disposal but because of the community that I was lucky to call mine,” - Jacob Anderson,12th grade student “I am currently in eleventh grade and have been part of the American School of Barcelona since P.K.3. As I go back to those times I remember the school very differently. We used to only have one building, which compared to now seemed like a much smaller school.

The truth is that ASB has not only grown in students but also in quality of infrastructure, teachers, extracurricular programs and internationality. Since I was a child, school has always felt like a second home. The relationships you build with students and teachers are more personal, enhancing the learning experience positively. We have always been taught in a very applied and hands-on methodology which is something I have learned to appreciate as I compare it with a local course I took this summer. Extracurricular activities are also a very important component for students here. I am the president of the Rotary Interact group in school as well as a student representative for the Student Council, part of the Model United Nations and tennis team. Extracurricular and community service are highly valued, something that I feel very grateful for. For me, ASB has opened the door to an empowering, open-minded and international learning experience that will help me nd a way for my future,” - Pablo Urrutia, 11th grade student T R MARCH | 2020

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Educator’s Insights

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BFIS In the Pursuit of Educational Excellence

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ducation plays a predominant role in contributing to the overall development of an individual. In today’s modern world, it is one of the biggest assets and an ultimate pathway towards success.

However, earlier this picture was completely different due to lack of awareness and potential opportunities concerning education. People were unaware of the significance of schools and their spark not only to uplift the economy but most importantly, to create a better world for all of us.

Acknowledging this scenario, back in 1986, there was a group of parents from Barcelona, who realized the absence of schools they wanted for their children. Persuaded by the situation, their passion for education motivated them to lay the foundation of Benjamin Franklin International School (BFIS).

The idea was to establish a school that has the potential to embrace the best of

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American education in an international environment that would promote inclusion, tolerance, innovation and new ideas. A place where students from all over the world could learn and grow from both an academic and human perspective.

Towards XXI Century Facilities In 2016, the school inaugurated a new Elementary building that houses Kindergarten through 5th grade, with big, open and bright classrooms, library, integrated technology, and student-centered design furniture that fosters collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking; a new cafeteria in the basement and a rooftop playground.

During the spring of 2019, the school added another feather to its hat when the construction of a new Middle School Building initiated. It will include 21st Century science labs, a library, a design lab with cutting-edge design equipment & tools, and modular MARCH | 2020

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classrooms to utilize the spaces efficiently.

Currently, the school comprises three campuses – Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle and High School and each has its prime building, sports courts, and playground space. Its High School Building also has a Makerspace (a work area containing creative technologies and design software), two fully equipped science labs, a library and an auditorium for 350 people.

Today, with years of consistent endeavors, BFIS stands tall as one of the most prestigious International American schools in Spain and Europe, with 700 students from 52 different nationalities. The school offers an array of diplomas and certifications including the American High School Diploma, the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma, and the Spanish Baccalaureate Certificate.

An Engaged Community The school community is one of the primary strengths of BFIS. It believes that community engagement is the key to student success and strives to build the framework of a caring, welcoming, and engaged community. At BFIS, students, parents, teachers, staff, and administrators work together with the sole commitment to provide an environment that supports students’ needs and unlock thriving opportunities for them.

Recently, the Middle States Association re-accredited the school saying, “Many schools talk about being a community, but BFIS is the model of such a family community.

From the moment we entered the school, we saw, heard and felt that this is a special place. It is a school that is vibrant with educational passion. We are in awe of the level of student, staff, and community participation in the life of this school.”

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Success for all students Motivating the students to climb the success ladder is a serious undertaking at BFIS which is truly highlighted in its mission statement; “Our purpose is to engage our diverse school community in the pursuit of educational excellence and success for all students.”

The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the Spanish Ministry of Education, and the Education Department of the Catalan government. It is also an active member of MAIS (Mediterranean Association of International Schools), IBO (International Baccalaureate Organization), and BISA (Barcelona International Schools Association).

The School strictly follows the US standards such as Common Core for Math and English Language Arts, Next Generation Science Standards, and the C3 Framework for Social Studies.

Connecting the dots of meaningful curriculum and quality learning, the

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“Creating an environment of opportunities and support for the students to discover their interests, pursue their passions, and develop the skills and knowledge they need to thrive is our forte.”

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EXEMPLIFYING PROFICIENCY Mr. Colin Boudreau is the Head of BFIS. He plays an essential role in bringing the community together alongside involving the stakeholders in all the major and strategic decisions of the school. He is instrumental in designing and executing a progressive strategic plan for the school, giving voice to alumni, founders, board members, students, parents, faculty, administrators and staff.

Colin’s acumen and the stakeholders’ wisdom has motivated more than 400 people from the BFIS community in collectively setting the strategic direction of the school. Under his aegis, this community outreach has devised four strategies that will be the roadmap for school until 2022: Provide opportunities that will strengthen and develop the character of its students, helping them to grow into well-rounded students and contributing members of our society. Ÿ Recruit, evaluate, retain and develop top talented teachers. Ÿ Offer a 21st Century curriculum, ensuring students will be ready to excel in a changing world. Ÿ Foster even stronger relationships with an engaged school community. Ÿ

This strategic plan plays a significant role in keeping the school’s vision alive in providing impactful learning and progressive curriculum.

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school leaves no stones unturned in bringing the best in each student. It drives them towards the centre stage of opportunities and empowers them to surpass every challenge coming their way. As such, it promotes and embraces student-centered and inquiry-based learning programs where ‘Questions’ are as much important as the ‘Answers’.

Since its first IB cohort in 2012, the school continues to exceed the IB average scores with a passing rate nearing to 100%. The significant achievements of their students in such a challenging academic program have gained them entry into a range of competitive colleges and universities worldwide.

Leveraging Technology The shifting trends in teaching and learning are responding to a new frontier that current students will face upon entering into employment. The present education model goes beyond teaching and learning foundational knowledge across the traditional subject areas. The school is preparing learners to approach complex problems through the development of competencies such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration.

BFIS is responding to the rapid changes in technology by including new literacies, such as digital literacy across the curriculum, and the meta-cognitive aspects of learning. The way that they approach their learning and aspects of character, such as perseverance, curiosity, self-management skills, leadership skills, and social and cultural awareness are all key components of the shifts in teaching and learning.

The School is continuously striving to promote the right utilization of integrated technology thereby, inspiring students to develop critical thinking skills and support continuous inquiry. This is achieved through its Makerspace area showcasing next-level technologies for Middle and High School students. This learning imperative is helping students work creatively with a variety of materials alongside traditional manufacturing tools and digital fabrication equipment.

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Adding an Extra Plus BFIS has taken successive steps to make learning relevant and fun via: What I Need (WIN) Time – It’s a flexible period providing individualized support and enrichment opportunities to children in Elementary. Here Homeroom, EAL (English as an Additional Language) and Learning Support teachers work with students in small groups on the areas they lack.

FLEX Time – This program is an even mix of motivational and experiential learning based on student interests. The Middle and High School students have MARCH | 2020

the privilege of choosing a topic of interest or to get additional support in one or more subjects. In Elementary, this is a rotating period where students can choose options in Math/Science and Arts/Wellness.

Talent Development Program – Backed by professionals, this program identifies the talent in students and strive to give it the finishing touch alongside building on their strengths and challenging them to maximize their individual potential.

Leadership Opportunities – The School provides different opportunities through Student Council, Student

Ambassador Club, Going Green Club, Theater Club, Feminist Club, Allies Club, Debate Club, Yearbook Club, Book Club, Chess Club, Math Club, etc. Participating in these opportunities facilitates student engagement, development, and learning experiences that prepare students to be effective, inclusive, and innovative leaders.T R

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The Importa of Going Gra

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ance T adeless

Teaching Strategies

he traditional A-F grading system has been existing in the procedure of education since the existence of schools. These grades are considered as parameters that allow a teacher, parent or the student himself to judge the progress. However, the question here is whether grading is necessary? The grading system functions as a simple and immediate feedback mechanism.

A little peep onto the history we can see that highly educated people like William Shakespeare, Plato, Albert Einstein, and Thomas Jefferson were never given grades, so how did they evolve as great educated individuals. It also makes us question, whether we need a grading system.

To answer this, let us consider a situation. Imagine baking cookies for the time. It might come out over baked, under baked or even burnt. Here, one does not need anyone to stand beside them and point out that it is wrong. The burnt cookie is enough evidence that will prove the aforesaid. In such scenarios, some might feel disappointed and quit baking while others will overlook, analyze the mistake and try it again. This was the example of baking a cookie now apply it to studying. How brilliant it would be if every student analyzed their own mistake and learned from them. Let us further see how ‘going gradeless’ can improve a student’s efficiency.

Redirect a student’s focus The first thing a student looks at when a graded paper is returned is to check their grade and then the neighbor’s grade as well. Ruth Butler, a scholar, in one of her studies, stated that grades with feedback produce the least amount of growth.

It is important to note that schools are not just about grades. Somewhere along the line, this idea has been lost.

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A gradeless classroom will allow students to think freely, be creative, fail and learn from these mistakes. This way the student will have the confidence to take risks and get geared up again if that risk fails them. This little task will help students develop skills that will help them thrive in life beyond schools and colleges.

Reduce Student Stress As explained before, the grade is the first thing that comes to a student's mind when a paper is returned to them. Hence, if any student receives a low grade they panic, stress about and it can even cause anxiety.

Needless, to say adverse anxiety can cause many psychological problems. It would naturally affect the productivity of that student. A gradeless system can help eliminate students from taking stress. They would be able to focus more on the issues at hand and try finding a solution.

Self Realization and Reflection Learning does not happen with just mugging up all the lessons and getting good grades. Learning happens when you know something and sometimes lessons are learned unintentionally. For example friendship, communication, sharing, etc., are learned through the surrounding. It is human nature to take away something from every experience. As explained in the aforesaid points, when a student is encouraged to learn himself, he discovers something. It could either be about the subject, himself or his classmates (if in groups). This allows them to be avid learners, critical thinkers and problem-solvers.

Alongside this, it also helps students to realize their passion, their talent and work hard to nurture it further.

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This way they self realize about themselves, about what they are and what they can be.

A Lifelong Learner All these points have two things in common; one which is going gradeless and the other is students getting involved with more active learning. How does that happen? As discussed above a gradeless classroom allows students to analyze their own mistakes and learn from them. This encourages them to think about where they went wrong and why. Once they figure that out, they start to think ‘how to improve it’ and that makes all the difference. A gradeless classroom has no room for judgment. Here, they follow the saying, “Practice makes a man perfect.” They take up the responsibility of their learning and rectify their mistakes. They realize that mistakes are bound to happen but what is important is to learn from it and find a solution to the problem. This will nurture a student into an individual who is always willing to learn.

But, can grading be completed eliminated?

This leaves us to a major question, should all schools go gradeless for all academic years. Here it becomes debatable. Grading will allow a teacher to judge the progress of a child. However, not all students are always good with grades. What happens to them? It is, after all, a teacher’s responsibility to ensure that all students receive the rightful education and thrive in life. Hence, it is for them to figure out how they can use both grading and non-grading system to access a student’s progression. T R

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Kindly provide us the detailed information about your school, including its history, the infrastructure,and some of its distinct facilities.

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Enlighten us on your school’s mission and vision, the accreditations and a few of your learning and development programs.

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According to you, how important is the role of a qualiďŹ ed educator for a quality education? How is this motto served at your school?

Please elucidate over some of your school’s accomplishments.

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What are your perceptions over the eects of shifting trends in the education sector with regards to emergence of new teaching methods and use of technology?

What are the future prospects of your school in terms of expansion or upgrading the current syllabi or infrastructure?

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COOKIE CRUMBS AND LEARNING THE EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH

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oggy crackers, cookie crumbs, and students breathlessly attempting to blow through straws… what greeted me as I entered our 6th grade science classroom sure looked like fun, but it was much more than that. Instead of receiving a lecture on the subject of erosion, students worked in pairs to determine the rates of erosion under various forces. Crackers and cookies stood in for types of rock as they weathered beneath the forces of student-generated wind and water. The excitement was palpable, and the learning was real.

Experiential learning, popularized by educational theorist David Kolb, is a philosophy that promotes “learning through reflection on doing” (Felicia, 2011). A generation earlier John Dewey championed hands-on learning, and millennia before him, Aristotle noted, “the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them” (Chase Translation, 1911). Yet it doesn’t take an educational philosopher to know that experiential learning is a powerfully effective way to reach the highest levels of educational achievement. We didn’t learn to ride a bike or learn to cook by simply hearing lectures on the subject; we learned by doing. As Bloom’s Taxonomy illustrates, rote learning focuses on the most basic of learning objectives, but is confined to these lowest levels, while the process of experiential learning reflects the upwards movement of learning towards the highest categories of educational attainment.

The Experiential Cycle What innovative ways can we use to foster experiential learning? Kolb (1984) articulated this process as a cycle which calls for four actions: Experience, Reflection, Conceptualization, and Experimentation. We engage our students in hands-on experiences, then call on them to reflect on what they experienced, they then connect abstract

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concepts to that experience, and finally advance the cycle by experimenting with that idea. Let’s observe what that looks like in various disciplines.

Applying the Experiential Concept Consider our 6th grade science students-turned-geologists.

As they experimented with forces on their crackers, they re-created what happens in nature, evaluating which forces resulted in the most significant erosion. They made predictions, experimented with the process, and reflected on what they discovered – then repeated the process. This active participation in the learning process reflects the highest categories of academic achievement as identified

by Bloom.

Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a meaningful work that wrestles with challenging moral concepts. A literature teacher could present students with various moral and philosophical perspectives – is Lennie (spoiler alert!) responsible for killing Curley’s wife? Should mentally handicapped people be held liable for actions they don’t understand? Do intentions matter if someone commits a heinous crime but doesn’t intend to do evil? Is vigilante justice acceptable if the justice system doesn't address a crime fairly? Our literature teacher decided, instead of lecturing on the subject, to put Lennie on trial. Each student became a character, either for the defense or the prosecution. They argued the case using evidence from the novel. Throughout the process they experienced the passions and struggles of the characters, and they reflected on what the tragedy meant in light of their newly-found perspectives. They conceptualized abstract ideas through concrete action, and they experimented with these concepts as they argued for their side through the trial.

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Expert Insights

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Jim Cianca Executive Director

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Dr. Jim Cianca is the Executive Director at Alliance Academy International, an international Christian school in Quito, Ecuador with a 90 year history of providing a US style, English language education to both expats and Ecuadorians. Dr. Cianca has bachelor’s degree in English from Liberty University, a master’s in English Education from State University of NY at Buffalo, and a PhD in educational leadership from Columbia International University. Jim has been involved in high-quality private education in many roles, including as a head of school, an academic administrator, director of marketing & communications, an academic department chair, faculty member, and parent.

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Our students didn’t learn about justice and its complexities; they experienced it, solidifying abstract concepts through active participation and reflection.

Consider the following examples of how I have seen experiential learning achieve similar results: • Societal re-creation (social studies/history/civics): Create a fully operational society based on a political-economic model (capitalism, socialism, etc.). Appoint government officials, a press, business leaders, a financial system with its own currency, and give students roles to play within a socio-economic class structure. Students are given objectives and are mentored through the struggles of trying to accomplish their goals within the political economic structure.

• Stock market game (math/economics): Students use real global market data to simulate financial investing and personal money management. Simulated funds are impacted by the volatility of real-world markets.

• Culture and language immersion (modern languages): At Alliance Academy International, our student body is made up of over 30 nationalities, yet we are widely regarded as the best English language school in the country. Why? In part, because of our experiential approach – a full immersion with our native speaking faculty in class, sports, drama, and travel to English language countries.

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• Planting a garden (environmental science/botany): Students till the soil, choose plants, nurture growth, and harvest results. They experience failure and success as they interact with the natural world, engaging in the experiential cycle over and over. Bringing the produce to market introduces inter-disciplinary elements as well.

It doesn’t take complex activities like some of those listed above, however. Every day, in little ways, we can foster experiential learning. Students can create their own questions, teach their peers, use manipulatives, take risks – and participate in their own learning. So, whether it's with crumbling cookies, outdoor activities, or global markets, learning through doing will pay dividends now and turn our students into lifelong learners.

References Felicia, Patrick. (2011). Handbook of Research on Improving Learning and Motivation.

Kolb, David A. (1984). Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development.

Nicomachean Ethics, Book 2. Chase translation (1911). T R

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Class five and six students adhere to the Third Stage of Primary Education, which is fundamental for the completion of the consolidation of study habits, responsibility, critical sense, decision-making, and greater autonomy.

The IB Primary Years Programme explores the learning, social, and emotional well-being of pupils. This pushes them to develop individuality and to seize responsibility for their own learning. It facilitates their efforts to figure out the world and how to function within it. Further, it helps students to discover personal values as a basis on which a foreign mindset grows and flourishes.

Here, trans-disciplinary themes provide the IB World Schools with an ability to integrate local and global topics into their curriculum and allow students to ‘step up’ beyond the field of learning in the subject areas.

Secondary Education Secondary Education represents the final stage in the Zürich Schule Barcelona curriculum. It encompasses four decisive years in which the pupils must be prepared for the last two years of Baccalaureate before going to university.

As an IB candidate school, the school’s Middle Years Programme (MYP) emphasizes intellectual challenge. This helps secondary school students to make concrete links between their learning and the real world and trains them for success in their future education and in their lives.

In-Line with the Technology The school is of the opinion that contemporary technologies have brought revolutionary transformations in personal, cultural, and economic contexts. Hence, Zürich Schule Barcelona has been incorporating technology into its curriculum since 2014. The focus here is to prepare learners for the constantly changing world.

According to the school, the current advances in technology and communication make the iPad a necessary resource for the development of the pupils. The school also believes that the focus on applying new methodologies becomes even more important. It cites examples in the fields such as the approach

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to diversity, where the engagement of pupils and integrating different methodologies are a significant help to teachers. th In accordance with the changing world, pupils from class 1stto 10 learn on their iPad. This serves as their complementing partner in learning material.

Further adapting to the benefit of innovative technologies, Zürich Schule Barcelona has opted to reduce communication channels with a tailor-made ZSB app.

The ZSB app provides a single point of access to information and communication with the school. With this platform, families will channel all of the school’s communication and information through their mobile phones.

The app provides Push Notifications such as calendar events, school menus, photos, and many more. It also lets users send attachments (send reports, images, videos, documents), aid in family-school interaction, school calendar with many more features. T R MARCH | 2020

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About the Author Tom Wingate, Founder of The Wingate School was educated at St. George’s College, Weybridge, Surrey, in Great Britain. His school’s mission is to touch lives, promoting excellent academic standards imbued with values. He completed his undergraduate degree in English and History and Theory of Art from the University of Kent and postgraduate degree in teaching from the University of Leeds. He kick-started his career as teacher administrator at an international school in Mexico City. Later, in the 1990s, he Tom Wingate served as the Principal and Founder Assistant Headmaster of a developing high school, also receiving his Masters in Administration and Supervision from Georgia State University. Head of the intake Year 9 at City of London School in the early 2000s, he coached many successful public speaking and debating teams, winning the ESU's British and International Debate Competition in 2006. He also holds a postgraduate degree in Victorian Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London.

Tom has taught from kindergarten to teachers in their Masters programmes. He is an artist and photographer, greatly enjoying history of art. An avid collector of old documents, with a special interest in the life of Dickens, he also contributes to the international “Dickensian” magazine.

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Educator’s Column

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his is a great question and one that we need to ask ourselves on a frequent basis. In fact, it is the question, par excellence, that all educators must ask themselves. Happily, what a delight it is to sit down with our Pre-Primary and Primary teachers and discuss great ways to engage all our students in their learning.

First, we believe that our very environment sets the tone.

Although, in our case, we are a relatively new British-international school in Mexico City, banish the thought of our vibrant community working within the confines of a concrete campus. Rather, think of a semi-rural site on the city’s western edge, basking in sunlight most days, and all surrounded by low smooth hills carpeted with trees. And fortunate enough to have a purpose-built first construction using spacious, light-filled classrooms in which teachers experiment. With children hailing from some thirty countries, and Buenos Aires sitting down with Berlin, wonderful cross-cultural friendships burgeon.

To be truly modern and creative, innovative educators continually need to mix the old with the right amount of the new, furnishing pupils’ learning styles with sufficient variety. To make our motto “Strive, Learn and Serve” a reality, we also operate with the International Primary Curriculum (both its Early Years, and its mainstream Milestone programmes). The projects we select from it always allow us that flexibility in both content and skills so

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useful to any enthusiastic teacher’s heart. Teachers are not trammeled, then, in what they can attempt to do with the curriculum. In our planning, main classroom teachers work hand-in-hand with specialist classes. We especially promote music – every post-Kindergarten child plays a stringed instrument – also linking it wherever possible to many discrete subject areas within bespoke IPC projects. Wasn’t it E. M. Forster who once said, “Only connect”?

“Serve” is extremely important to our school community, providing us with plenty of opportunities to be innovative.

Classroom teachers very deliberately fuse the IPC with our School of Character, exploiting teachable moments to promote positive values. Moreover, innovative learning stems from pupils – in an age-appropriate way – researching and selecting practical initiatives to help others. For example, it was the pupils, not the teachers, who opted for writing letters for lonely old folks (and visiting them subsequently), creating a whole World Cup football competition with a local Primary, composed of fifteen full teams, plus an extensive toy collection and distribution campaign for the less fortunate in society. When children sense the justice of something, they grow in confidence and display tremendous drive.

Holding fast to the ‘traditional’ in education, the things time and cultures have told us work, we have ensured we have placed the library at the heart of our campus. Three of its

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four sides are largely composed of glass. Children, walking by, both inside or out, cannot but help to peer in, see and be intrigued by the constant activity. It welcomes them; it engages. With much mobile library shelving, its spaces are instantly and effortlessly ‘redesigned’. Activities held there typically include: ICT classes using Chromebooks; weekly assemblies underpinning IPC topics; drama practises; much live reading to groups; personal assistance with book selection, and – naturally! – quiet reading and book processing.

(For books - new, old, bought, donated - are constantly being added.) Matching expressed interests, books are frequently given to children by the school to keep, too. Books, stimulating innovative lines of thought in young minds, still very much count and always will.

Yet, as we rocket into the new millennium, we inevitably reach out to the innovative and the new. Deliberately sited within that large open library, staff and children access a lot of our technological gadgets. They are mere tools to our academic ends, but, what tools! (We are setting up audio and visual contact with divers on the Great Barrier Reef, in real time.) Most of our Smartboards are fixed within classrooms. However, others kept in the library can be wheeled into action, like strange wooden fire engines fomenting those intellectual “conflagrations” poet Alan Paton spoke of, rather than putting them out. What, then, is the nature of the modern library? The speed of technological advance today is mind-boggling. Thus, the jury is still out, because the fascinating conversation constantly twists and turns.

The classroom, where teaching and learning occur, now is so much more than a big box. We encourage a host of innovative afternoon activities where young pupils (and their parents) can begin to choose less orthodox areas of interest. For example, highly athletic Irish dancing can and does complement our official P.E curriculum. Gardening Club, linked to the Royal Horticultural Society levels for schools, is ripe for innovation. (For one, pupils have chosen where new bird boxes will adorn the campus.) Gardening, along with woodland walks for our pupils in the huge ranch in which we are located, opens up so many avenues, both for hands-on experiences as well as for incipient science-inclined minds. We have a Debate Club, too.

When all is said and done, our teachers’ collegiality is the engine that powers the active, innovative learning throughout the school. However, as we genuinely try to put our pupils at the heart of our project, their sense of contentment and ‘voice’ also are extremely important to us. Our pupils constantly use personal (but shared) agendas in which all constituents – line managers, all teachers, the pupils and parents – write reflective contributions. When ‘in class,’ collating knowledge, pupils are much encouraged to work in various teams.

They are crucibles in which to learn content and, more than that, the arena where they acquire and practise transferrable skills. Invariably, their strengths and weaknesses are tested in the general give and take. That way they, and their teachers, understand better the needs of patience and teamwork, analysis and critical thought. T R

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