21st Century Education

When we came to South America 12 years ago, establishing a school was not even on the radar. However, we would quickly see that the model for education in Ecuador was not going to produce the opportunities that we were hopeful of for our kids.

Just as culture affects perspective in other areas of life, so too has education been shaped by culture in Ecuador. Traditional education in this small Andean country is highly memorization-based. The schools largely "teach to the test" which means the emphasis is on preparing the student to choose the "right answer" from a field of options…and not necessarily for the opportunities in the future that will require a different kind of preparation.

Creative and critical thinking (the ability to compare and contrast to get to the “why” of what is being learned) is not emphasized in most Ecuadorian schools.The result is that the typical Ecuadorian student can graduate knowing a lot of content, but he/she will likely be left very much wanting with regard to knowing how to process and apply what they are learning in the real world.

A student prepared for the 21st century will certainly know important content, but more importantly they will know how to find, process and apply in real life whatever is required to compete for professional and leadership opportunities in any field that they would desire.

Ecuador doesn’t need “another school”,
  but our vision requires a school with a methodology that we cannot find here...
  or at least not one that would take our kids.

To accomplish our goals we are applying several model methodologies that have proven to be successful in other parts of the world. Our innovation is not inventing a method, but rather in borrowing from the success of others and applying it here.

Our approach to school begins with the philosophy that success in education starts with creating an environment where students love to learn. The 21st century will require knowledge application, not just information delivery…. and for that, schools will have to offer learning that kids want to do.

We believe that covering a lot of material, broadly sampling from a wide range of themes, will not develop the passion that produces hungry learners. Our approach is to go deeply into the content of fewer themes within a particular subject. For example, fourth-graders might spend an entire trimester in science learning about flying creatures—or history exploring the roots of Western Civilization by looking in depth at Rome and Greece. Going deep creates a fascination with what learning is all about and engenders an expertise that energizes our kids as they amaze parents and others by sharing what they are learning (See video example at the end of this section)

We are developing our “Want to Learn” methodology with an emphasis on projects. For this effort to be successful the projects have to be structured around themes that are interesting and relevant to our kids….. and are able to be applied in the real world. For example, computer skills are learned in the application of what is needed in order to fulfill the objectives of a particular project. Whenever anything is learned because the knowledge is needed to carry out the specifics of an assignment that the student is interested in, not only is the content learned, but more importantly the student is learning the application of processes (dreaming, planning to the dream, executing the plan and solving problems along the way).

By showing the connection between the above processes and meaningful rewards that result from successfully executing those processes, we will have an enviroment that is the very best possible for preparing kids to be competitive and win in the futures fields of their choice.

In the classroom, teachers apply "Whole-Brain" or "Power Teaching" processes designed to keep the student engaged and having fun while learning. This method employs another learning tool applied by the students themselves. They teach each other important concepts related to the particular theme that is being studied. After receiving instruction from the teacher on a particular application, the students in turn exchange teaching and learning roles in a paired process with one other. Animated, and at times loud, the method brings to the learning environment applications that are touching all learning styles.What is more, the methodology includes bringing the students into order when it is time for the next concept to be delivered by the teacher. Fun, engaging, but well-managed.

Our curriculum is neither textbook-driven nor fragmented. We strive for strategic continuity that is thematic, project-based and relevant. Skills and content are not taught as an end in themselves, but students learn them through their research and application in their projects. Textbooks are just one of many resources. Knowledge is not memorization of facts and figures. But rather, knoledge is constructed through research and application, and then connected to what was previously learned.

Subject content, and the skills to apply that content, become relevant as students may require to complete their projects. Acquiring information will never be an end to itself.

Assessment moves from regurgitation of memorized facts and disconnected processes to demonstration of understanding through application in a variety of contexts.

OUTCOME-BASED INSTRUCTION…the need to see the end in order to define the means, thereby leading to:

Besides being a religious nation (over 90% Catholic) that is opening up to the Gospel, we are observing another phenomena in Ecuador that is similar to other parts of South America, that is perfect for a project like ours. Industry of every kind from the more developed parts of the world is looking for resources that no longer exist in their own countries, including affordable labor and physical space, to help them grow and stay competitive. Ecuador and the countries in northernpart of the continent are the richest frontiers on the planet for the foreseeable future.

There will be opportunity for those whose education has shown them the value of dreaming, planning, passionately executing their plan, and for those who are able to solve the inevitable problems that accompany the process.  It is to this field that we are commissioned to prepare messengers carrying the Gospel of the kingdom, proclaimed from a platform of our kid’s incredible testimony.

Though certainly not simple, the “yoke is easy and the burden is light” with many joining us as we press forward toward equipping young men and women with a purpose-driven education, commissioned by Jesus to take the Gospel into some of the most challenging parts of the Ecuadorian culture—and “the uttermost parts of the world”.


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