Disruption in the classroom
23 June, 2020
Innovative practices in schools commit to educational technology and new teaching styles
In this post of La Reina Roja (The Red Queen) 2.0 – Disruption in the classroom: EdTech and new teaching styles in secondary schools – Lluís Pastor talks to managers and teachers of four public, private and state-subsidized schools incorporating innovative and disruptive learning practices. Col·legi Montserrat focuses on teaching versus learning and Gardner’s multiple intelligences; Institut Torre del Palau incorporates the mobile phone into the classroom; Escola Joan Pelegrí tailors classroom content to pupils’ interests; and SEK Atlántico incorporates robotics into all areas of knowledge. Fresh from the experience of COVID-19, representatives of the four schools also tell us how they have coped with educating under lockdown, and talk about the challenges for the future of education.
Video of the full episode La Reina Roja 2.0, “Disruption in the classroom: EdTech and new teaching styles in secondary schools”
Col·legi Montserrat
Col·legi Montserrat is one of a network of ten schools in Barcelona, Madrid, and the Canary Islands. Principal Maria del Mar Izuel and ICT Coordinator David Arévalo tell us how, in the 1990s, they began a process of transformation which focused on changing the educational paradigm and the teaching-learning dynamic. They sought out systemic and sustainable pedagogical answers, making transformations in their curriculum, assessment methodology and organization, and in their definition of pupil and teacher roles. All of this was done within a framework of experiential, cooperative and service learning, multiple intelligences, and critical and creative thinking.
Institut Torre del Palau
Twenty years ago, this public school made a methodological commitment to ICT, according to its principal, Evaristo de la Torre. Working with more than 800 middle- and working-class pupils, they have made a commitment to the digital format. Mobile phones are allowed in the classroom, and pupils are educated in their correct use, for educational as well as social purposes.
Escola Joan Pelegrí
We spoke to one of the teachers, Christian Olivé, who employs a disruptive educational model in which pupils’ interests are brought into the classroom. The pupils learn through the television series, video games and social networks that are part of their day-to-day lives, and even create their own YouTube content in relation to aspects of language and literature.
SEK Atlántico
SEK Atlántico has nine schools in total, six of which are in Spain and three abroad. Its mission, as ICT Coordinator Gonzalo García explains, is for its pupils to emerge from the education system having acquired values and education with a marked international, humanist and technological component. One of its most remarkable innovations is having incorporated robotics into different areas of knowledge.
If you are interested in learning more about these disruptive schools, don’t miss the next post from La Reina Roja.
