How we teach

WHY THE FLIPPED CLASSROOM?

At Pazapa Online, promoting interactions is a priority. If the digital world represents an obstacle to active learning processes for many, to us it is a field of endless scenarios.

Teaching is in constant evolution, and our digital world has to make the best of it.

The digital generations yearn to be at the core of the learning process using upgraded teaching strategies. Because the 40-minute lectures do not prove effective anymore, our teams have decided to opt for the flipped classroom model, in which our students are intellectually stimulated and emotionally supported, while being at the core of the learning process.

Using the flipped classroom allows us to expose our students to the concepts beforehand, and therefore give them time to discover content on their own, with the possibility of pausing and rewinding their teacher. Within given timeframes, students take charge of their schedules and become increasingly independent in managing their time, they become better equipped for collaborative class work.

The fact that the main course content is delivered through short videos allows for more flexibility and promotes equity at school. Our struggling and special needs learners are also offered the possibility to excel at school, while taking control of the remote and dealing with their learning in a more customised way.

Our students come to school with a virtual spring in their step and have the chance to play a significant role in building their classes. Our classes become virtual field trips in which we experiment, we feel, we fall, we raise, we lend a hand, we grow.

Exclusively Inclusive

Our classrooms have open doors, where the inclusive becomes exclusive. Taking into consideration the different profiles of learners, we use various learning tools to increase the opportunities for learners to grasp concepts. Whether our students are auditory, visual or kinesthetic learners, they will find a tool that suits their needs. Pazapa makes extensive use of active learning strategies to encourage learners to take part in the classroom dynamic.

Our team uses student-centered strategies such as reciprocal questioning, peer teaching activities, short and regular quizzes, game-based learning platforms, classroom games or virtual classroom tools to name a few. We are strong advocates of the “don’t learn to do, but learn in doing” approach. Therefore, our classrooms naturally become immense laboratories of engaged brains who solve problems, explore new concepts among their peers, or work out maths problems in an innovative manner.

Stimulated neural pathways

At Pazapa Online, we strive to activate cognitive and sensory networks through a variety of activities and projects necessary to help process and store new information and create excitement in our classrooms. Conscious of the fact that learning is enhanced when multiple neural pathways are activated at the same time, we have adopted multi-sensory approaches. For example, we will have students work in pairs or groups, use varied modes of teaching and introduce tactile stimulation and visual processing, to activate prefrontal regions involved in executive function.

The Joy of Mind Mapping

We use various methods to reinforce our students’ understanding of the lessons they are exposed to before coming to class, one of which is mind mapping. We believe that mind mapping is ideally suited to facilitate implementation of the flipped classroom method. The use of a diagram helps our students to connect information around a central topic, in a creative way. We are convinced that it is one of the best strategies to capture and present concepts in a visual format. Providing an overview of information using graphics and key words, mind maps allow our students to go to the point and filter secondary data. Our learners enjoy this effective zoom tool that is a great support in terms of gaining and retaining essential knowledge.

A Project- Based learning approach

As Jean Piaget said “Knowledge is a consequence of experience”. In our school, we believe that statement holds true. As the world becomes increasingly global, it is expected that its new citizens will have to live in a project-based world. Thus, we stimulate our students in that sense and give them the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills through engaging projects that will challenge them to solve real-world issues. We aim at developing autonomy, mastery, and purpose through projects which lead our students into becoming more social beings, able to easily deal with teamwork challenges, while improving their technological skills.

Multiple types of assessments

At Pazapa Online, we live the principle that knowledge should be structured in a meaningful way and can grow and change overtime.
Because learning is an ongoing process that doesn’t stop at the end of a test, our teams use multiple forms of assessment as a means of analysis, support and to further learning. To this end, we make extensive use of summative assessments to measure our students’ progress and provide valuable data for the school. Nonetheless, we do not allow one kind of assessment to dictate our pedagogical approach, as a student is way more than a number on a paper. Formative assessments, for instance, allow us to gauge students’ learning while they are in class working on an activity, and help our teachers further adjust their teaching strategies. Diagnostic assessments also increase our grasp of our students’ knowledge and help us engage our classrooms. In order to motivate our learners to set goals for themselves, we also rely on ipsative assessments to improve their skills through this 2-stage framework.
Our personalised approach is like that of a chef, herbs and spices are combined and constantly adjusted, so that the recipe always improves over time.

Why We Differenciate Instruction

Because every student has his or her own “brain prints” and grasps concepts differently, Pazapa Online creates content using a variety of instructional strategies to suits different learning styles. Regarding content, our teachers design activities for groups of students that cover various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Our process-related methods address the fact that our students need different kinds of support from our teachers. We provide textbooks and mind maps for visual and word learners, videos for auditory and visual learners, and interactive activities for kinaesthetic learners.

Our teams strive to differentiate end products to demonstrate mastery of the content. For instance, our students may be asked to write a book report, give an oral report, or create a graphic representation or diorama of a story.

Our Learning environment

Conscious of how psychological factors impact our students’ learning; we aim to provide a safe and caring environment in which our learners feel comfortable enough to adopt a growth mindset.

We encourage our students to ask questions and to be actively involved in the learning process. Questions are valued and mistakes are used as learning tools. At Pazapa Online, we aim to teach our students to see the beauty in spilled milk, in the hope of raising a new generation of students who are comfortable in their own shoes and who embrace mistakes as new opportunities to grow.

Pazapa Online is a community, a family in which individuals are valued, cared for, and loved.

If you also want to join our online community, call us on +44 7895 711778

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