For us it is essential to maintain a COOPERATIVE learning in order to achieve common goals, promoting collaboration and exchange of ideas. We also include the use of game elements in non-playful contexts to get to produce motivation in students, Reason for including GAMIFICATION.
PRIMARY EDUCATION
At Árula we aim to work through “active methodologies” which allow us to focus on encouraging the active participation of students in their own teaching process.
We focus on learning based in MICRO-PROJECTS as a multidisciplinary teaching process, and with the technological and educational innovation that surrounds us at the moment, given that we make use of online platforms and tools to facilitate collaboration and interaction between students and where the inverted classroom (Flipped Classroom) is evident in the classroom. We emphasise that our students learn through direct experience, participating in practical situations or experiences that reinforce theoretical concepts, that is, we are committed to EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING.
We are convinced that it is important to stimulate CRITICAL THINKING and the active participation of the students in the discussion, and to maintain a Socratic methodology. All this encompasses a methodology that allows us to achieve the key competences required by the new LOMLOE law.
In Primary Education we have implemented the ABN mathematical methodology (Number Based Learning). Since 2016, we have changed the way we see mathematics, this methodology is implemented with our own project in 1st and 2nd and from 3rd with the Anaya book as a curricular support for the subject.methodology that allows us to achieve the key competences required by the new LOMLOE law.
In the 1st and 2nd years of Primary Education we work on our own reading projects: In 1st Primary “World pirate expedition” and for 2nd Primary and “Discovering Spanish cuisine through reading“.
PROJECT ARULA
Proyecto Árula consists of a series of extracurricular subjects which are necessary for the pupils in their overall education. We believe in the development of the pupil beyond the curricular subjects themselves and also in other subjects that will support them in the future and their motivation to learn and improve. Our “PROYECTO ÁRULA” in Primary consists of:
Primary Education
Primary Education (1st and 2nd)
- Cambridge Focus (2 sessions)
- German (1 session)
- Express yourself (1 session)
- Fun Science (1 session)
Primary Education (3rd grade)
- Cambridge Focus (2 sessions)
- German (1 session)
- Express yourself (1 session)
- Drafting and writing (1 session)
Primary Education (4th grade)
- Cambridge Focus (2 sessions)
- German (1 session)
- Debate and approaching the basics of Public Speaking 1 (1 session)
- Drafting and writing (1 session)
Primary Education (5th and 6th grades)
- Cambridge Focus (2 sessions)
- German (1 session)
- Debate and Public Speaking I/II (1 session)
- Digital Competence (1 session)
OUR PROJECTS
ONE TO ONE
Our “One to One Tablet Project” (one pupil, one laptop) starts in 4th Primary, which covers 4th to 6th Primary.
All pupils have a tablet device as a tool to support the methodologies implemented in the classroom. We are moving towards a technological world which offers us, within the educational panorama, different applications and programmes on the Internet which are very useful for our work as teachers. We use the “Digital Rucksack” programme, where all the books are by this means and without forgetting at all times the importance of combining this with study techniques and traditional writing in their notebooks.
In Years 4, 5 and 6, as well as continuing to maintain the “One to One” project, pupils use platforms and applications more actively in harmony with the teaching staff through “educational gamification” projects. These include the Teams tool, an online collaboration platform that facilitates our communication and teamwork, which is widely used by the whole educational community from 4th Primary to Secondary. In addition, teachers design interactive activities that are made available to students for self-learning inside and outside the classroom.
LANGUAGE TRAINING (English-German)
The school considers it absolutely essential that its pupils obtain a solid grounding in languages; this does not only mean learning to speak, write and understand but also immersing themselves in their culture and contexts. This includes:
- Mastery of basic skills: speaking, writing, reading and listening.
- Cultural understanding: knowledge of the culture, customs, history and literature associated with the language.
- Regular practice: constant use of the language in real and academic situations.
- Formal education: structuring learning at a competence level.
- Certifications: obtaining certificates that endorse the level of competence of study.
Our pedagogical action at Árula is aimed at achieving the following levels in the official Cambridge test certificates:
- 2nd Primary: Starters.
- 4th Primary: movers.
- 5th Primary: Flyers.
- 6th Primary: KET.
The aim of Árula is for our students to use the language as a means of communication as well as an instrument that allows them to better understand and access other cultures, creating the appropriate environment and guiding the student in their learning.
INTERNATIONALIZATION
In an increasingly globalised world, we are aware of the need to master languages and the importance of professional and academic preparation in other countries. For this reason, Árula School promotes BILINGUALISM, through:
- Schools of Ireland Programme.
A 6-week stay at the beginning of the school year in Ireland where they live with a family and study in a local school. - We work with a native assistant teacher who visits our students’ English classes, prioritising conversation.