Mente Innovadora MindLab – Familias y escuelas cambiando hoy para mejorar mañana (Families and schools changing today to improve tomorrow)
The current debate over education seems to focus only on the urgency of bringing us up to date on the teaching of cognitive and digital skills. However, the development of socio-emotional skills has also been increasingly highlighted. MindLab’s Mente Innovadora Program is disruptive because from its design to its implementation in classrooms it focuses on promoting socio-emotional skills with the goal of going beyond good academic performance. Curiosity and play are the key tools. In addition to enhancing the development of children, the tools connect schools with parents, who participate in the learning process of their children with dynamic and fun activities. This methodology was designed in Israel and successfully adapted to the context in Brazil.
Problematic
Education in Latin America and the Caribbean has not evolved in step with the needs of today’s world. Traditional teaching models focus above all on the role of the teacher and provide few opportunities for exploration, research, and creativity for children at an early age through the use of play and group activities. It is necessary to introduce innovative pedagogical practices in order to ensure that learning takes place, close skill gaps starting at an early age, and promote comprehensive development of children.
Solution
MindLab’s Mente Innovadora is a pioneering pedagogical model for schools based on the socio-emotional, cognitive, and ethical development of children. The methodologies, developed in Israel in 1994, are evidence-based and frequently evaluated. Starting at the preschool level, children learn basic concepts and develop socio-emotional skills through the use of a methodology based on three principles: (1) thinking games with a pedagogical tool; (2) metacognitive methods (in order to understand the role of emotions, attitudes, and actions); and (3) teachers as mediators. It is a system that benefits both the students as well as the teachers through interactions. The parents also play a central role and receive materials in order to participate in and monitor the socio-emotional development of the children.
Evaluation and Impact
No information is available for preschools. The evaluations have found positive results for children in primary education.