As a parent you may be wondering what it is that differentiates us from other schools? Perhaps you’re wondering what the inside of a Nova Pioneer classroom really looks like?
Learning looks and feels a little bit different at Nova Pioneer. From how the classrooms are designed, to the language our students and teachers use in the classroom and even down to the behaviours our students exemplify. The purpose is to create a responsive classroom where the child is at the centre of learning.
There are four key domains to achieving a responsive classroom
- Engaging Academics: Learner-centered lessons that are participatory, appropriately challenging, fun, and relevant and promote curiosity, wonder, and interest.
- Positive Community: A safe, predictable, joyful, and inclusive environment where all students have a sense of belonging and significance.
- Effective Management: A calm and orderly learning environment that promotes autonomy, responsibility, and high engagement in learning.
- Developmentally Responsive Teaching: Basing all decisions for teaching and discipline upon research and knowledge of students’ social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development.
How does our desk setup encourage collaboration?
Desks are arranged in centres, distributing an equal number of students across these centres. Each centre allows students to engage in the content being taught in different ways – whether in a group activity or whether in an individual capacity. Centres give the students the opportunity to learn to work collaboratively with others but also build the skills necessary to be able to work individually.
How do our classrooms strengthen our students visual learning skills?
All classrooms are fitted with projectors and speakers for lesson delivery, presentations and developing the students’ digital literacy. Concepts are explained and simplified by the teacher and instructions given on the classroom whiteboard. The use of multimedia in our classrooms helps with the visual learning process, strengthening our students visual learning skills.
How do we incorporate technology in the classroom?
Technology is a big part of who we are as Nova Pioneer and what we do, and we blend this into our students learning experiences. We makes use of Blended Learning as part of our teaching.
Students make use of Tablets during their rotations during lessons. Technology is also offered as part of the innovative space. Our students start coding and robotics from Grade R.
