School Guide

The innovative use of technology in an International School classroom

Published by SchoolAdvisor | Mar 30, 2017

Parthenon-EY, an advisor to the education sector since its inception in 1991 has traveled around the world to visit and study the most innovative models in education.

 

The international school market is large and growing with the SE Asian international K-12 market at 2 billion in revenue: Parthenon-EY

According to the organization, independent schools opening abroad have doubled in the past five years. In Malaysia, we have seen the establishment of Marlborough College Malaysia in 2014. The school is situated on a secure 90-acre estate on the southern tip of Malaysia in Johor.

Four Dulwich Colleges have been established in China (two in Shanghai, and one each in Beijing and Suzhou), one in Seoul, South Korea, and one in Singapore. The latest addition to the family, Dulwich College Yangon, has recently started accepting students in Myanmar. These seven schools are all co-educational and principally cater to the expatriate community.

Via Parthenon-EY

However, growth has begun to slow and many key markets are now operating with significant amounts of excess capacity. This is largely contributed to the departing expatriate community, leaving behind vacant seats. Parthenon-EY reports in 2015, there were 14 thousand vacant seats in international schools in Kuala Lumpur.

Via Parthenon-EY

Innovative models in education is now more important than ever for international schools to stay competitive with one another and to introduce the best teaching practices in the region.

Creative use of space

Education is now never confined to the classrooms. Teachers are expected to use various facilities to aid teaching for example, the museum to teach architecture and civilization. Avenues: The World School founders in New York requested 20% less classroom space, to ensure teachers creatively use other areas of the school or city as classroom (English in the theater)

Kunskapsskolan schools, the leading school in Sweden which runs the successful KED programme converts spaces such as hallways for gathering spaces for students to collaborate. The school ensures all spaces in the building is used purposefully.

Technology in Learning

Technology and knowledge are transforming society at an accelerating rate. It's time to accelerate our thinking about learning. AltSchool is a partnership between educators, entrepreneurs, and engineers who are driven to deliver whole-child, personalized learning so that every child can reach their potential.

They've designed cutting edge technology tools that enable teachers to be their most effective, while providing each student with a dynamic and personalized experience.

Student Playlist

Playlist is a set of tools that enables educators to manage what each child does to meet his or her personalized learning goals, and functions as a customized workspace for students to cultivate agency by managing their own work. Educators create, sequence, and remix curriculum units to curate Playlists where students can view assignments, communicate with their teacher, and submit work generated on- and off-line.

Playlist allows educators to help students accelerate in any areas where they are already advanced, and work on areas that require more attention and development.

Portrait

Portrait is a set of tools that provides educators a rich picture of who each child is. It includes a comprehensive record of each student’s progress across both academic and non-academic standards for learning, such as how often a child has practiced a skill or worked on content.

This deep understanding of a child’s interests, learning approach, and traits helps educators more effectively plan a student's learning experience.

Teachers tracking tool

The tracking tool allows teachers to streamlines tasks and create the highest-quality student experience. This platform also enables schools to change and adapt their approaches with greater agility, continually collecting and iterating on feedback from teachers, students, and parents.

Lessons are also filmed frequently to aid in teacher's professional development.

Parents

  

This platform offers greater transparency for parents, with multiple pathways for them to easily communicate with teachers and become active participants in their child’s education. AltSchool engineers collaborated with educators to improve communications between parents, teachers and schools—with tools easily accessed from any desktop or mobile device.

Thematic Approach to 21st Century Skill Development

  

The most innovative schools often focus on a theme related to 21st century skills development. Avenues: The World School recognizes the importance of learning a second language and so, introduced the Global Studies Curriculum that will enable students to get acquainted with diverse world cultures.

 

About Parthenon-EY and the Education practice

Parthenon joined Ernst & Young LLP on August 29, 2014. Parthenon has served as an advisor to the education sector since its inception in 1991. The Parthenon-EY Education practice – the first of its kind across management consulting firms – has an explicit mission and vision to be the leading strategy advisor to the global education industry.