Despite being divided by 8,000km, an ocean and a continent - there is only an hours time difference between the UK and Ghana. With a little imagination, the world has become our classroom, and it is a fascinating place to learn. We wanted to see if it was possible to create authentic learning experiences in two countries at the same time and inspire children to learn together.
Students join live lessons as a class and sign up in cohorts for a 12-week block of learning. The focus is on the STEAM disciplines with two lessons of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. Students are given a 20 question entry and exit test to map progress over the duration of the block. Lessons are led by qualified teachers on either side of the Atlantic and focus on student voice. Children are encouraging to speak openly about the learning, sharing ideas and barriers in the process. Oracy is key as students have to articulate their ideas in different ways, expressing themselves through art, presentations and short talks. Lessons involve everyone and take shape organically around what the students are interested in. This structure allows for learner autonomy as they have a voice. Once students graduate from the program, the next cohort joins. A large proportion of students come from broken homes, or have no access to technology or the internet.
For the children involved in the project, their world has grown. Every week, they reach beyond the classroom into the world outside. They leave with their heads up and their hearts strong. They are the innovators, the change makers and the custodians of the future, our future. After the Future Classroom in the UK was selected for the 2023 Global Collection, we were keen to build on this impact. Through the Hundred community two educators were brought together. Initially, students from Ghana joined via a single smartphone. After a round of fund-raising in the UK, we built a Future Classroom in Accra, Ghana that now hosts students from 4 schools on a rotating basis. targeting poor rural areas that have limited infrastructure the project works in deprived communities to help them learn.
Reach out to Daniel or Alex to find out more about the project or have a read of this blog post: the world as our classroom. We also invite external STEM companies to visit the Future Classroom labs and invite external speakers to join the lessons online to speak with the children in both locations.
https://alexmore.substack.com/p/the-world-as-our-classroom
