Teaching methods
Teaching methods
Are there specific teaching methods employed by EFI? It is a question often asked by parents and to which there is no simple answer. The diversity of our students’ scholarly paths does not lend itself to any particular method, and so it falls upon the experience of our teachers to adapt the methods according to different contexts.
EFI teachers bring their experiences and diversify their teaching approaches with their students. The diversity of learning methods helps support student interest, reactivates knowledge and promotes learning.
However, we respect three main principles in all our classes:
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Learning by projects
Learning by projects
Group work and putting students to work independently or in guided workshops are particularly important for language acquisition. Working in pairs allows for experimentation and trial and error. Projects create synergies between students, meeting situations and exchanges in French or in English.
Students will work sometimes in one language, sometimes in another in order to produce a collective result in the two languages. A poster, a leaflet, a compilation, a comic, a book, a show, a presentation, an artistic or scientific project etc. The project can take place over one day, one week, one month or a trimester. The projects demand that everyone cooperates and divides up tasks and responsibilities. Finally, the projects allow students to approach different subjects in a multidisciplinary way.
2. Kindness
In order to learn, students must feel that they are in a safe and trusting environment. When adults are kind to their students they put them in a situation where they feel comfortable to express themselves and to speak up and to have exchanges. This is even more essential when the student has not fully mastered the working language and can be hesitant to speak up.
This kindness does not only apply to the adults: At EFI, the children learn to be kind to each other, that is to say, to listen, to respect and to help each other.
Our teaching staff implements affirmative discipline in cycles 2 and 3 after training sessions delivered by a teacher specializing in the teaching techniques of Freinet.
3. Multidiscipline
Learning can be done in multiple ways. The arts, sports, school trips, shows or exhibitions etc. are all vectors of learning and personal development for the child.
The quality and diversity of learning in the field of sports, arts and music, by our partner CIS, is a source of inspiration for EFI. It is favored by the quality of the infrastructure offered on our campus. At EFI, specialized teachers provide these specific lessons. These have been part of the development priorities since 2020.
