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OUR PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH
The Nobis Project provides services for educators, schools and administrators designed to enhance their ability to nurture critical thinking in students and provide them with the skills, tools, and knowledge to be active and positive contributors in their communities, locally and abroad. The Nobis Project believes in empowering youth through the process of participating in social action. View our Educators' Program Catalogue. A variety of proven pedagogical methods form the theoretical framework of Nobis Project resources and services. These include the use of:
OUR EDUCATIONAL MODELS
The Nobis Project’s Service-Learning Model
The Nobis Project’s ACTION STEPS is an innovative creative process approach to service-learning designed to teach youth the six dimensions of civic engagement: values, knowledge, skills, efficacy, commitment, and empathy. It guides K-12 students to comprehend current affairs and to devise ways to respond to local, national or global issues through a solutions-based model. Students critically analyze issues that impact our society and take action in a meaningful way.
The Key Principles
Inspiring Introduction: In the Nobis Project program, where much of the learning is independently carried out, the introduction to project is critical to soliciting commitment from students. In order to bridge the distance of the international topic to the classroom, the teacher’s initial presentation must capture the personal experience behind the topic.
Student-Led Learning: After the introduction, the teacher’s role changes from instructor to facilitator and the students become responsible for their learning, which occurs during the student led process. It includes problem-solving, working as a team, and designing a project from start to finish. When students take part in decision-making they take responsibility in seeing the project through.
Research: In the Nobis Project, students learn about an international issue through independent and group research. The students select an aspect of the topic to further investigate. Lessons on media-literacy play an integral role in this step.
Action Design and Implementation: Service to others occurs during this step. Students determine a need, related to the topic, and a means to directly respond. This service, unlike traditional service-learning programs, does not involve the students having direct contact with the recipients of the service. Through this indirect service students learn how to envision, design and implement a project as a team.
Reflection: Ongoing organized reflection along each step of the Nobis Project is critical. For the Nobis Project, reflection serves as a means for students to make connections between their classroom experiences, their previous knowledge and the new knowledge under investigation.
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Photo Credit: Imke Lass
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