Asher’s family moves frequently– sometimes they’re living close to a high-quality school that offers an international curriculum, and sometimes they’re not. Sometimes Asher is able to build friendships where they live, and sometimes it’s not so easy. Sometimes there’s an English-language schooling option available, and sometimes there’s not one nearby.
Now that Asher is enrolled at bina, these issues have been resolved: he has high-quality education available in his own home; he develops real, consistent friendships with his five classmates; and his teacher remains the same no matter where they live– an experienced educator with English as her first language. The curriculum at bina is perfect for Asher, because it’s transnational (and it’s available anywhere).
What ingredients went into bina’s curriculum?
We’ve crafted an international curriculum that pulls from a variety of standards from around the world– perfect for our kiddos growing up in a global society. Our curriculum is grounded in UK standards with elements of the US Common Core, International Baccalaureate (IB PYP) and the Australian curriculum woven in. Our transnational curriculum is unique because it strikes a balance between standardisation and personalisation– we provide each of our students with a learning path that fits their needs.
Using inspiration from curricula around the world, we dissected the standards into micro-credentials, which we use as building blocks for our education programme. (Micro-credentials break down large, complex skills into smaller, simpler targets– they help us keep an objective account of where students stand and where they are headed.) The micro-credentials are categorised into three types: skills (“I can”), knowledge (“I understand”), and disposition (“I exhibit”). In this way, we’re able to accurately assess our students’ progress.
What subjects are taught?
Our education programme consists of teaching and supporting our students holistically. Our students gain academic knowledge: developing skills and knowledge in literacy, numeracy, technical sciences, social sciences, digital technology, design technology, and the arts.
Students also engage in social-emotional learning, meaning that we support them in their intercultural and emotional intelligence in terms of their ability to participate in society. Our kiddos learn how to navigate conflict with others, use their voice, approach tricky decisions, and act with empathy. We also focus on equipping students with the tools, resources, and strategies to support them in caring for their own mental health.
We use a wide variety of strategies to keep our students engaged and active. One way we do this is by grounding our students’ learning in biome-themed units. For example, if the theme of their current unit is “Marine,” much of their learning across all subjects will be directly related to the animals, plants, and cultures that call the ocean their home. Connecting abstract concepts with real-world examples deepens our students’ learning and opens up opportunities for them to engage with new content in an approachable way.
How it actually works
At bina, our students are continually assessed in a natural, non-intrusive way (think projects, games, and conversations). Constant observation of students is made possible because of such small class sizes– and it provides our teachers with a unique insight into each student’s progress. Teachers can give timely and specific feedback, which increases our students’ involvement in their own learning process. Then our Ed team takes that tangible feedback and in turn crafts adaptive learning paths in real time– again, finding that balance between standardisation and personalisation.
Pulling from the best standards around the world, we’ve built our own international curriculum that focuses on developing foundational skills and knowledge through biome-based units. We focus on our students’ progress in all areas: academic, social, and emotional. All of our students, no matter where they’re living, receive a high-quality, rigorous, and rich educational experience that is tailored to their individual needs.
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