Diferences between the Traditional teaching and NAU School

• The Teacher focuses solely on the children's difficulties.
• The Teacher is solely responsible for the learning and development of the children.
• Students fill in the worksheets or pages of the manual according to the instructions they receive.
• Educators resort only to extrinsic motivation. Children are motivated by their desire to please the educator and be rewarded (use of the red ball, green ball, smiley faces, etc.).

• The Teacher maximizes abilities by focusing on children's strengths and helping them overcome difficulties.
• Children also have responsibility in learning and achievements.
• There is a detailed curricula of teacher processes with routines and activities that give children the opportunity to maximize their own level of stimulation.
• The Teacher is open and eclectic about all kinds of processes that can involve students in stimulating activities that foster effort and intrinsic motivation.
• The adult uses objective strategies, understood by the students, that facilitate the sharing of control, e.g. (Specific routines, sound control and monitoring with decibel meter, sand clocks, etc.).

• The children are passively facing the teacher throughout the lesson, waiting to be directed and given instructions.
• Time drags on with no set times to achieve goals. Productivity is low;
• The student does not have any predictability or ability to manage time, nor is he sensitized to achieve goals.
• The teacher simply follows the textbooks page by page or shows PowerPoints on interactive whiteboards for too long periods.
• The teacher imparts knowledge.

• There are different routine moments that provide opportunities for children to take initiative and actively engage in their own learning experiences (Plan – do – review daily).
• The times are strictly respected, and at each moment there are monitored objectives.
• The student anticipates tasks because the routines are consistent, established with total transparency, so the student can predict and manage part of the time and part of the tasks.
• The times of "classes" are organized, with the time divided into different moments, with consistent routines and stimulating processes previously prepared.
• The knowledge is available on the school's digital platform and the teacher encourages, self-initiated activities that promote the appropriation of knowledge by the children.

• Tables and chairs facing the teacher or interactive whiteboard.
• Paper, pen and eventually PowerPoint presentations available on interactive whiteboards.
• The walls are empty or are occupied with materials prepared by the teacher or purchased (maps, posters with alphabets, numbers, etc.)

• Learning space divided into areas whose use varies with routines.
• Plenty of manipulative materials, which can be used in different ways.
• Materials organized in a way that is coherent, consistent, and accessible to children.
• Walls are considered an integral part of the learning process and are used to give visibility to the most significant work and findings.

• The evaluation process is focused on detecting weaknesses and not at developing or maximizing capabilities.
• Adults are evaluated without feedback from the team, only by the supervisor and with self-evaluation.
• The children are evaluated through the tests.
• Each teacher exposes information in his or her own way.
• The curriculum is designed with a view exclusively to short-term competencies stipulated by the Ministry of Education.
• Students move between stages of learning without ensuring that they have appropriated the knowledge that precedes the next stage.
• Purely academic content;
• The contents are limited to the adopted manual without any appreciation or extension to what is in the manual.
• Work is limited to test preparation.

• The evaluation processes aim at the development of all those involved and their respective processes.
• There is a development program for Human Resources with self-assessment and feedback (360º) for the entire team.
• The children evaluate their contribution, initiative, and development by presenting their achievements in formal and individualized meetings with the school and family.
• The children regularly participate in school assemblies evaluating and suggesting improvements to the relationship and functioning of the educational community.
• There is a quality plan that evaluates in an objective and comprehensive way: the working environment (classroom), its processes, the performance of children and adults (teachers and staff), etc.
• Quality indicators are specific and assessed using an objective, easily understandable scale, based on continued quality.
• The team is aligned around a common structured philosophy and practice.
• Investment in training: Courses in the USA at the High Scope Foundation and others.
• The curriculum aims to optimize the simultaneous learning of desirable knowledge, skills and predispositions to learning.
• Step-by-step teaching, ensuring that the passage between steps is real and smooth.
• The curriculum includes processes, tasks, and challenges that encourage thinking and problem-solving using creativity.
• Where possible, content is linked to real-life experiences.
• Students prepare project work using meticulous observations, in-depth research, exchange of ideas, mutual help, cooperation, and collaboration.
• Flexibility to extend knowledge beyond the minimum required and maximizing students' capabilities.
• Writing is also developed with the aim of communicating and sharing with classmates and not just with the teacher.
• From the 3rd year onwards, English is related to social studies and science (pedagogical partnership).