Model School Network’s Apwòch Lèkol Vivan (“Living School Approach”)

• In Event: Elevating Teaching & Learning in Haiti through an Active-Learner Pedagogy

Proposal

The Apwoch Lekòl Vivan (translated into English as “The Vibrant School Approach”) is an integrated pedagogical approach organically created by a team of education specialists, teachers, artists, athletes, community mobilizers, and trauma specialists in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake while working with 5,000 children in child-friendly spaces in Port-au-Prince. Between 2010-2014, the informal facilities intended for emergency psycho-social education provided inspiration for a new type of formal education when the transition was made back to school. The smooth uptake of this new approach in schools was paved by the undeniable results of student learning in the emergency child-friendly spaces.

Apwoch Lekòl Vivan uses a dynamic, learner-centered methodology grounded in four domains: Engagement, Connection, Challenge, and Reflection. A key component, SKYMAD, embraces the use of sport, karate, yoga, music, art and dance throughout the curriculum. The Apwòch Lekòl Vivan proposes a radical transformation from traditional schooling in Haiti; it’s a shift toward liberation of the learner so that each member of the school community may become a critical catalyst in advancing social justice.

In 2016, several Model School Network partners came together in identifying one of the most pressing needs: professional development tailored to the unique reality of rural Haitian educators. Together, Université Quisqueya, a flagship Haitian university, and its partner, AMURT-Haiti, co-created a program to support the educators of the MSN built upon the Apwòch Lekòl Vivan.

The Apwòch Lekòl Vivan Professional Development program offers a comprehensive, research-based model of educator capacity-building to school communities in Haiti. The modules are designed to spiral through various content areas, providing participants with multiple opportunities to experience, practice and reflect on the implementation of innovative strategies, techniques, skills and competencies.
All materials and training are in Haitian Creole (the home language of most Haitians) and are structured to respond to the Haitian reality within the context of the local community. As developed, Apwoch Lekòl Vivan seeks to combine key aspects of progressive education, building on the theories of innovators such as Friedrich Fröebel’s Play-based Learning, Jacques Delors’ Learning by Doing, Paolo Freire’s Popular Education and Student-Teacher Dualism, P.R. Sarkar’s Neo-Humanism, Oscar Mogollón’s Rural Education, and Maria Montessori’s Engagement of the Senses.

This innovative constructivist approach allows educators to develop their own understanding of the material within the context of their reality, through hands-on participation and, activate learning, followed by reflection and sharing. Before professional development modules are conducted, trainers adapt material based on diagnostic assessments to ensure optimal learning and long-term impact. Throughout the program, trainers observe classes to model, coach and provide feedback on indicators that are aligned to the training modules.

This presentation will share the theoretical framework for Apwoch Lekòl Vivan and how it compares to the prevailing pedagogical approach common in Haitian schools.

Author

• Cassandre Chipps Regnier, Summits Education