The coordinating team of the EDUCAR Network advances in the adaptation of the pedagogical bases, the evaluation tool of the charism and the evangelizing impulse in the educational context.
The Augustinian Recollect International Educational Network EDUCAR continues to take steps in new projects of management and educational excellence. During the month of February the coordinating team met in Panama to present, review and organize the work proposals for the coming months. Specifically on the table were the formation plan, the profiles of Augustinian educators and students, Augustinian pedagogical innovation and the MEGCAR evaluation system.
The regional coordinators of North America, Central America and the Caribbean; South America; Spain; the Philippines and Sierra Leone participated in the meeting. The team coordinators also attended the meeting and presented their work and proposals in the areas of formation, pastoral ministry, projects and communication.
One of the most noteworthy novelties is the revision of the Institutional Educational Project (PEI), on which some updates have been made based on the original text produced in 2014. Among other things, it has been intended that the document contains more concrete and easier to understand objectives. The presentation of these modifications will be made at the next EDUCAR meeting.
Likewise, the Augustinian pedagogical bases have also been reviewed. Augustinian pedagogy is based on an integral process (spiritual, intellectual, moral and of the will) aimed at bringing out and energizing, by means of the cognitive force of love, all the latent potentialities of the student.
Some of the modifications to this document have been the unification of some sections to lighten the document, as well as the inclusion of concrete methodological proposals and the “learning pyramid” that proposes six learning models: multiple intelligences, cooperative learning, meaningful and divergent learning, critical thinking and thinking skills, interdisciplinary projects and early stimulation.
In addition, the EDUCAR Network continues to advance in the implementation of MEGCAR, the management evaluation model of the Augustinian Recollect charism. Josefa Guzman, a pioneer in the creation of the model, has been appointed as coordinator for the development of the project. The team responsible for MEGCAR will include different professionals from educational centers around the world.
Work has also begun on a training plan, based on the team’s proposal to involve the entire educational community. The project is still being formulated, but it takes into account that training should be differentiated, considering new teachers and teachers with several years of experience in their educational center.