Author: Avenor College

Deoarece ne aflăm în săptămâna Evaluării Naționale, Liana Ilincescu, Primary Learning Coordinator și învățătoare la Avenor College, povestește, din experiență, despre ce înseamnă cu adevărat aceste evaluări pentru elevi, părinți și sistem și despre cum am putea profita de acest moment pentru o învățare cu rost. 

 

În anul școlar 2021-2022, Evaluările Naționale pentru clasele a II-a și a IV-a se vor susține în perioada 10-26 mai 2022 și vor avea aceeași structură ca și până acum: evaluarea de competențe la limba română și matematică. Rezultatul acestor teste nu se va trece în catalog, nu se anunță public, nu stă la baza ierarhizării copiilor, ci se comunică fiecărui părinte în parte și, pe baza lui, învățătoarele trebuie să realizeze planuri individualizate de învățare, acolo unde identifică probleme. 

În jurul acestei evaluări au existat încă de la început diverse controverse, dar și aprecieri. Pe o parte s-au aliniat părinții, profesorii, dar și copiii care consideră că aceste teste nu sunt elaborate de specialiști, că au un nivel destul de scăzut sau că nu au îmbunătățit în niciun fel rata alfabetizării funcționale în rândul elevilor. De cealaltă parte sunt cei care văd în această evaluare o încercare reușită de a elimina stresul inevitabil al examenelor, prin expunerea timpurie și repetată a copiilor la astfel de activități, dar și o posibilitate a copiilor, părinților și profesorilor de a lua pulsul cunoștințelor acumulate de-a lungul unui ciclu de învățare. 

Ca în orice polemică, ambele părți au  partea lor de dreptate. Aceste teste nu au fost elaborate cu scopul de a verifica nivelul superior al cunoștințelor și nici de a ierarhiza elevii sau școlile din care fac parte. Dar, o parte a caracterului colectiv specific nației noastre este de a face clasamente la orice oră, cu orice motiv. Astfel, la locul de joacă, se formează echipe de competitori, se fac clasamente ale câștigătorilor, iar cei care pierd, stau ”pe bară”, căci ”învingătorul ia totul”. În sala de clasă, ne așezăm pe niveluri, păstrând băncile celor care ”știu mai multe” în față, iar  ale celor care ”abia se descurcă”, mai în spate, iar aceștia s-au obișnuit să stea acolo, cuminți, așteptând liniștit să ”se sune”, pentru a face o pauză de la activitatea în care i-au urmărit pe cei care au ridicat mâna și au răspuns ”în propoziție”. La nivel de instituții școlare, avem școli ”bune”, sau ”de top”, pentru care părinții își schimbă reședința și devin ”flotanți”, iar copiii fac meditații, să poată lua ”admiterea” și să se numere printre beneficiarii unui loc în bancă și avem școli de care ”se fuge” și școli în care ”nu se face nimic”. Și astfel se ajunge la clasamente și calificative acolo unde ar trebui să fie doar diagnoză și prognoză. 

La o analiză obiectivă și lucidă, aceste evaluări sunt folositoare, căci au subiecte aplicate, în strânsă legătură cu realitatea copiilor, chiar și în condițiile în care autorii insistă de câțiva ani pe subiecte precum ”biletul” sau ”scrisoarea”, care au devenit străine actualelor generații de copii familiarizați cu telefonul mobil și internetul. Lectura conștientă a unui text este mai complicată decât pare la prima vedere. A ști să scrii și să citești  nu înseamnă neapărat că înțelegi mesajul transmis sau că poți folosi în mod adecvat mesajul scris. Astfel de subiecte sunt în prim-planul testelor de la Evaluarea Națională, ceea ce ar putea deveni un punct de plecare al viitoarelor planuri individuale de învățare, care ar trebui să pună accent pe dezvoltarea unei bune competenţe de lectură. Copilăria, adolescenţa şi postadolescenţa sunt perioade optime ale învăţării, iar copilul care a fost obișnuit să lucreze cu textul, va deveni adultul cititor conștient de mâine.

În aceeași notă se construiesc și testele la matematică sau MEM (matematică și explorarea mediului), bazându-se pe competenţele de a dobândi, a stăpâni și a aplica cunoştinţe fundamentale din programa acestor discipline. A stăpâni astfel de competențe nu înseamnă a ști să calculezi sau să descrii pașii de rezolvare a unei probleme, ci să aplici în viața de zi cu zi ce ai învățat în sala de clasă. 

Evaluările naționale pot deveni termeni cheie în viitoarele programe de dezvoltare a capacității de a aplica cunoștințele însușite, dar trebuie utilizate într-un mod eficient și creativ. Părinții și profesorii ar trebui să colaboreze și să transmită încredere copiilor în privința acestor teste. De foarte multe ori le dau o aură de examen definitoriu, de pas extrem de important în traseul educațional viitor al elevilor, pas care nu poate și nu trebuie ratat. Se pune o presiune suplimentară inutilă pe umerii unor copii care dau pentru prima sau a doua oară un examen. 

Deși nu sunt obligatorii, nu sunt trecute în cataloage și nu realizează ierarhii, aceste testări pot aduce un plus în valoarea adăugată a formării educaționale a unui elev prin: 

• Stabilirea unei rutine a feedbackului, la finalul unui ciclu de învățare; 
• Identificarea tipurilor de probleme de timpuriu;
• Organizarea unor planuri de remediere a acestor probleme, prin realizarea unor planuri individuale de învățare;
• Obișnuirea cu rutina unui examen, cu emoțiile inerente unei astfel de activități.

For the last 10 years, every summer, Avenor has organised the Summer School, a non-formal education programme open to children in and outside the community, in which learning through discovery, play and projects is integrated with trips, sports activities or outside the classroom learning experiences.

With a team of specialists in non-formal education, this year Avenor offers summer programmes specially designed for each age group.

What makes Avenor Summer School special and why it is recommended that children join such programmes, you can find out from our team of experts in the interview below.

What do we need to know when choosing a co-curricular programme for our child?

“Regarding a summer programme, the most important role is played by exposure to nature and the real world.

Today’s adults are reminiscing about summer vacation spent around the village’s dirt roads. For our children, playing under the sun’s rays in the middle of nature, surrounded by peers is a context that builds values and guarantees memories and healthy anchors when all grown up.

Academically, co-curricular programmes, represent an opportunity for completing children’s development. Therefore, our recommendation is to seek equilibrium between the following 3 elements.

• Motivation: activities that are linked with already contoured passions and interests in order to stimulate children to engage,
• Challenge: sessions that help children build upon and enhance their curricular knowledge acquired throughout the school year,
•  Variety: diverse initiatives meant to stimulate their appetite for new study domains.

Needless to say, children’s age is a relevant reason in choosing the best educational method used and the most suitable timetable.” Cristina Farcaș, Avenor Summer Expeditions founder

How is the Avenor summer programme different?

“Our Project Based (Inquiry-based) Learning methodology which is at the heart of the program is engaging students in real-life, meaningful projects and stimulating their reasoning and problem-solving skills, fostering collaboration and communication through group project work. Also, one of the main differentiation points is the official language of the summer school, English. Without being an English language course, through play, exploration and working on projects, children improve their English language skills and build up their confidence. 

On another note, we know from previous years that children love our food during the summer school and we are proud to have our own kitchen and cook in order to provide great healthy meals and snacks. Also, the children between 6 and 11 years old will also benefit from a unique location next to the Forest as well as from the campus’s great facilities: outdoor and indoor sport courts, music studio, art and drama studio, high quality sports and games equipment and musical instruments.  The little ones registered in the Nursery location will benefit from a diverse range of activities outside the classroom, including weekly trips in the middle of nature or special destinations connected to the learning goals.” Boyana Dragomir, Project Manager, Greenfield summer programs

What is the educational stake of a summer school?

“This year marks our third year of being able to offer the programme in both of our locations: the Greenfield campus (children between 6 and 11 years old) and the nursery site from Cașin (children between 2 and 6 years old). Taking into consideration the ages of the children, regardless of the fact that the programmes follow the same educational concept, the program and the timetable are adjusted to meet children’s specific interests

Therefore, at the nursery, “The educational programme prioritises the child and their needs. The teachers team worked on structuring the weeks in a manner that ensured that every child could find their place in the new group with ease. The Project Based Learning method is meant to teach children that each and every one of them has something new and important to contribute, and that only together they can take a bigger project to the finish line. Not only the class activities, but also the trips, and of course not forgetting the ‘splashing around days’, like ‘Water Fun Day’, are taking place in a special decor that differs from one week to the next, all in order to offer the young ones an environment that is stimulating, interesting and fun.”  Silvana Sofian, coordinator Avenor Summer Expeditions 2022, Avenor Nursery

“John Dewey asserts the fact that “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” and it describes remarkably well what the nursery children experience together with us during summer school. We live in such times that require us to be prepared, to be able adapt. For that very reason, Avenor Summer Expeditions puts forward an educational approach that is unified and coherent. This approach is meant to put the children into real life situations to which they need to find solutions to, to come up with ideas and adapt.” Dora Crețu, coordinator Avenor Summer Expeditions 2022, Avenor Nursery

 

 

“Within the Greenfield campus, children between 6 and 11 years old will benefit from “unique learning experiences while having fun, exploring and researching new fields in order to create personalised projects. No matter their hobbies, the children will connect to the world outside the classroom and they will be encouraged to communicate, to work as a team and to think critically, all while working on a common project. Our goal is to stimulate the children to seize control and make use of their own passions in order to enrich their experiences, to find solutions for specific tasks, and of course, to celebrate their effort and learning along with their families by the end of this period.” Andreea Dumitrescu, coordinator Avenor Summer Expeditions 2022, Avenor College

 

 

How the path of a summer school participant is rendered so as to obtain the expected results?

“In each of the locations where the programme takes place, there is a group designated to 2 year old children (Avenor Nursery), respectively 6 year old children (Avenor College), who experience for the first time the interaction with this kind of environment. These groups are thought of in a manner meant to facilitate a more consistent support for the adapting process, both for the children and for a daily timetable adapted to their needs.

Educational planning through the PBL method takes into account the following of a natural route in children’s development. It starts with adapting, safety routines, then it continues with identifying needs, interests and knowledge of the participants; after, the programme will venture into opening new windows towards other learning objectives. The children will practise self-evaluation in a systematic manner, rethinking the process and ultimately augmenting the result in front of their peers and their family (with regard to the Avenor College Greenfield campus children). This red thread is broken here and there throughout every week, through trips and dance sessions (on nursery site), forest outings, art workshops and sport (Greenfield campus), and, of course, the long awaited Water Fun Day.” Cristina Farcaș, Avenor Summer Expeditions founder 

Indicate 5 reasons why a child should take part in a summer school programme

• Time spent in nature
• Relationships
• Discovery opportunities
• Quality of time spent during summer 
• Continuity in personal development

 

 

The exam period started. As every year, in families with children who take exams, the focus is on maximising the chances of getting the best possible grade. The question on how we help children prepare for exams is important, but another much more important question is: what are the learning and revision strategies that contribute to a successful journey beyond the present? What does the child take with him in life, after the exam has passed and what does he leave behind, what does he forget?

Educational practice and theories are increasingly based on scientific research, following a process similar to that of medical practice. In recent years, studies of how our brains learn are increasingly used in curriculum decisions. Although this approach is still controversial, there are some universally accepted principles. With them in mind, teachers and parents can help children learn more effectively.

Emotions affect memory and learning

What is the message we send to our child?

Any of the exams they will have this summer is not an end point – the exams are part of a trajectory, a journey they have, a path where our students become expert learners.

The exams, although summative in nature, can be seen as experiences from which to learn. This paradigm shift will ease the stress of the exam and at the same time help the child to find motivation and make sense of the exam recap process.

Let’s not forget that the students went through a pandemic that affected the chemistry of their groups of friends and, implicitly, their emotional stability. During adolescence, they are caught up in the tumult of discovering their own identity, developing their personality. Children are very concerned about their entourage, their position in the group of friends, how they are seen by others. Some teenagers are more or less affected than others, but they all go through these processes that cannot be ignored. All these emotions  influence the child’s reaction to the stress of the exam and how they prepare for it.

Implications:

– Talk to your children about exams as experiences and learning opportunities and not just as endpoints for a school stage.

– Create an environment where children feel protected and understood.

Some learning and revision methods are more effective than others

Psychologist Daniel Willingham defined learning as “a residue of thinking.” It is very difficult to define what “thinking” means, but it is clear to all of us that in order to learn, we need to process what we read.

I present below some of the efficient processing strategies, specific to the revision. The list is not exhaustive, the strategies being selected based on the types of mistakes which occur very often.

a) spaced repetition technique

The principle that spaced repetition is more effective than cramming before the exam is known but difficult to apply. Many hours of study before a test does not help to remember the information as well as the same number of hours but distributed over a longer period of time. In 1885, the German psychologist Herman Ebbinghaus created a mathematical formula graphed below that represents the process of forgetting newly learned information. Although this graph differs from person to person, the scientific community agrees that the slope of the decline is steep, especially after the first hour. Spaced revision / repetition can slow down this rate of decline according to the graph in which vertical lines represent revision moments.

                                                                         Source: (Brown)

b) memory retrieval practice

Rereading notes or a lesson from the book is less effective than retrieving stored information from memory. The brain is plastic and every time information is retrieved and stored again, new neural networks are formed. Retrieving information from memory requires higher cognitive processes, more difficult, but with more efficient results.

How does a student know he understood? Only when he can demonstrate this understanding. How do you prove the understanding?

• Explaining a concept to a colleague.
• Applying this concept in an unfamiliar situation.
• Synthesizing and creating a mental map of the connections of concepts in a learning unit.

To do this, the student retrieves the information from memory and uses it, creating new synapses.

Memory retrieval is a strategy that most students do not like because their cognitive demand is significant. One option may be to create a mental map of the unit (mindmaps), which the student has in front of him when he revises and gradually removes it, until he gives it up. There are web applications for creating mind maps, which can make the process more enjoyable for our children, born in the digital age. Some of these applications allow collaborative work, bringing new dimensions to this process.

c) the method of alternating the concepts

Solving many problems of the same type is less efficient than alternating the problems in several chapters or alternating the revision in Romanian with that in Mathematics. At the same subject, the teacher can guide the revision so that concepts that are connected are studied together, and the student is helped to create connections.

d) visual representation of the information initially studied as text

This strategy is part of the same category as the previous ones, inviting the student to process the information, to transform it and represent it through his own filter. In this way, misunderstandings and gaps are easier to spot and the student creates his own learning resources.

Implications:

– Ask your child if he or she has uses a variety of revision strategies at school and if so, what does he find most effective? What does he think is the most demanding from a cognitive point of view?

– Create a recap schedule with your child. Consider the spaced repetition strategy.

Learning is the only transferable skill 

At first glance, the British curriculum does not seem to be complicated in Middle School. Instead, it is complex – the skills required are carefully chosen to help the student form an understanding of the complexity of each area of ​​knowledge and give the teacher time to create intra and transdisciplinary connections. In this way, learning is deep. The child is prepared to access high levels of complexity in High School when they study concepts sometimes taught in college.

Unfortunately, the Romanian programme is very busy and unnecessarily complicated. Teachers do not have time to create learning experiences in which the student can apply and transfer what he has learned. The transition from Middle School to High School or from High School to College is very difficult for children following the national programme. The focus is on acquiring new knowledge, because there is no time to provide opportunities for connected learning. The lack of horizontal and sometimes vertical alignment of programmes is confusing in children’s minds.

In addition to the knowledge and skills that we want our students to assimilate and apply in exams, there is a higher purpose – to teach them how to learn. Renowned researchers in the education sciences suggest that “learning how to learn” is the only transferable skill. I can be creative in Math, but I’m not creative in Romanian, I can think critically about history, but I can’t think critically about science. Some skills are applicable in one area of ​​knowledge because they depend very much on a deep understanding of that area.

The ability to learn is transferable.

Implications:

– Does my child know the difference between memorizing and understanding?

– What is his learning model? Is he aware of the effectiveness of his learning model?

The efficiency of past papers

Maybe at this point you’re wondering “Does my child need to do past papers?“. Definitely yes, solving past papers is useful, but only after a deep learning process and only a few weeks before the exam. The learning process is different from the revision process, which in turn is different from the exam training tests. Solving tests that have a similar structure to the exam helps the student to become familiar with the format of the exam, the terminology, the types of questions, helping him to navigate faster during the exam.

Unfortunately, very often we see students who rely on observing patterns, similarities between versions of training tests or exams from previous years and consider that repeating these patterns is the same as learning. Very often our national exams assess subject-specific skills in contexts that are familiar. Unfortunately, this narrow type of assessment leads to misconceptions about what it means to learn and how we demonstrate what we understand.

“Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted counts” (Einstein) – I invite you to approach the exam preparation as a time when children will be better prepared not only to get a higher grade now, but will develop skills and abilities that they will use for the rest of their lives. Only then will the exam preparation period be used effectively.

I invite you not to just look at what your child is learning now or what he or she will learn in the next school year when choosing, with him, the schooling system that suits him best. Look at the final goal of that system. What is the profile of the student at the graduation point, what kind of adult is he becoming?

One such example is the Avenor Learner Profile that can be found HERE.

Bibliography

Brown, Guest Author Daniel. “Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve.” EdApp Microlearning Blog, 14 Dec. 2018, www.edapp.com/blog/ebbinghaus-forgetting-curve/#:~:text=This%20is%20the%20basis%20of.

Hermann Ebbinghaus. Memory a Contribution to Experimental Psychology. Bristol Thoemmes Press Tokyo Maruzen, 1998.

Willingham, Daniel T. Why Don’t Students Like School? : A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions about How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom. San Francisco, Ca, Jossey-Bass, 2009.

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Dr. Daniela Vasile, Director of Learning at Avenor College and at the same time professor of mathematics, made this informative material for Spotmedia in which she talks about how children can be helped to learn effectively for exams. The full material can be read HERE.

 Following an extremely rigorous admission and selection process, Tiberiu, an Avenor College 12 grade student, is admitted to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Groningen, a university with tradition and reputation in Europe, with four Nobel laureates and an impressive list of graduates. His passion for science, his excellent academic results and a mix of specific skills developed over time have offered Tibi one of the first places on the admission list.

Tell us about the admission process to the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Groningen.

Unlike the admission process to other specializations, in the application process for Medicine School in University of Groningen there was no need to send personal essays, letters of recommendation, CVs or portfolios. With thousands of applications each year, the only way to distinguish between candidates is an internal examination, organized by the university. Each year, this exam has a different medical topic, which is communicated to candidates a few weeks in advance. This year, the topic was palliative care for patients with heart failure. To prepare for this exam, you must learn in detail the bibliography provided by the university (consisting of scientific articles and excerpts from anatomy textbooks) and you need advanced knowledge of chemistry, biology and physics.

In addition to the theoretical exam, there is also a non-cognitive test of professional ethics, in which you have to evaluate on a scale from 1 to 5 several situations from a moral point of view. Unfortunately, you cannot prepare for this exam, because it tests the way you would respond to a variety of situations, which you will often face during your medical studies.

Even if they have between 1000 and 1500 candidates each year, the number of places has remained constant for some time: 410, of which only 110 are in English, the rest being in Dutch. Although the competition was intense this year – over 1350 people applied – I managed to rank 3rd among international students and 21st among all students who applied (Dutch and international).

What were your strong points to get a place at Groningen?

In addition to the academic results, which most universities evaluate, I think the extracurricular activities I took part in were very important: the STEM Olympiad in Science and Mathematics, the Crest Club, which combines theory with practice in science, internships and volunteering. The more you get involved in different activities, the more opportunities you have to develop yourself and gain new skills. However, it is important to balance these activities with your personal well-being.

For the theoretical exam, I am sure that my ability to quickly memorize information and my solid background in the science field helped me a lot. Although the bibliography of about a hundred pages seemed scary the moment I received it, I got help from my teachers and my parents who supported me all the way. It also mattered that I liked this field and that the information I received was interesting to me: how to care for patients with heart failure, the problems that are currently encountered in this area, the drugs and devices used in treatment, etc. I’m sure I couldn’t have learned so effectively in another domain for which I have no passion.

For the non-cognitive exam, I admit that, although I was ranked in the top 10%, I did not prepare in any way, but it is important to have skills that you would need as a doctor: empathy, logic, compassion, the desire to take the initiative and to defend the vulnerable, for example. Although the situations in the exam may seem superficial at first glance, it is important to be careful about the answers you offer.

What is the optimal mix between academic results and involvement in extracurricular projects for a candidate at Groningen?

To have a successful application, it is not enough just to have good academic results in mathematics, biology and – perhaps most importantly – chemistry. Internships and extracurricular activities are also an important part of preparing a future student.

Last year I had the opportunity to participate in a series of internships organized by the school in several medical specializations, where I could see live what it means to be a doctor. Observing and participating in several consultations and surgeries gave me the chance to deepen the experiences of a doctor’s professional life and to confirm that this is the path I want to follow.

I did not neglect to participate in other extracurricular activities, which gave me the opportunity to look at medicine from several points of view. The “Avenor Christmas Charity Fair” project, organized together with my colleague Ana-Caterina, put me in the position to face various social causes – the charity we supported in 2020, for example, helped over 700 vulnerable elderly people in rural areas. Other activities, such as the Duke of Edinburgh program and the MUN debates in which I participated, also helped me to evolve.

Why did you choose Groningen in the context of offering a limited number of places in English and long-term Medicine in Dutch?

Founded over 400 years ago, with four Nobel laureates and a list of well-known graduates, such as the mathematician Johann Bernoulli, Aletta Jacobs – one of the world’s first female doctors – and many members of the Dutch royal family, Groningen has a special reputation, being one of the top universities in Europe.

The Groningen medical course is unique in Europe – and probably in the world – because it offers a patient-centered approach: students get in touch with patients from the first year of study and follow a problem-solving programme. This curriculum is probably one of the reasons why the University of Groningen School of Medicine ranks 51st in the world and in the top 3 English-language medical schools in the EU.

Although only the first 3 years are in English, the next 3 being in Dutch, the university provides free Dutch courses to all students, thus making the learning process easier for international students. The language itself seems pretty easy to learn, being similar to English and German, so I don’t worry too much about it.

How do you think Avenor helped you in the admission to a prestigious university in Europe? Do you think that a student who follows the British curriculum has more advantages? If so, how?

Although I came to Avenor only 2 years ago, I felt from day one that I had the unconditional support of everyone here. I am not referring here strictly to my scholarship status, but also to the general relations with my colleagues, with the teachers in the class, but also with the school administration. Although I did not have a private counselor to help me with my college application, the school counselors helped me and constantly advised me on my career path and the requirements and specifics of the universities I applied to. The teachers have always supported me in choosing the most suitable path for me and I especially thank the chemistry teacher, Laura Băjenaru, who shared with me significant details from her personal experience in this field, supported and encouraged me to continue on this path of studying science.

The main advantage of the British program over the Romanian one is that it allows you, since the 9th grade, to focus on the subjects that you like and that you want to follow in the future. This is very helpful especially in the 11th and 12th grades: while in the Romanian system a student who wants to apply to medicine must also attend many additional classes, a student in the British system only studies the subjects he is interested in.

Another important advantage is that the British program is constantly updated. Take biology, for example, while textbooks in the Romanian system were written a few decades ago, the British curriculum examines the latest innovations in biotechnology, such as microarrays, genetic modification through the CRISPR mechanism and genetic therapies.

What should be the path and interests of a 9th grade High School student who wants a career in medicine to increase his or her chances of being admitted at a university like Groningen?

I believe that for any future scientist, skills that help you learn and understand new things are very important, for example critical thinking, problem solving, adaptability and self-confidence. Given that in the field of science new things are always discovered and you always have something to learn, these skills serve as a foundation on which other knowledge can be based later.

For a doctor, in addition to the above skills, good social skills are also needed. A good doctor is empathetic, altruistic, responsible and honest. These are, moreover, the qualities that universities seek in their future students and which should be highlighted in essays and letters of intent.

For any selection procedure you obviously need advanced knowledge of mathematics and science: chemistry, biology and physics. I studied chemistry, mathematics and biology at A2-level (two years of study) and physics and computer science at AS-level (one year).

What do you hope to find in Groningen? What are your plans for the future?

 

Although at the moment I am not sure about my plans for the future, I am sure that I will have many options once I finish my studies in Groningen. The medical school at the University of Groningen gives you the opportunity to focus on several potential careers: doctor (my favorite specialties would be genetics, neurology and psychiatry), medical research or health policy advisor. It remains to be seen which of these areas will attract me the most and which one I will choose.

 

7 years after the opening of Avenor High School, we are happy to live an extraordinary moment in the evolution of our school. The opening of a new building, dedicated exclusively to students in grades 6-12, creates new opportunities for students who want to join us and are waiting for a place at Avenor.

So, on the 5th of May, we are organising an event dedicated to these families, in order to give them the opportunity to get to know our students and teachers and to find out directly from them about the education at Avenor.

“We are always happy to tell the story of our school through our own learning experiences. I came to Avenor in the 5th grade and so far, until the 10th grade, I’ve been involved as coordinator in dozens of projects. Among them is the Avenor Mentorship Programme that I started in the 6th grade, with guests such as Pavel Bartoș, Ana Consulea and Tedy Ursuleanu. As President of the Student Council, I implemented the Avenor Hoodie, and this year I have the honor of coordinating TEDxYouth@AvenorCollege together with 22 of the hardest working people I know. I think that in all these experiences it helped me a lot that I had my colleagues by my side, that our teachers guided us with skill and clarity offering us opportunities that we could not have accessed on our own. At Avenor we have a very open environment for any initiative, and I am sure that many more projects will follow.” says Sandra Pitu, one of the hosts of this event.

“This is a very exciting moment in the evolution of our school. We are preparing to open a new building that will host over 250 students next year. Our High School has developed very well in the last years. We have 3 generations of graduates now studying in prestigious universities and our programmes have diversified a lot in the meantime. We want to create opportunities for the round development of our students.

We’re glad that 12th graders have already started to receive offers from universities, and we were thrilled to learn that Andrei, one of our 12th graders, has been admitted to Harvard. ” – Diana Segărceanu, Executive Director of Avenor College.

 

Avenor College follows the British curriculum

The IGCSE – International General Certificate of Secondary Education – covers the first two years of High School – Grades 9 and 10 in the Romanian system / Years 10 and 11 of KS4 in the British system.

Advanced AS/A2 – The Advanced Level Examination – has two parts: AS and A2. The Advanced level covers the final two years of high school – Grades 11 and 12 in the Romanian system/ Years 12 and 13 of KS5 in the British system – and prepares students for University admission.

The middle school offers Avenor students the opportunity to choose their line of study. Starting with the 6th grade, a personalised school orientation programme is outlined. Students have the opportunity to choose to study Mathematics, English and Science in the British system and take the specific assessments or to study Mathematics and the Romanian language in the national system and take the National Evaluation exams.

 

For 5 months, Andrei, a grade 12 student at Avenor College, prepared applications for 13 universities around the world. He wrote essays, prepared his portfolios, participated in interviews and told his story.

It was a demanding, tiring and stressful endeavor.

He was admitted to NYU Abu Dhabi and Drexel University but all the other US universities he applied to either rejected him or put him on the waiting list or offered him insufficient scholarships. He was waiting for one last response from overseas, and in the meantime he was joking with his family about what the Harvard rejection letter looked like.

The morning he received the answer, he thought he was still dreaming while reading the admission message. He is still trying to get acquainted with the idea that he is admitted to the most prestigious university in the world with a specialization in Film and Visual Studies.

 

How is the admission process at Harvard?

The admission process is a complex one, which beyond the evaluation of academic results involves several essays through which you have the opportunity to present yourself as a person, but in which you must also present your activity, co-curricular projects, interests and passions. The other components of the admission process are the portfolio and the interview, to which all candidates are invited, with few exceptions.

What were the topics you covered in the essays?

In the application I included three essays that had the role of portraying me. The first one was about me, who I am, my family and my passion for film. In this essay I tried to tell how I started making films and how this activity helped me to express myself especially in the context in which I have been hearing impaired since childhood. Here I explained how I started making movies, how I learned a lot from YouTube, how I learned a lot by myself. With minimal financial resources and limited help, I produced my own films, going through all stages: screenplay, pre-production, production, post-production being in turn screenwriter, music composer, director and even actor. I have invested hundreds of hours in each product, all out of passion. And I think I managed to convey that in the essay.

The other essays were about the volunteer projects I got involved in and about the internships I did. In terms of volunteering, I chose to talk about how I managed to contribute through an animation used as an advertising to raise 50,000 lei in the ”Turn a dream into reality”,dedicated to a scholarship programme for students from the porest areas of the country, run by the Heart of a Child Foundation. . I could say that this project was my most successful project. The film produced – although it was my first animation – garnered over 50,000 views and, most importantly, contributed to a social cause. Avenor Christmas Charity Fair, BMNATO, Art for Heart are a few other volunteer projects in which I have been involved either as a photographer or with filming and / or editing.

The internships also have their own story, their role in my development being very big. The practical experience, from the studio, the interaction with specialists, the internship projects in which I was involved or which I only attended, each one contributed to my personal and professional development in the field of film production.

What should include a successful portfolio?

I don’t know what a successful portfolio includes, I can only say what I included in my portfolio. 🙂

:I’ve included all 11 of my high school movies – you can watch them on my YouTube channel. The movies were made by myself and more than that, I made other films in which I illustrated my way of working. I think this was a differentiator which showed the admissions committee how I think, structure and plan, it showed that I can adapt and find solutions. It also conveyed my passion for film and the effort I am capable of for such projects.

In addition, I spoke in my presentation about myself and the other passions I have, namely piano, acoustic guitar and electric guitar.

Tell us about the interview, how it went, what were the topics discussed in it?

The interview at Harvard is the last step of the application process and takes place with all the candidates, so it is not an indicator of the transition to a later stage of the admission process. However, it is an important step because it has a weight in the final decision. The interesting part is that the interview is not with a professor, but with a Harvard alumnus, specially trained for this and who knows nothing about you other than your name and date of birth. It’s not technical, it’s an interview in which you talk about yourself, about extra-curricular activities, about passions, about what you like to do, about future plans. It is also a good opportunity for you, as a candidate, to ask questions and learn more about life at Harvard.

Let’s move on to the less visual part – the academic results. What can you tell us about this component of the admissions process?

Obviously, academic results are very important and they must be in line with a standard. I had the privilege of studying at Avenor College, an international school with a curriculum that benefits you in the context of applying to universities abroad and that offers you diverse learning opportunities, with well-trained teachers, open to differentiated learning.

The best example and a differentiator in my application, is that at EPQ – Extended Project Qualification, in a film project led by me, I had the opportunity to do research, to analyze in detail and to understand what emotional and visual aspects I need to include in a film or in an advertising in order to generate emotion and to really reach the viewer.

In addition, the Drama, Media Studies or Arts classes, in which with the help of teachers I found solutions for me to make a film, the clubs I participated in, all contributed to this result.

Another advantage of the school is the teaching in English, which ensures a very good ability to express yourself academically and thus gives you the opportunity to say very easily what you think and what you feel. It is a skill that helps you a lot and that you develop through the presentations you make in school.

Beyond schooling, in addition to the A Levels exams, I prepared myself for the Toefl and SAT (American BAC) exams, where I got a score of 1480 out of 1600 which put me in the top 1% of those who take this exam.

Last but not least, I must mention the help I received from Madeleine Popescu, from Yourway Advisors, the consultant recommended by Avenor, who helped me throughout the admission process. It is a support that you need to be able to successfully pass the technical and administrative part involved in the process of admission to a university abroad.

If you were to make some recommendations for your colleagues preparing for college admission, what would they be?

I don’t think I’m in the position to give recommendations, maybe just some advice, as I received from my older brother who went through this experience before me and then mentored me throughout the admissions process.

The first advice I have is to be genuine and passionate about what you do. I think this is the most important thing that an application can convey and that differentiates you.

Then I firmly believe that you need to have backup plans – and not just one. The admission process is difficult and you may be surprised – to be rejected, to be admitted but not to receive financial aid and so on.

Another tip I have is to put all your energy into an application. In every application.

I know it’s tiring sometimes, because the processes are complex but me, for example, I took each application one at a time and before preparing it I analyzed the university website very well, I tried to think about what it would be like to study there, what I could do, what opportunities I would have. And then I wrote the application with all these details in mind and with a sincere desire to get there. When I finished the application, I went to the next application.

Beyond the enthusiasm you put into the application, you also need a little detachment. At the Harvard interview, being almost certain I wouldn’t be admitted, I went pretty relaxed, thinking I had nothing to lose. And I think that attitude helped me a lot.

What do you think was the major differentiator that brought you this remarkable success? And how do you feel now?

I think my greatest strengths were my passion and my perseverance. The projects I’ve been involved in over the years, the films I’ve made – whether it was the enthusiasm to screen a personal story, an emotion or just a school theme – the internships, the volunteer activities I’ve been involved, the plays in which I had a role, or the piano and the guitar recitals I attended were made because I enjoyed it, because it represented me and helped me to express myself. I made the first films just for myself and my family members – who, at first, were the only spectators.

Later, I managed to learn and evolve, and the films I produced in High School were my portfolio for college admission. Although it seems hard to believe, these short films – along with the other academic results and the portfolio of activities – gave me the chance to get a place at Harvard College.

Even though I received the letter confirming the admission, it still seems to me that I am dreaming with open eyes! There are days when I can’t believe what’s going on, when I’m inert, and others when I’m overwhelmed with emotion and then I wonder what I’m looking for there in the context in which, this year, Harvard had the lowest admission rate.

What are your plans for the future? What do you hope to find at Harvard?

The most important plan is to go to Harvard in the fall, where I hope to find colleagues with similar passions, who want to change the world through art. I want to take advantage of the opportunities that the university offers me, to learn and to follow my passion. And in the long run, I want to start a film start-up.

 

More details about his passion for film and about Andrei’s activity in recent years at Avenor can be foundHEREandHERE.

 

One of the 7 basic traits of the Avenor Learner Profile is to be Future Ready. In 2020, when schools closed, the abrupt transition to online learning required teachers, school leaders, students and parents to adapt quickly to a new, unknown and uncertain situation. It’s easy, once you get used to something, to have the feeling that you’re done, that the hard work is behind you and that it is over, you’ve adapted. The reality is that the new relationship we have with learning technology is still new and still requires continuous adaptation. And one of the most important skills we can train in the context of this relationship that is still evolving, is how we relate to the content we consume online. It is a lesson that we try to teach our students and, like any lesson, it is one that is important for us as adults, teachers and parents, to shape.

 

WHAT DO WE TELL TO OUR STUDENTS

First of all, we embrace technology as a good and useful thing and we encourage our students to use technology in the classroom – only through current use we may learn true digital fluency.. We use group projects as opportunities to discuss what fact checking means and how you can check the sources of information.

1. Cite your sources

Students learn to attach links to the information sources provided in any presentation. If you have found information on a site that does not cite its sources, you will probably need to go to step two and look for additional sources.

2. How many sources confirm what you found?

Students learn that before believing information, it is important to check if there are other sources that confirm it or if there are sources that disprove it. That’s why we encourage students to use a search engine and try to scroll beyond the first results, or even pages – the first sources are usually the most visited and how false news often spreads faster than real news, it is important to look at less accessed sources. But…

3. What is the quality of the sources that support the information?

You must also learn to decode possible alarm signals regarding the quality of the source. Now things get a little more difficult and the age and experience of the reader become more important. A first warning sign would be if the identified source uses correct language – is the article grammatically correct, is it professional or does it have obvious spelling mistakes?

4. How does it make me feel?

One question that we, adults and children, should learn to ask ourselves, even at an early age, is: “What emotion does this title / article / information cause me?” But an even better question is chow intense is the emotion that this title / / article provokes.. Behind any source that provokes a very strong emotion strong emotion is most likely an interest for the reader to share that information further.

Fear, anger and revolt are spreading fast in the online environment. The anti-vaccination discourse of recent years is a classic example of monetizing the audience’s fear and rage. Conspiracy theories appeal to the audience’s sense of revolt, which encourages them to feel cheated, fooled, used by a category of people who seek to take advantage of them. If a piece of information provokes a very strong sense of revolt, it does not necessarily mean that it is false, but it certainly means that it is worth investigating, following the steps above.

All these emotions – curiosity, fear, anger and revolt are active emotions, which produce a great need for action, encourage us to do something – for example, to click, to share.

What is important to understand is that ‘official’ or ‘reliable’ news sources often use the same mechanisms, precisely because they are very effective. That is why a more rigorous Media Studies education is vital.

5. What’s the purpose of the product I consume?

At Avenor College, beginning with grade 9, students can choose to study Media Studies, a course dedicated to the analysis of media products, with a strong focus on digital media.

“At Media we study in detail several types of media, including news, online and social media, advertising and marketing. We analyse who creates the product – the advertisement, the news, the social media page – and for what purpose. Creating a media product is a process of selection and omission. An online news story does not reflect the reality of the situation, but rather a constructed version of this reality. And media students learn to recognize how the media manipulates their audiences to achieve the goals of the producers and the companies that own them. In this way, we teach students to recognize misinformation, bias and fake news, a set of skills that are absolutely essential in our digital society.” says Katie Hargreaves, a British professor of Media Studies at Avenor College.

When analysing newspapers, high school students study two products in parallel – a left-leaning British daily newspaper and a right-wing British tabloid. Students analyse how the political orientation of the management of the company that owns the newspaper influences the language used in the articles. The influence is not limited to language, it extends to the selection of photos, the colours used and even the font. Each element of a media product conveys meaning to the audience, in order to attract their attention and ensure that readers return to their main source of information.

While the Media Studies course is quite advanced, it offers an important lesson that we can apply both in the discussions with our children and in the way we consume media products, a lesson about…

6. The importance of tolerance for opinions other than my own

There is a lot of talk these days about how search engine algorithms create ideological bubbles – about how the suggested content is the content that we already agree with. Just as Media students look at two different products to understand what they have in common, we can encourage our students and children to always seek different opinions from their own. It may seem counterintuitive to intentionally seek different opinions from our own, but this is by far the most powerful tool in combating fake news. Developing tolerance for opinions other than our own makes us immune to the monetization of negative emotions that misinformation relies on.

7. Let’s take it step by step…

From all the information above, it turns out that a digital fluent person is a very busy person. For this person, simply reading a news article involves at least three jobs – researcher, looking for other sources; fact checker, verifying the validity of the sources; analyst and evaluator, analysing the source language and, with an advanced understanding of the political and business interests behind it, performs an analysis of the content. None of these jobs are easy, and I think we have to admit that even for adults, fulfilling all of these roles can be tiring. The most important thing, especially when working with children, is to remind them to take it step by step. And the first step is to become aware of the effect that the media has on us. Certainties and truth are hard to come by nowadays, but the ability to consciously consume content is certainly one of the most valuable skills of a truly Future Ready person.

Smaranda Nicolau, Teacher of Drama and Media Studies at Avenor College, wrote this informative material for Spotmedia where she tells what do we teach our students about media consumption and especially about fake news. The full material can be read HERE.

With anew websiteand ahappy news newsletter“Language & Culture Corner” is a school project born out of a big passion for travelling and discovering new cultures. Designed with passion, it is implemented with determination and agility by an Avenor scholarship student who invites us to virtually travel and discover the world in a unique way.

Tell us about yourself. What does it mean to be a scholarship student at Avenor?

I.R. My name is Iarina and I am currently in the 10th grade. I joined the Avenor community almost four years ago. Being a scholarship student comes with its fair share of responsibility regarding grades, projects and activities, but it also comes with an amazing feeling of accomplishment. There is a whole team of other students, teachers and staff on this journey with me whom I enjoy working in a team with. Through this scholarship, I was able to coordinate projects with other people who are as passionate as I am, as well as be an example for others.

What scholarship project do you have? What is its story and what activities does it involve?

I.R. This year, I have two scholarship projects called ‘Language and Culture Corner’, which is an ongoing project from previous years and “Say NO to Fast Fashion”, a project I co-coordinate with one of my classmates.

“Language and Culture Corner”was born out of a big passion I have for travelling and discovering new cultures. Finding out about our differences as human beings and learning how to embrace them is such a beautiful thing. It enriches our general knowledge and helps us understand others better.

In 2019, “Language and Culture Corner” started as a small panel on the wall, but it now involves many other things. As part of the project, I organise debates, National Day surveys, presentations and kahoot games. However, the main base of the project is a website everyone can access to play online games a nd look up information about European countries. I am currently working on updating it with information about countries from other continents too.

Your project – “Language and Culture Corner” – is very versatile and can go in many directions – geography, history, art, civilization and so on. Do you work on documenting it yourself, how do you handle it, how long does it take you?

I.R. Yes, I work on documenting it myself and I always make sure to use as many reliable sources as possible, in order to not publish misinformation. I usually check twice or thrice if a fact is correct. This can, of course, take me quite a lot of time, even up to hours. But I always try to think of it as something positive, because I enjoy discovering new countries. I often put some music on, get a cup of tea and start researching. I might find myself going from one interesting thing to another and then having to stop for the day, but I am glad it adds onto my general knowledge.

What were the biggest challenges you encountered over time in implementing the project?

I.R. One of my biggest challenges was the pandemic. My project was starting to flourish and many people were taking interest in my posters filled with information. I had many ideas to implement when being in school, but then I realised online school was not going to go away anytime soon. I was worried about how to catch the attention of younger classmates, so the only reasonable thing that seemed like I had to do was to try and adapt my project to an online version, a website, just like many other people. Because of this, I unfortunately lost some of the visibility, but as we slowly returned to school, I was able to promote it again.

Tell us the funniest 5 “Did you know that” about the European countries you found working on your project?

I.R. Throughout my project, I found some really interesting facts about the countries of Europe, but here are the most interesting and surprising ones for me:

• In Germany there’s no punishment for a prisoner who tries to escape from jail, because they believe it is a basic human instinct to be free;
• Kiev has the world’s deepest metro station at 1.5 kilometres underground;
• Tourists in Rome, Italy throw €1,000,000 into the Trevi Fountain each year;
• Slovakia has the only capital in the world bordering two countries;
• It is estimated that British people drink 165 million cups of tea every day.

How do you see the future of the project? What do you want to do next?

I.R. Actually, a few weeks ago I launched a new feature based on the project. It is a happy news newsletter. Anyone can sign up using the QR code in the poster or the special google forms.. This is a bi-weekly newsletter coming straight into the mail inbox of anyone who signs up. The best part is it contains the best news from all over the world. They can be in regards to sustainable projects, cultures, countries and people. I believe that during this time of uncertainty everyone needs some happy news one in a while. I sincerely hope to have as many subscribers as possible! 

One of my biggest hopes for this year is that the school will be able to organise its famous Cultural Celebration Day. Due to the pandemic, it did not take place physically in the last years, but through my project, I would love to contribute to its organisation and stands.