In its 23 years of operation, the Ixtatán Foundation, now GuateMaya Alliance, has focused on creating educational infrastructure to provide youth with access to education. However, the Foundation's primary focus today is on educational innovation through the implementation of innovative learning models.
InThe results from the 2016 evaluation of graduates were satisfactory, which led the Foundation to adopt Project-Based Learning (PBL) as its main program. This model is effective in generating meaningful learning experiences. It allows students to apply the knowledge they have accumulated during their education to solve real-life problems, enabling them to work independently to build their learning and achieve concrete results they have generated themselves.In its 23 years of operation, the Ixtatán Foundation, now GuateMaya Alliance, has focused on creating educational infrastructure to provide youth with access to education. However, the Foundation's primary focus today is on educational innovation through the implementation of innovative learning models.
The results from the 2016 evaluation of graduates were satisfactory, which led the Foundation to adopt Project-Based Learning (PBL) as its main program. This model is effective in generating meaningful learning experiences. It allows students to apply the knowledge they have accumulated during their education to solve real-life problems, enabling them to work independently to build their learning and achieve concrete results they have generated themselves.
Project-Based Learning
epresents one of the most important initiatives of the GuateMaya Alliance due to its effective role in transforming the quality of education and fostering leadership in educational innovation. It shifts from the traditional teaching paradigm to a more action-oriented approach. This methodology is highly adapted to the historic Maya ancestral learning process. In other words, instead of focusing on content from textbooks, students are encouraged to develop key life skills by engaging with real-world situations in their environment. In this context, competencies are seen as “tools to face life.” Therefore, “preparing for life requires a teaching approach that uses a variety of complementary strategies and methods: simulations, case studies, problem-solving, assemblies, projects, environmental research, etc.” This way, students develop skills that are both necessary and applicable to real life, as they are at the center of the learning process.
Our Mayan Project-Based Learning model is a two-year training program aimed at teachers, and young people seeking to engage in education in the last two years of their studies. Our trainees specialize in the PBL methodology as well as in the design and implementation of projects, allowing them to develop essential life competencies.
This process directly fulfills our mission to strengthen the capacities of Guatemalan youth by promoting access to education through participatory processes for the well-being of communities. As an organization, we believe that education is key to development.
GuateMaya continually seeks to partner with area public schools to implement project-based learning initiatives that encourage youth to stay in school.
