“Children are born learners who need a supportive environment to bring out their natural talents”- Maria Montessori. 

This statement remains true for every generation and definitely the current situation. As a parent, we can’t just rely on institutions that focus solely on improving the child’s grade instead of creating an environment that works on their overall development and helps in developing leadership skills. That’s where holistic development comes into play!

In holistic development, we focus on developing a student’s mind from all sides. By holistic growth, we mean the physical, intellectual, cognitive, emotional and social development of a student. Those days are gone when a student’s merit was measured based on their intellectual capabilities. Even moving forward in their life, cognitive and emotional development will play a crucial role in the workplace. 

Conventional education institutes rely on the theoretical knowledge that keeps following the same teaching approaches for every student irrespective of their uniqueness, following a unique growth trajectory. However, institutes where the focus is on holistic development and personalised teaching approaches help prepare students for real challenges and shape their leadership qualities. 

But leaders cannot be shaped just like that! Studies show optimal brain development, which is foremost for shaping up future leaders. This kind of shaping happens when students feel emotionally safe, connected, supported and challenged when they get the right environment with the proper support. 

Fostering contemporary leadership skills in students will help them easily lead, craft strategies and also develop other skills such as persuasion, collaboration and problem-solving. Thus, to help students climb higher on the career ladder, we cite five teaching strategies that must be adopted by the institutions looking for holistic development of their students:

Creating a supportive environment to foster a healthy relationship with a student

Every child is unique with their distinctive growth path, therefore, creating multiple pathways to excellence. Problems arise when schools implement a single teaching approach for all students assuming they will adapt and perform well! Moreover, this approach undermines students’ progress. Thus, it becomes pertinent to have a supportive environment where student-teachers will have a healthy relationship and a teacher will also understand the concealed need of the student. 

A holistic approach is required to develop leadership skills in students. With a caring, culturally responsive learning community and building a trusting relationship with students, teachers can maximise their learning capabilities. Students must feel that they can express their opinions and convey their ideas, feelings and concerns to their teachers effortlessly. 

Encouraging students to participate in a diverse curriculum 

Holistic development includes an overall development of a child’s personality that can be achieved.  The best way to develop a student is to encourage them for extracurricular activities. In today’s competitive world, it becomes crucial to involve children in activities outside the classroom as this will help to develop leadership qualities and collaboration skills. 

Encouraging students to get involved in the activities that they feel passionate about also increases their brain functions which eventually leads to good performance in academics. Also, it helps students identify their hidden talents and interests that could become their success factors. 

With extracurricular activities, students are also able to engage with more people and expand their networking which helps in developing their social quotient. Also, these certificates create a great portfolio when looking to pursue higher studies in foreign countries as extracurricular activities are more important to foreign universities because they like to measure students’ potentials beyond their intended study area. 

Identifying students’ talent and exposing them to the right opportunity

In conventional learning, problems arise when students start feeling disengaged and bored. Moreso, since the learning experience is not personalised, students feel non-challenged with any new opportunities. Therefore, identifying the right potential of a student plays a crucial role that also helps in connecting them with the right opportunities. 

Students can identify their inner potential by building existing skills and knowledge. Moreover, encouraging students to get involved in the student-led clubs and helping them with constructive feedback guides them in assessing and improving for future growth. 

Promoting relevant learning experiences

The major reason for poor performance on a specific subject is because students fail to like it. Likeability depends upon how well the topic is elucidated to students and connected with real-life scenarios. Thus, making the learning experience relevant becomes pertinent. 

It becomes necessary for students to relate the concept with something they have seen or experienced. That way they naturally develop a better understanding of the concept. Thus, leading to a huge improvement in academic performance.

Providing global platform

Students also need an advanced platform with enriched programmes like student clubs and immersive learning experiences to compete at a global level. With the help of enduring study techniques, teachers must also help students to perfect their mastery on global competitive platforms. 

Leading the pathway to excellence at The Academic City

At The Academic City, we constantly focus on quality and excellence in every experience provided to the students. Our fully residential integrated international school helps our students in: 

• Building core academic skills of students through unique learning strategies and techniques.
• Identifying and propelling towards learning goals in line with chosen career pathways using the academic resources, support networks, global platform and services offered.
• Practising self-management skills and inner strength to develop leadership skills in their chosen career path. 
• Unlocking core values through individual guiding principles.  
• Understanding, adapting and perfecting personalised residential routines. 

With an excellent education framework and pedagogy, The Academic City bridges the gap between residential schools and learning-solution providers. Also, laying the right foundation for students between the 6th and 12th standards is very crucial for their successful future. Our broad network of associations and tie-ups include reliable career guidance and expert coaching institutes that help students thrive in their chosen career paths. For more information, get in touch with us today!