Becoming experts and active leaders of their learning, students at espacio a can learn new skills, reach their goals, and adapt to their environments. They are encouraged to develop their intrinsic motivation and go beyond their comfort zone by setting meaningful, relevant goals that excite their curiosities. Students are consistently empowered to reflect upon their needs, set clear objectives, find resources, and engage with active learning techniques to deepen their understandings and solve problems.
Each semester, every student completes a self-directed project. The project's aim can be as creative and expansive as the student wishes. The project’s goal may be cognitive, such as learning a new language, creative, such as developing a comic book, or even physical, such as building a surfboard. SDL projects allow students to work through the process of creation, from idea generation to organization, research, and execution. Students learn to use conceptual maps, make bibliographies, and organize themselves with SMART goals: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. Core teachers are also SDL mentors that facilitate workshops that assist students to manage and complete their SDL projects.
