Relational Learning enables students to move from “content consumers” to actors in their learning experience, having personalized guidance by their educators. Quality becomes the constant, and time the variable. Students are respected for their differences so that their potential is explored to the fullest. They become challenged to the best of their ability, which will enable them to be successful academically and in their lives. The impact extends beyond the academic performance, including aspects such as decrease in school dropout, failure, and effectiveness of educators.

A personalized experience that fosters Learning Autonomy increases the academic and life success rate because it focuses on developing the potential of each student and creates a path for a life-long learning experience. It reflects what the word “education” really means from Latin: “to bring forth from within.” Students practice every day, for 12 years, to achieve excellence in everything, to never leave gaps and always find meaning in their work. This will be reflected in their adult lives making them better professionals, better family members, and better citizens. The quality of their lives is directly linked to their relationship with the world. That is why it is called Relational Learning.

A Teacher imparts knowledge; An Educator develops the faculties and empowers a person. The role of an Educator in Relational Learning is to be the catalyst of excellence – a facilitator of learning – and be able to foster the very best in every student. Learning how to work and educate will require an open-minded approach. The Educator goes through the same process of learning as their students and thus, better understand the challenges that students have.

Relational Learning is a pedagogy model, a learning system. That is why it can incorporate any curriculum requirement because it focuses on the way students learn. Therefore, Students’ Personalized Learning Plan incorporates full curriculum requirements included by educators in each country. Students are empowered to plan their daily, weekly, and monthly goals, which fosters self-esteem and autonomy. By working on these goals, they learn to develop strategies to reach them, to enhance and augment their strengths, and to improve weaknesses.

Public schools using the Relational Learning Framework have improved academic performance in as little as six months. 

A typical module of the Relational Learning Professional Development Series is divided in three Units of Studies. You should expect a maximum of 15 hours in each unit, depending on your personal pacing. 

In traditional schooling systems, quality and assessment are often related to grades: at the end of the year, students can be promoted to the next grade with a gradebook full of A’s, B’s or even C’s. In Relational Learning, assessment is personalized so that every student reaches excellence, taking into account a personalized series of criteria, and including content mastery and cognitive skills development. Students are expected to show mastery of the content and the skills mandated by the curriculum, but first and foremost, the expectation is to reach their own excellent level in each one of the tasks they work on. Nevertheless, in order to comply with administrative requirements, each school determines how grades are given at the end of the year, but grades are solely assigned for administrative purposes, and not as a measure of success, since quality is unnegotiable throughout the learning process.

In many contexts, standardized tests are still the norm, and Relational Learning does acknowledge the need to put students in the best position possible to successfully pass these tests. The Relational Learning Framework can be implemented to fulfill and surpass the requirements of any curriculum. Since this methodology focuses on the way students learn, they indeed develop skills and learning processes that ensure their success in any personal or academic endeavor, standardized tests included. Among other things, students develop reading comprehension and analysis skills that further help them succeed in tests. But more importantly, they assume the challenge and develop the determination, motivation and sense of accountability needed to put all the necessary effort to reach their goals. They succeed because they know how to do so, and mostly because they want to improve! Public schools using Relational Learning have seen an increase in their students’ standardized test scores, from the first year of implementation, regardless of the country, required curriculum, or context.

If Relational Learning somewhat reminds you of Montessori, you are not that wrong, but there are several essential differences you need to be aware of. Montessori education emphasizes independence, freedom within limits, respect for the child’s development, uninterrupted blocks of work time, freedom of movement, and mixed age groups, among other things. But it is primarily developed to serve two to six year-old children. The Relational Learning Framework focuses on the way students learn and serves students of all ages, including college and throughout one’s life, and it can be implemented while meeting the requirements of any curriculum. This methodology is evolving continuously, as it relies on Research and Development, ensuring appropriate and proven solutions to the challenges of our ever-changing world.

An autonomous learner is able to grasp the world without any intermediary, using his/her own skills. Student agency means the ability to make decisions, set goals, establish plans and strategies to reach them, ask questions and find their answers, see problems, propose solutions and overcome challenges. The Relational Learning Framework helps students to become autonomous learners, to develop 21^st Century Skills, and to lead successful and fulfilling academic and personal lives, developing their skills at the fullest potential. Educators provide the needed support and framework for students to become autonomous learners and successful by their own effort. Student agency means learning to work to reach their own dreams. Who wouldn’t want that?

Thinking that students want to have everything done for them is a common misconception. Would we like our mothers to feed us or change our diapers for the rest of our lives? Would we like to have someone to hold our hand to cross the street forever? We reach independence on these basic things and many others, so why should we want to depend on teachers to learn? Having an active role on their own learning process allows students to tap on interests and strengths, rather than feeling constantly forced to focus on their weaknesses. Mistakes become learning opportunities, rather than negative results. Differences are respected and encouraged, rather than erased. Once students experience agency, guided by their educators, they become the most valuable advocates of their own ability to learn autonomously.

Reaching excellence and developing each student’s potential are central objectives in Relational Learning. Time is variable, and excellence is a constant. This means that students develop their skills at their personal pace, but always need to work at their fullest potential to reach excellence. The effort put into each goal is what matters the most, because that effort is the element that will eventually make a difference in the students’ lives: as long as students thrive for excellence, instead of A grades or quick fixes, their academic and personal lives are set for success.

More often than not, school systems require grades. So while using the Relational Learning Framework, schools are welcomed to devise and maintain their own grading system. Nevertheless, when Relational Learning is fully implemented, grades become progressively meaningless. Let’s put it this way: if every student strives for excellence, every student is eventually an “A-student”, so why should we keep grading? Some students may need more time, resources, opportunities or support to reach excellence, but they all will find their own path to excellence by benefiting from the Relational Learning Framework.

Families’ role is crucial, since parents and guardians have the responsibility to provide ongoing support and attention to students, and fully participate in their learning process. Families are in an advantaged position to observe and communicate any factors that may affect the learning process, which is why parents and guardians are welcomed to access information about the students’ learning process and communicate as often as needed with the school. Lastly, students’ families contribute and build a community that will help students in their quest towards learning autonomy and agency.

If your school has an IB Program, it is indeed great news, because Relational Learning complements it and take it even further! IB students certainly strive for excellence and hard work, with programs that promote social, emotional, and physical well-being. While IB is a curriculum framework, determining what students should be learning and how it should be taught and assessed, Relational Learning is a methodology, centered in the students’ learning processes, allowing students to develop ownership of their learning and thus reinforcing one of IB’s objectives.