Boundless Education is thrilled to welcome Alexa Hart as the Trailblazer Programme Lead. She brings with her a treasure trove of relevant experience and we can’t wait for her to begin guiding and developing our Trailblazers next year. In the meantime, I spoke to her about some of her key takeaways as a leader in experiential and project-based learning. 

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‍You were voted 'Teacher of the Year' by your students at your previous school which is a wonderful accolade. What would you say are the winning qualities of an educator in today's world?

One of the most important qualities of an educator today and today - in this changing, shifting, ever-evolving world - is being adaptive, reflective, responsive and knowing your students, knowing who they are, what makes them tick, what they are striving for. What, what are they passionate about? Those are all the qualities of an exceptional educator in today's world.

‍Experiential and project-based learning differs greatly from traditional education. Did you encounter any challenges when implementing this approach? How did you overcome these? 

Experiential and project-based learning is one of the most valuable ways to engage a student in what I consider to be an authentic audience.

So, when a learner owns their own learning and they are able to apply it outside of the classroom, that's where we see transferable skills and that's where we see real deep understanding and learning acquired for the learner on behalf of the learner.

The challenges that I've faced in terms of implementing project-based learning have really only been in terms of timeline and some external factors. Whenever I'm partnering with a community group, an organization or a travel group, that's usually where things can get a little tricky, but nothing we can’t adapt and adjust to. We problem-solve with students - which is one of the more rewarding pieces of experiential education and project-based learning.

Time management is something else that I've seen as a really valuable skill that I help support students with and that is an exceptionally transferable skill as well.

‍How will the Trailblazer Programme help prepare our teen Explorers for the future?

I see the Trailblazer programme that we are designing to be dynamic, inclusive, challenging, rigorous and exciting.  Just ABSOLUTELY exciting.

I think one of the best ways that we will be preparing teens to be explorers of the world in the future is that they will be global citizens, right? They will have experienced the world outside of themselves. They will have applied all these social-emotional learning skills and these rigorous academic skills to their learning as they navigate and are immersed in the Trailblazers programme across three wonderfully distinct locations.

What would you say are the most positive aspects of children's development and growth that you have witnessed when applying experiential learning?

When I have implemented experiential learning for students - whether that's as part of a trips initiative or through field trips or quests - one of the things that's so powerful to see is a learner who has doubted themselves and their capacity to acquire a new skill, own that skill, and know that skill.

There's something really profound about what I call the ‘light bulb moment’ where you can see a student realise they have grasped something and can apply it. That's really deep learning. And we don't get that from some traditional models.

I'm so excited about the development that I know your children will experience in the Trailblazer programme. And it’s an honour to be able to witness that. 

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