The HIXS Framework | HIXS

The HIXS Framework

Heritage International Xperiential School

Experiential Learning

At Heritage International Xperiential School (HIXS), students approach the natural world and human society through integrated units that emphasize direct experience in real-life contexts. Learning is grounded in reality, using narratives that invite children to grasp concepts and apply them to daily life, something that most International Schools in Gurgaon despite offering IB and IGCSE curriculum miss out on.

We focus on purposeful real work that nurtures critical thinking and problem-solving skills that stand children in good stead in their adult lives. Through authentic learning tasks, students learn to tackle complex problems that may have more than one solution. By addressing such genuine scenarios, they learn to use analytical decision-making skills to justify their choices.

Design thinking and maker spaces are integrated into the curriculum to enhance the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship so that students tinker and play with material and objects by taking things apart and creating artefacts that are meaningful to them.

At HIXS, we help children to forge an authentic relationship with learning; they become self-motivated, lifelong learners. Curiosity and wonder become an integral part of their being; they learn to voluntarily and habitually enhance their learning so that they can access personal and professional opportunities for a better future which is a promise that the best international curriculums like IB and IGCSE offer. For them, life and learning truly are a single flow.

Design Thinking

We believe that skills to think of a business idea or innovate a product, to develop a business plan, to find ways to raise capital and to bring that product to customers—so critical in today’s start-up economy—need to be inculcated at the school level so that students can thrive in the real world.

Design thinking at Heritage International Xperiential School (HIXS) manifests in classrooms in the form of Genius Hours, where students are encouraged to research on real world problems and develop working prototypes of the solutions proposed, using the latest tech such as 3D printing, laser-cutting, wearable tech, etc. These design challenges/Genius Hours do not occur in isolation, they are sewn into the expeditionary curriculum to ensure that, along with content, students are given opportunities to convert content knowledge into actionable outcomes. The latest digital tools are provided to support this process, which only the top International Schools in the Delhi/ NCR region would have access to.

In the early years, the design challenges take the form of Wonder Hours, in middle years they are known as Genius Hours, and in senior years students enroll into the ‘Build Your Future’ elective as a work experience option.

Heritage International Xperiential School
Heritage International Xperiential School

Human FrameworkTM

We consider developing more mindful and socially-aware children as an essential aspect of building a more peaceful world. Students must be provided skills to question and craft their identities, embrace complexity, navigate conflict constructively, honour the emotional wellness in themselves and others, and interact with those who are different from themselves.

At HIXS, we integrate the Human FrameworkTM based on the specific needs of different age groups through:

  • Stand-alone classes, such as Circle Time in Primary Grades and Crew (Advisory) Time in the middle and Senior Grades, where students practice and discuss socio-emotional skills or concepts and work on developing Habits of Work and Learning (Nursery to Grade 8) and Approaches to Learning (Senior Grades).
  • Subject classes where students continue to apply and practice the socio-emotional skills and concepts they have learned in standalone classes.
  • Interdisciplinary learning expeditions specifically designed to address social issues that will develop and further our students thinking and growth, such as global affairs, social movements, stereotypes and discrimination, and how our students can work to make positive change in their own communities and the larger world.

The aim is to help students understand their own essence and motivations, develop healthy relationships with themselves and others around them, understand the purpose and meaning of life, and discover the contexts that shape them.

The IB and IGCSE curriculum also lay out guidelines for encouraging socio-emotional learning along similar strands as outlined in the Human FrameworkTM but the deep and intensive work that Heritage has done in this space, allows it to add immense value to the guidelines offered by both these highly respected International Boards.

Deeper Learning

To prepare our students to thrive in the 21st century, we provide deeper learning experiences that enable students to develop the following competencies:

  • Content Mastery: Students apply new knowledge to real world situations.
  • Effective Communication: Students demonstrate skills in active listening, clear writing, and persuasive presentation.
  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: Students consider a variety of approaches to produce innovative solutions.
  • Collaboration: Students work with their peers, assume leadership roles, resolve conflicts, and manage projects.
  • Self-directed learning: Students use teacher feedback to monitor and direct their own learning, both in and out of the classroom.
  • Academic mind-set: Students feel a sense of belonging and the motivation to persist through their school work.

The best international schools offering IB and IGCSE curriculum talk about offering depth of knowledge instead of breadth as compared to the national curriculum but what HIXS means by deeper learning is more about the process students are taken through to gain this knowledge and apply it and not only about the depth of the content taught.

Heritage International Xperiential School
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